St. Johns County

St. Augustine church leader held peaceful protest at police department

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Reverend Ron Rawls, pastor of the St. Augustine AME Church, held a protest at the St. Augustine Police Department building beginning at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Rawls called the protest “Standing in Strength.”

This came in response to protests around the country regarding the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The group of about 100 strong marched out to U.S. 1 and walked about two miles back to the police station.

They called for more arrests in the Floyd case.

St. Augustine police and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office escorted the group and blocked off streets for them.

“With everything that’s going on in our country, I’m not really in the mood for singing, I’m not in the mood for chanting, I’m not in the mood for cheer,” Rawls said. “I’m mad. I’m upset.”

Katrina Denny marched with her 2-year-old daughter, Riley, saying she hopes her little girl grows up in a world where everyone is equal.

‘(We’re here to) stand up for what we believe in, and I believe that everybody needs to be treated fairly,” Denny said.

Police tell Action News Jax there were no violent incidents during the demonstration.

Action News Jax will be at the protest and will have live reports on CBS47/FOX30.