Sharpton leads rally against police brutality

August 10, 2007 (WLS) -- The Reverend Al Sharpton led a rally Friday night to protest police brutality. Some West Side residents who were at the rally said Chicago Police were out of line when an officer shot and killed Aaron Harrison earlier this week.

Reverend Al Sharpton took on Chicago Friday night, making his first public appearance at a community rally. He opened his office in Chicago about a week ago. Friday night, when he hit the stage, people cheered. They were happy. One man said it's time to roll out the red carpet for the reverend. Another told the reverend that an army of people on the West Side is ready to help him.

Reverend Al Sharpton took his first step onto a Chicago stage Friday night, vowing to fight for justice, especially after police shot and killed 18-year-old Aaron Harrison earlier this week. Sharpton is calling for a fair investigation.

"If that cannot be guaranteed we need to apply pressure to do that. I'll work with the leadership on the West Side to do that," said Sharpton.

Sharpton's words, along with other ministers, fired up hundreds of people who gathered outside a West Side restaurant.

"This needs to be stopped. These cops need to be indicted and convicted and locked up," said Grant Newburger.

There is debate about Harrison's gunshot wound and whether police shot him in the back or the shoulder. The medical examiner reported that Harrison was shot in the back. Friday afternoon, a Chicago Police spokesperson wrote, in part, Harrison "was not shot in the back." The medical examiner's diagram, she writes in the e-mail, indicated that Harrison was "shot in the left rear upper shoulder" and that the bullet exited his neck. The gunshot wound "is consistent with the offender's position in pointing his weapon at the officer," the e-mail said.

The family's response:

"I'm insulted and ashamed to be a Chicagoan, and they won't step up and just honestly say that this was a mistake," said Ashunda Harris, Harrison's aunt.

And that was the message the family tried to share with Sharpton Friday as they met inside the restaurant. They are hoping his presence in Chicago will help.

The police also said on Monday an investigator tried questioning Harrison about a homicide investigation. Harrison was later shot Monday in the same location.

As for Reverend Sharpton, he is beginning a weekend of events. Friday he will be on a float for the Bud Billiken Parade and Sunday he will preach at a Chicago church.

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