JUSTICE FOR MARKEIS MCGLOCKTON

(Murdered by racist white vigilante Michael Drejka)

The Restorative Justice Coalition joined efforts with many organizations including Black Lives Matter Tampa, ANSWER Suncoast, Color of Change and the Andrew Joseph Foundation after Markeis McGlockton was shot dead by Michael Drejka. Drejka, a white man, was known to harass Black people and in this particular day, things came to head when Drejka confronted McGlockton's girlfriend over an accessible parking spot. McGlockton did what any sensible human would do and defended his girlfriend by pushing this dangerous man away from their car--and Drejka in an instant fatally shot him. McGlockton's children are now fatherless.

To make matters worse, racist Sheriff Bob Gualteri refused to arrest Drejka by claiming he was protected by Stand Your Ground. As such, we as activists targeted State Attorney Bernie McCabe to demand he take action and file charges. After protest and petition, McCabe did so and eventually, Drejka was adjudicated guilty for this horrific crime.

Restorative Justice Coalition leadership wrote a groundbreaking petition which saw over 45,000 signatures. This petition was delivered by activists to State Attorney McCabe and that petition drop was featured on an episode of BET's Finding Justice program.