A protest organized by BR for The People visited Free Speech Alley Wednesday to bring awareness to the death of Deaughn Willis, a 25-year-old Black Baton Rouge resident who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy on Jan. 8. 
Protestors and students confronted nearby police monitoring the protest and marched around the LSU Student Union.

The body camera footage for the incident has not been released. According to the EBR Sheriff’s Office, this is still an active investigation. 

Police say officers came to the Deaughn family’s door with a warrant in search of a kidnapping victim and to arrest Deaughn’s twin brother, Keaughn, for alleged third-degree rape, sexual battery, kidnapping and domestic abuse battery of a pregnant victim, according to The Advocate. 

Deaughn allegedly answered the door with a gun, and a sheriff’s deputy shot him. 

Deaughn’s mother, Trinelle Willis, is a nurse and attempted to provide medical aid to her son, yet she said the officers would not let her aid her son.
BR for The People is a community activist organization, which protests police brutality. Their Facebook page says they are an “Activism organization fighting for and maintaining the justices and civil liberties of the people.”
The organization is led by political science and psychology junior Keondra Carter, who founded the organization in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd. Carter held a microphone and spoke to the crowd and students passing by. 
“This university is the beacon of Louisiana,” Carter said. “It is our biggest university, and if a handful of students start talking at this college campus, about the injustices happening in the community surrounding them, then we can make a big difference.”
Trinelle Willis, mother of Deaughn, recorded the protest on Facebook Live. She held the megaphone in her hand and told students her experience when Deaughn was shot and killed in front of her.
“You guys are walking around on this campus,” Trinelle said to a crowd of students. “My son could have been right here with you guys. That young man had visions, dreams of his life. I will never see them come into vision because of a trigger-heavy sheriff department.”
Trinelle wore a navy blue t-shirt that said “Justice for Deaughn.” A group of protestors held signs behind her that said “No justice No peace” and “Black ≠ Dangerous.”
The protesters then marched from Free Speech Alley to Highland Road, where they began chanting “No justice, no peace” and “Black Lives Matter” toward passing cars. The protest dispersed afterward.
“It was a very great crowd, we had many people there. A lot of people grabbed the microphone and they spoke out about their own experiences,” said pre-veterinary junior Jade Jenkins.
Carter said a lot of students are in a bubble when they come to LSU, and her goal is to break this bubble that shields them from noticing police violence. She said it’s a privilege to attend the university and to get a degree, and students need to use their privilege to spread awareness about police violence occurring in the community.