George Floyd Protest Planned In Lakewood Saturday

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A protest is planned Saturday in Lakewood over the death of George Floyd, and local authorities are joining with the organizer in efforts to promote it as a peaceful event.

The protest is organized by Marquis Oliver, a 2013 graduate of Lakewood High School, and is set for 1 p.m. Demonstrators are set to meet at the former Little League field (now a parking lot) at 9th and Clifton avenues, and will march down Clifton Avenue to Lakewood Town Hall.

The demonstration is scheduled to end at 3 p.m.

At a news conference late Wednesday afternoon, Lakewood Board of Education attorney Michael Inzelbuch said the protest would be moving forward despite objections from some in the community.

"No amount of pressure will change my mind that students and people have the absolute right to protest," said Inzelbuch, who facilitated discusssions between Oliver and township officials including Police Chief Gregory Meyer and Mayor Raymond Coles, along prominent rabbis, including Rabbi Aaron Kotler.

"This is not something that started today," Inzelbuch said. "It's not something that started with the tragic killing of an American in Minneapolis. The calls to stop this ... nothing will stop this (protest)."

Lakewood police on Monday issued a statement about the protest, saying the department was aware of it.

"We are preparing with the help of our community liaisons, so that we can handle any situation that may arise. It is our priority to maintain the safety of the community we serve, while allowing and respecting the right to a peaceful demonstration," Lakewood Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said.

"We ask that you keep all of those affected by the events in Minnesota and around the Country, in your thoughts and prayers," the statement said.

Some raised concerns after Facebook messages attributed to Oliver that suggested violence was being planned circulated in the community. Oliver said he did not write the messages and that he had been hacked, and was working with police to investigate the hack.

Oliver said he organized the march because he felt the need to do something to promote change. Black and Hispanic students in Lakewood have been targets of racial discrimination on many occasions, Inzelbuch said.

"We, in Lakewood schools, know firsthand the alleged disparate treatment that fellow Americans face on a daily basis," Inzelbuch said, referencing a report by the Asbury Park Press in September 2019 into incidents of racism that Lakewood athletes had encountered during sports competitions. The report prompted an investigation by the NJSIAA, the governing body of high school sports in New Jersey.

"Initially, there was a general blanket of denial," Inzelbuch said, "something that only further frustrated the students, coaches, as well as myself."

He said that as someone who has experienced discrimination, the feelings sparked by those incidents "do not simply 'go away.' ... The denial of same only further heightens the feelings of oppression, disappointment, and anger."

Oliver said the march is an effort to promote peace and positive changes.

"It's not just important to me," Oliver said. "It should be important to all of us."

The protest is one of dozens around the country and around New Jersey that have arisen in the wake of the death of Floyd, 46, who died May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck during an arrest following a 911 call reporting a counterfeit $20 bill.

Derek Chauvin, the police officer who was seen in multiple videos kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes before he died, was fired and has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other Minneapolis police officers involved in the incident have been fired but no charges have yet been filed against them.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said rumors that have circulated on social media about violence from outside groups have not been substantiated. After Tuesday's peaceful march in Toms River, he said he looked forward to a similarly peaceful demonstration in Lakewood on Saturday.

"It was important for everyone to see law enforcement in Ocean County stands with these demonstrators and supports peaceful protests," Billhimer said Tuesday.

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