Community holds peace rally after man is hospitalized following arrest

Dozens in Lynchburg hold rally near Lynchburg Police Department

LYNCHBURG, Va. – After hearing about the arrest that left 31-year old Larry Booker hospitalized, B.B. Shavers, founder and president of the group SHOPO Nation (which stands for Self Help Obtaining Positive Outcomes), put on a peace rally that drew in dozens around the community.

“One of the things we're protesting is the fact that in this case we feel as though this guy needs the opportunity for due process,” Shavers said.

Booker's mother Nida McQueen traveled from her home in Winston Salem, North Carolina to support her son.

“I'm very upset. Enough is enough. This has to stop. Police just beat this boy for no reason. We don't live here anymore. We haven't lived here in four years. Then you come to visit and you get attacked,” McQueen said.

Those who came to the rally wore T-shirts that read - ‘Justice for Larry’ and held signs saying - ‘Stop Police Brutality.’

Booker's brother, Joe Jackson, has questions for the police.

“We want to let the Lynchburg Police Department know that we're not going to tolerate for our people in the community to be beat down in the street like dogs. If police did nothing wrong, then release the dash cam of the footage,” Jackson said.

Whether protesters came as family, as friends, or just as concerned citizens of the community, their concerns went beyond this incident alone.

“We demand justice,” McQueen said.

“I hope nobody goes through what my brother went through,” Jackson said.

“(The police) should be subject to prosecution like everybody else,” Shavers said.

The rally lasted for more than an hour near the Lynchburg Police Department.