About 60 people gathered at the Allen Street Gates Wednesday evening for a rally in support of Osaze Osagie. Osagie’s mother Iyunolu spoke at the rally, calling for justice for her son before the group marched over to the borough building.

“I decided to come out tonight, because I had to say something. I couldn’t keep quiet after what was delivered today,” she said. “Make no mistake, my son did not die in vain. I stand here and say that I absolutely reject man’s justice. The district attorney’s idea of justice is based on unjust policies is untenable. It is a fact that a wrongful death occurred.”

The crowd is marching toward the borough building. pic.twitter.com/tSNWmfONAk

— Onward State (@OnwardState) May 8, 2019

The rally came in response to Wednesday’s announcement by Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna that no officers would face charges in Osagie’s death on March 20. Police serving a mental health warrant shot and killed Osagie at his apartment on Old Boalsburg Road after he approached them with a knife.

During her speech, Iyunolu quoted Martin Luther King Jr. and Isaiah 59:14-19, a bible verse about courts opposing justice and righteous being nowhere to be found.

“I suffer nightmare after nightmare. it is very difficult to sleep. It is very difficult to live,” she said.

Earlier today, Osagie’s parents released a statement illustrating their “disappointment and confusion” in response to the investigation’s findings. The statement documented their interactions with Cantorna after learning that no officers would be charged.

“Isn’t there something wrong when you send the police to protect your son to take him to the hospital and they send him to the graveyard?” Iyunolu said in the statement, a sentiment she echoed while addressing the crowd Wednesday night.