JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville activist group is calling for justice and standing in solidarity with the family of Markeis McGlockton, who was shot and killed a week ago near Tampa.
A man named Michael Drejka pulled the trigger, shooting McGlockton in the chest after a confrontation over a handicap parking spot.
During a news conference, the Pinellas County sheriff announced that Drejka wouldn't be arrested because the shooting was an act of "stand your ground."
The group of activists are protesting the sheriff after he announced Drejka wouldn't face charges following the shooting death of McGlockton, who was 28.
"We are so death tone to these problems," activist Vincente Wagh said. "You hear about it constantly but you don't really push towards it."
The sheriff is saying Drejka shot McGlockton within the legal boundaries of Florida's "stand your ground" law. Drejka said he felt threatened after he and McGlockton got into an argument over a handicap parking spot at a convenience store. McGlockton died in front of his 5-year-old son.
"'Stand your ground,' to me, is a license to kill," activist LaTasha Hobbs said. "I feel that 'stand your ground' is not a law to protect innocent lives of other people, but yet it supports gun terrorism in America."
Although Florida's "stand your ground" law has been questioned for years following the shooting death of Florida teen Travyon Martin, the Pinellas County sheriff backs his decision by telling a Tampa newspaper, "I don't get to and we don't get to substitute our judgment for Drejka's judgment."
Local activists are demanding the state attorney prosecute and indict Drejka.