More than 40 SIUC students donning black shirts gathered near Anthony Hall Thursday and marched to protest police brutality.
Students made signs and spoke out against an alleged police brutality instance during an arrest on Aug. 24. According to witnesses, police outside Southern Illinois Nightclub beat Daryl McNeil, an SIUC student from Harvey, as they arrested him. McNeil received four staples in the back of his head to close a wound he received during the arrest.
Lamar, a student who requested that only his last name be used, said the protest was about a lack of respect.
"We're out here today to say we're done dealing with it, we're done being disrespected by the Carbondale Police," Lamar said. "It's not a race thing, it's a respect thing."
A majority of the students that attended the protest, including McNeil, were black.
Brandon Williams, a senior from Peoria studying journalism, said he hoped the protest would help students unite against unruly police treatment.
"We're showing that the students would unite and not put up with this for any of our students, especially our black students," Williams said.
Carbondale Police Chief Bob Ledbetter said they received a call Friday night from the manager of SIN about a customer causing a disturbance who refused to leave. Ledbetter said officers identified McNeil as the customer, who advised he was trespassing.
"McNeil pushed officers and tried to run from the scene," Ledbetter said. "He was captured in the parking lot near Pinch Penny Pub where he actively resisted attempts to arrest him."
Ledbetter said McNeil was arrested and charged with trespassing and resisting a peace officer. He was released after posting bond.
Trenton Carson, an undeclared graduate student from Joliet, was outside Pinch Penny Pub and saw when police tried to arrest McNeil.
"What I saw was (McNeil) walking away, and we saw a whole bunch of officers behind him," Carson said.
There were more than eight officers following McNeil, Carson said. He said he thought it was because McNeil is so large.
"He's a large gentleman," Williams said. "He's about 6 feet 5 inches, and he weighs, like, 305."
As McNeil walked, Carson said he heard him say, "Okay, I'm walking away. I'm leaving." According to Carson, McNeil was walking to his car calmly.
"Then more cops came, and they all surrounded him, and he got tazed," Carson said.
Lionel Grant, a senior from Dalton studying zoology, said he also saw police surround McNeil, but didn't see if he was tazed.
"There was no fight from Daryl," Grant said. "The cops put their hands on him, and he went down. He was forced down."
Although he was about 35 feet away, Grant said he saw police strike McNeil with batons. He said the beating lasted less than a minute, and McNeil said, "I'm down" and "I'm sorry, sir" repeatedly.
Grant said when police lifted McNeil off the ground to put him in a police car his face was covered in blood.
"There was blood all over the floor, on the concrete and everything," Carson said.
Ledbetter said after police arrest McNeil they called an ambulance because of his head injury. After he was treated at the hospital Ledbetter said McNeil was released to the police to be processed and charged.
Daily Egyptian writer Danny Wenger can be reached at 536-3311 ext 258 or dwenger@siu.edu.
