Antonio French: “I hope that there is a tone here to come together because we want the violence to end on both sides, and what happened…”

People want to have faith in the system and know that if an officer takes a life that there is some level of accountability and people are not feeling that they -- that is happening.

The system did not work. And, while it was careful to point out the faults of the young man who was killed, Anthony Smith, this officer also we need to agree was a bad cop.

I am disappointed, though. The prosecutors felt they had a strong case, especially given video evidence, the audio evidence, the DNA evidence. And so we were hopeful that the system would work this time.

If we let these neighborhoods fade into history, we aren’t just losing homes. We’re losing people, culture, community and a vital part of this city’s soul.