Former ASU student from Chicago a face of Phoenix's peaceful protest over death of George Floyd

Former ASU student seen as one of the faces of Valley protests over George Floyd’s death

The protests have been taking place for almost a week, as of Thursday. FOX 10's Matt Galka reports.

PHOENIX - On Thursday, protesters returned to the streets of Downtown Phoenix for another night of protests over the death of George Floyd.

Floyd died on May 25, after now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held him to the ground by putting his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes. The incident was captured on video and has sparked unrest and violence across the nation.

On Wednesday, charges against Chauvin were upgraded to second-degree murder, and charges were also filed against the other three officers involved in the incident. The three officers involved are identified as Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.

A memorial service for Floyd took place in Minneapolis on Thursday.

Throughout the protests that have taken place in the Valley following Floyd's death, young people have constantly led the way. One of the people involved in the protests is William Reed.

Reed, who can be seen with a megaphone during the protest, is a former ASU student, and originally from Chicago. Reed told his mother that now wasn’t the time to return home.

"I just can’t sit by and not do anything. This is what I was born for," said Reed

Reed has been preaching peace, and doesn’t have time for any rioting and looting labels.

"There was no looting. There was no rioting," said Reed. "From what we heard about Scottsdale, that was none of us. Monday: peacefully. Tuesday: same thing, Wednesday: same thing. We’re gonna go out and do it again [Thursday]."

Reed wants as many people as possible to see the message they’re bringing to the streets: young people crying out for something many of their own parents have been fighting for their entire lives.

"All the mumbo-jumbo with adults: we’re adults now too," said Reed. "We know what’s going on. We see what’s going on. People shouldn’t be getting killed in the streets like they’re dogs."

in the short term, Reed says accountability is the goal. The long-term goal is a culture shift in policing. Whether that happens organically or legislatively remains to be seen

"At the end of the day, we just want the police officers to come out with us and understand we’re not necessarily against what they do, but we’re against how they do it," said Reed.