WILMINGTON -- Religious leaders in the community are calling on the Wilmington Police to thoroughly investigate the death of Phillipe McIver.
More than 100 people gathered at the makeshift memorial honoring McIver's memory.
Friends, family and community members walked up Princess Place Drive to the memorial.
First there was a moment of silence for McIver, followed by a prayer; a prayer that asked for justice to be served.
Community members held hands in what participants say was a peaceful protest.
"I truly believed that if things stay peaceful that justice will be served," Foris Allen, a Bladen County resident said.
Leaders intended the march to be a call for justice. Not only for the memory of Phillipe McIver but for his family also.
"We don't want this to be dropped," Aaron Canty, McIver's great uncle said, "In other words, we don't want this to be falling between the cracks."
Family members say they aren't angry, but they want more details.
"When a police officer is involved in the shooting, enough is not told to the public," Aaron Canty said.
Marchers say that Thursday's officer-involved shooting doesn't make them feel any less safe, but they say it does raise a question as to whether excessive force was used on the part of the police.
"I feel like the police protect and serve, who they do that to, is a different matter," Aaron Canty said.
The State Bureau of Investigation continues to work the case.
What is this?
Just a question please. Why do some of the marchers have their faces covered?
Justice has been served
A criminal is just that... a criminal. If you even try to defend him, with everything that has happened in his past, that means you too are a criminal and have no moral values. People need to be held responsible for their actions and parents need to explain to their children why this happened and how not to be part of it in the future. Like someone else said....people need to stop glorifying criminals and become a productive part of society.
Have we forgotten
Have we forgotten the two men that had on shirts with this guys picture on it that OPENED FIRE on officers just a couple of days ago? Yes... Such a sweet communtiy that doesn't want violence...
Uh......Ok....... Gives even more substance to the fact that the cops were justified to open fire.
What irony!
It's a shame that there are some wonderful people in the infamous "Creekwood" area.... who fear for their lives and are as intimidated by the drugs and crime in that area as anyone else. It's no secret they are virtual hostages in their own homes because everyone won't stand up and demand action be taken agaist the criminals. I've seen the statements about so called witnesses afraid to go to the police. Reality is that the "good people" are afraid to stand up to the criminal element. Somebody WAS brave enough to call the police that night because of another bizarre individual that made some good citizen afraid.... AGAIN. And that person commandeered a law enforcement officer's weapon and used it to fire the first shot. And the trained partner reacted to the threat with equal force. Any sensible person would know what the outcome would be. Yes it's a tragedy. But the main part of the tragedy that the environment exists as it does... and the good people of the neighborhood should be sick and tired of it. Police brutality and race issues? Get real people, if it had been a white person on Wrightsville Beach you'de never see the riots and lame remarks being screamed. If you want to scream.... scream for help in taking your neighborhood back.... so the people who do deserve some semblance of a good peaceful life can have what they deserve in their homes. It doesn't matter what "area it is".... it's something everyone deserves in their lives. Channel your energy in the right direction. People have to be responsible for their own actions and control their own destiny. Don't blame your woes on the wrong things !
Religious leaders call for investigation
I agree, and a thorough investigation WILL be done. But why don't the religious leaders plead with everyone in the community, black or white, rich or poor to turn back to the values that young children and "peers" need to see to have a good, honest and morale life. Drugs and crime being acceptable and gloryfied has got to come to an end. And playing the race card everytime something happens is wrong too. Ask a thousand people (any race) what will happen to you if you run up, take an officers gun and start shooting at him what will happen to you. 99% of them will tell you you will you will be history. The other 1% will think it's a joke and that it's OK. They're the ones who have drifted though life with little or no directions, affected by drugs and the other things that are "acceptable". Yes religious leaders..... plead for something, and plead for a start to a problem that has grown to almost epidemic proportions. Parents be parents, family be families, neighbors be neighbors.... let's all channel our energies for something positive to come out of this tragedy. May God have mercy on young Phillipe McIver, and give peace and guidance to his family, as well as Officer Whitt & Howard and their families as well.
