Updated: 2:55 p.m.
Shouting "We want justice! We want it now!" about 300 students, faculty members and Gainesville residents marched from Turlington Plaza to Emerson Hall Tuesday afternoon to protest the University Police shooting of UF graduate student Kofi Adu-Brempong.
Adu-Brempong was shot by UPD in his Corry Village apartment on March 2.
At Emerson Hall, the marchers delivered a list of demands to the UF Board of Trustees. The requests included dropping all charges against Adu-Brempong, firing Officer Keith Smith, who shot Adu-Brempong, and creating a review board of students and faculty to review UPD's use of force policy.
Speakers at the protest, which included members of Adu-Brempong's family, talked about police brutality.
When Board of Trustees member Dan Ponce emerged to address the crowd, he said he could not promise to meet the demands today and was met with angry chants of "drop the charges" and "fire Keith Smith."
Organizer David Schneider told the crowd to join him in a sit-in at Emerson Hall until the demands are met. About 100 people stayed behind, many missing class to show their support.
The sit-in lasted for about two and a half hours before organizers decided to move the mass to Tigert Hall to read the demands before administration.
Protestor's chants got the attention of those inside and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin emerged to accept the demands and promised to take them to President Bernie Machen right away.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando said the university applauds the peaceful nature of the protest.
"We are an academic institution, and we are 100 percent supportive of freedom of expression and freedom of speech ," Orlando said.
Correction 3/16/10: The Alligator originally stated in this article that the shooting occured on March 1. It actually occured on March 2.
