Community members and members of Marion Holmes’ family gathered outside of Harrisburg’s MLK City Government Center on Monday.
Outside of Harrisburg’s city hall on Monday evening, community members gathered to mourn a loss and call the city to action.
A group of several dozen people organized a press event following the death of Marion Holmes, a local 18-year-old who was killed in October in a fatal car crash that involved a city police officer.
On Oct. 3, in the area of 19th and Holly streets, a Harrisburg Police Bureau vehicle collided with a car, as the officer driving the car was on their way to assist another officer in the area. Holmes, the front-seat passenger of the car that was hit, was killed.
According to PennLive, witnesses said that the officer was driving the wrong way down a one-way street and ran a stop sign.
Since the incident, the Pennsylvania State Police has taken over the investigation of the crash, which is still ongoing. Neither the city nor the state police have released the name of the officer involved, and many of the details about the incident remain unknown.
“The incident that occurred on Oct. 3 was extremely unfortunate,” said Terrance Webb, who organized the event. “We want answers, and we want accountability.”
Several members of Holmes’ immediate family attended the press conference on Monday, including his mother, Tesha Sweet, who said that the past month has been “rough.”
“It was terrible, you never expect to get a call that you lost your son,” she told TheBurg. “I just want justice for my son.”
Sweet said that she had not heard directly from any city officials following her son’s death.
On Oct. 6, the city posted a video to social media in which Mayor Wanda Williams offered condolences to Holmes’ family and shared that the incident was being investigated and that the process would “ensure accountability.”
However, speakers at Monday’s event stated that they felt the opposite has been happening.
“We are confused […] why is it so quiet; why aren’t we getting the same responses that we get for everything else in our city when it comes to somebody losing their life,” said Tone Cook, activist and founder of community organization PUSH. “The city of Harrisburg police department needs to be held accountable.”
Cook shared that he believes this incident has furthered the divide between the police and residents.
“We’re inviting the officers to come,” he said. “We are inviting them to come change the perspective that we have with the police, but this is just a major setback.”
No elected city officials were present at the event on Monday.
Harrisburg Communications Director Matt Maisel issued a statement earlier on Monday.
“The city of Harrisburg is in favor of any peaceful protest or press conference planned at any time, regardless of the topic,” he said. “Mayor Williams made public remarks on this incident a few weeks ago that can be found on our social media channels. The investigation surrounding Mr. Holmes’ death is still under investigation by Pennsylvania State Police and the Dauphin County District Attorney’s office, and out of respect for their work, we will not have any further comment regarding the case at this time.”
While the investigation continues, Holmes’ family and many community members feel they are left waiting, without answers.
“I just want to get some type of answer, that’s what everybody is here for—something, anything,” said Vicki Sweet, Holmes’ grandmother.
“We need to stand together,” Cook said. “We need justice for Marion.”
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