"Phillipe E. McIver has
"Phillipe E. McIver has numerous arrests and was recently released from prison last September for dealing drugs. McIver has been in prison, off and on, since 2003. His latest incarceration included 4 infractions, in May of 2005 he assaulted a person with a weapon, and has been written up for gang activity.
McIver, while out briefly from prison in 2005, victimized a woman by trespassing in order to assault the woman viciously."
Quotes from a pod cast here http://crime.blogs.com/tre/2007/04/lifesaver.html
Yes question the intentions McIver had when he attacked the officers trying to subdue him. Im sure he just wanted to scare the officers away by fighting with the officer and taking his weapon from him and then start shooting at them and not cause them any harm. Think the officers would be here today if he had not reacted the way he did in SELF-DEFENCE? I think NOT! I see two men being able to go home to there families after doing a job which is thankless and goes very much unappreciated and one man now off the streets in a way that is not pleasent but still and end result to the way of life he chose for himself.
justice served
this is getting to be ridiculous. nothing went wrong, except McIver took the officer's gun. people are used to seeing movies when police and citizens are standing in each others faces holding guns. however, that does not happen. police are trained to shoot, and kill, when they are threatened. the police did not arrive with the intention of killing McIver. unfortunately, McIver caused the police to take lethal action when he took the gun from the officers holster. had the officer shot McIver in the leg, McIver would have simply shot and killed the police officers. As for the multiple gun wounds, that may be very unnecessary. I am sorry for McIver's family, but when you pull a gun on someone, especially a police officer, expect to be shot upon.
just wanted to share
just wanted to share this..You are going to make an arrest,,You see that the person is unstable,,do you try to reason? Do you approach someone unstable? On do you talk from a distance then use other means, like a tasor, which is given just for that reason...
McIver fired First.
I will say this as a family member of an officer that was there. I think GOD that the officer fired first because if he hadn't we don't know how many good officers would have been killed if we had taken it to the fact that we was only trying to scare the officer. Lets get really they are out there to serve and protect out city. That is it. People need to understand that these men and women, work for a little salary doing a job they love. And every time an individual is shot people need to remember, they did there job for a reason.
Kudos! Finally someone
Kudos! Finally someone remembers that McIver fired first! Of course they are going to defend themselves. Who knows where else or who else he might have aimed the gun at! Its unforunate the way it ended, but the man fired upon a police officer who was responding to a disturbance call.
McIver Killing
In reference to above person's comments, How do we know that Mr. McIver fired first. There has been nothing in the report as of yet substantianting this alledged fact. We are only going by the words of the Police Officers that were there. If Mr. McIver got that close to the officer to wrestle him for his gun, then where was his partner, he should have been somewhere near him to subdue the young man, there were others to have handle this situation but the inexperience of the officers, shows that more training need to be conducted. The police are using too much excessive force when there are other methods, i.e., Tazing a person, pepper spray, etc.
the words of the police
the words of the police officers there and the camera in the car!..that is what the sbi is basing it's investigation on!!...were you there? obviously not! you don't know how you would react in a situation like this. it is a true tragedy, and yes maybe other means could have been possible to stop him, PRIOR to him taking the officers gun! my husband is a police officer and if it were him out there i would certainly hope his partner would have done whatever he could to have stopped this man!!
Ok, lets say somebody fires
Ok, lets say somebody fires at you with a gun and you have taser, peper & a gun. What are you going to grab? I'd take the weapon and take down the threat.
HELLOOOOOOOO
See the cops have these weeee lil things called dash video????? You know it was recorded right? It's been on the news that it was caught on the cops camera... How do you think its possible to cover that up? Or do you think, of all people, the wilmington police have the power and control to change video formats too? I suppose when you watch cops that you think all that is made up also?
d.r.t.
Everybody forgets that the police were called out there because of him. If they hadn't shown up and he was hit by a car then everybody would complain that they didn't do their jobs. So they show up, he fights them, takes one officers weapon and fires. The second officer takes down the threat. Doesen't anybody out there remember that he fired the first shot? The police are not baby sitters, they solve the problems YOU have created.