COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook and multiple members of his department knelt with protesters Thursday who were there to plead for changes to stop police brutality.
The moment happened around 5:30 p.m. at the department's headquarters off Washington Street.
The protesters had began their event at the South Carolina State House. But the group walked the several blocks over to the headquarters.
Once there, a group of police officers knelt on the steps of the department's headquarters. Then Holbrook, along with about a dozen or so other officers, walked several hundred feet over to the barricade where the protesters were congregated.
Both protesters and the officers knelt down together and held a moment of silence for lives lost.
Holbrook then promised the group that he would meet with them to address any concern.
Several of the members of the group then addressed Holbrook, acknowledging that the officers aren't responsible for the racism in the system, but asked for changes. Some of the protesters also quoted scripture.
When they were done, the protesters marched back to the capitol buiilding.
This came on the sixth day of protests in downtown Columbia propelled by the dead of George Floyd. The Minnesota man was killed by police last week, and his death has sparked outrage and protests across the nation.