George Floyd: Hundreds gathered in Troy to protest Monday night

TROY — Hundreds gathered Monday evening in downtown Troy to protest the death of George Floyd.

There were several tense moments as the demonstration moved from the county courthouse to the town square. Police tried to keep people on the sidewalks however not all followed the instructions.

According to police reports Michael McDade, 23, and Trevone Archie, 19, were arrested and charged with several misdemeanors. Both appeared in court Tuesday morning and were released on their own recognizance.

As things become increasingly more contentious there were moments were tension was eased according to Bryan Kemper, the director of outreach for Priests for Life.

"One of the moments that really struck me was when one of the officers took one of the kids that was trying to talk to the other youth and gave him the microphone from his police cruiser."

Later Troy Police Department School Resource Officer Chris Tilley took a knee and talked with several of the protestors.

"Just listened to them vent, listened to them, listened to their pain," Kemper said.

This was also one of the moments that got the attention of Brandon Crumes, the owner of a barbershop in downtown Troy.

"It's kind of a thank you moment to the black community here,” Crumes said. “To have them join them in the kneel, the 8 minutes of silence and the prayer it was a great thing."

The prayer was led by Alveda King, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece. Kemper does social media work for King and got her on speaker phone to lead a group in prayer.

"It definitely gripped the youth as in you see my voice has reached a celebrity,” Crumes said.

“For having it being Dr. King's niece it was just an aww moment."

Kemper said he was encouraged by several of the conversations that came out of the protests Monday evening. Kemper and Crumes both said they hope that the dialogue continues to help try and make a change in the country.

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