Activists are holding a press conference Thursday at a Krispy Kreme in Smyrna weeks after an officer received a note reading "Black Lives Matter" on an order of doughnuts.
The group putting on the event is a collection of 25 organizations working together as the Nick Thomas Justice Coalition — named after the 23-year-old man shot in the back by a Smyrna cop in March. A grand jury later decided not to indict the officer.
In the doughnut situation, a photo of the Krispy Kreme box was posted to the pro-police blog Blue Lives Matter scolding the writer of the note and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Response was immediate. Krispy Kreme and Smyrna cops denounced the act.
“While it is clear this behavior was egregious in nature, Krispy Kreme did take responsibility for the incident,” Louis Defense, Smyrna Police Department spokesman, said in a statement at the time.
The coalition plans to discuss the Smyrna police department’s reaction to the doughnut incident, which it said “fits into a pattern of mishandling and unnecessarily escalating interactions with the public, especially people of color.”
Rich Pellegrino, longtime activist and South Cobb resident, and Ben Williams, president of the Cobb County Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, are leading Thursday’s event at the store.
The group, which claims Smyrna police have longstanding issues with people of color, protested at the promotion ceremony of the officer who shot Thomas.
The 2 p.m. event Thursday will be at the doughnut shop where the incident occurred, 4560 S. Cobb Drive.
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