A crowd of about 100 people gathered in front of the Denver jail on Wednesday afternoon to once again denounce the authorities they believe culpable in the 2010 death of a homeless preacher.
Holding signs and balloons, the group demanded justice for Marvin Lewis Booker, who died while he was being subdued by deputies.
“Marvin Lewis Booker’s death was ruled a homicide, and those persons who accosted him on that fretful day must be held accountable,” said the Rev. Timothy Tyler of the Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church in Denver. “Our resolve is sold, and we are not tired yet.”
Booker, 56, was being processed into the jail on July 9, 2010, on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia when he got into a scuffle with a deputy.
Responding deputies shocked Booker with a Taser, struck him in the legs, put him in a carotid “sleeper hold” and lay on top of him in an effort to control him before he stopped breathing.
“His only crime is that he wanted his shoes,” Tyler said of what began the scuffle.
Booker’s 80-year-old mother, Roxey Walton, attended the rally and thanked the supports.
“It means a lot that someone is with you,” she said. “You are not out here all by yourself.”
The coroner’s office ruled Booker’s death a homicide.
The Denver District Attorney cleared all deputies of any wrongdoing.
A civil lawsuit filed by the family is working its way through the court.
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ryanparkerdp
