MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tuesday night, friends and family held a quiet candlelight vigil for Darrius Stewart, praying for his family when a group of men in purple came with a more aggressive message about the incident.
“There were agitators who were not a part of or invited to the vigil. They weren’t with the group and had a message they wanted us to hear. We chose to ignore it,” said Tami Sawyer, who helped organize the event.
Police watched too, and then organizers said they started getting phone calls from officers asking questions about Friday’s rally.
“They received phone calls and messages accusing them of inciting a riot or saying there would be a riot,” said Sawyer.
Police told WREG an officer did reach out but they weren’t trying to intimidate or accuse anyone. Officers said it has always been standard procedure anytime someone plans a large rally to make sure laws are followed ahead of time.
Mayor A C Wharton even sent a letter to friends and family of Stewart promising police wouldn’t interfere at the rally.
“I never thought I would be the person to have something like this happen to my child,” said Henry Williams, Stewart’s dad.
Williams was angry but wanted people to be patient and wait.
He and organizers of Friday’s rally said this was about just one person: Darrius.