Local marchers remember Phillipe McIver

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.