Black Lives Matter protester seen carrying a white man through an angry crowd in London says he wants 'equality for all races and people'
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The black man seen carrying an injured white man to safety during a chaotic scene at protests in London Saturday told CNN he did it to avoid catastrophe.
The image of Patrick Hutchinson's selfless act has now spread across the globe. Hutchinson told CNN Sunday it was the first Black Lives Matter protest he attended, and he helped the white man because he didn't want the main reason for the protests to be lost in one moment of violence.
Protesters in London and all over the world have taken to the streets calling for police reform after the deaths of black people at the hands of police. These deaths most recently include George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta .
"My real focus was on avoiding a catastrophe, all of a sudden the narrative changes into 'Black Lives Matters, Youngsters Kill Protesters.' That was the message we were trying to avoid," Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson told CNN he initially saw the man lying on some stairs in the fetal position surrounded by protesters.
At that moment, he said it didn't cross his mind the man may be a counter-protester or hold prejudices, but he was trying to get him out safely. More than 100 people were arrested in London protests Saturday after violence broke out as far-right groups targeted BLM protests. CNN has not been able to independently verify what the injured man was doing at the protest before the incident or why he was there. CNN has not yet been able to identify the injured protester.
When Hutchinson saw the man, he said he and his friends formed a cordon around him and Hutchinson scooped him up to take him directly to the police. While they were marching, the man could still feel people trying to hit him, Hutchinson said.
"I am carrying him, my friends are protecting myself and the man on my shoulder. He was still receiving blows, you can feel people trying to hit him," he said. "There were people trying to protect him at the same time carried him over to the police and I said here you are. One of them said 'thank you - you did a good thing there.'"
Hutchinson attended the protests Saturday because "history was in the making," he said, and it was a "no brainer" to support the cause. He added that he would like to break down the race barriers and for people to realize, "we are all one race."
"I want to see equality for everybody. I am a father, a grandfather and I would love to see my young children, my young grandchildren, my nieces, my nephews have a better world than I have lived in," Hutchinson said. "The world I live in has been better than my grandparents and my parents and hopefully we can continue until we have total equality for everyone."
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This is nice, Mr Hutchinson is a good person
He really is a good person along with the others that provided a corridor and protection for him and the injured man.
These two men and those who helped now have a special bond that I hope spreads like a wild fire to help unite people of all colors.
One can hope. Though I'm normally a glass half full type person in this hope I'd be surprised if it turned into anything. Sorry
This reminds of when a few African Americans came to the aid of Reginald Denny during the King riots. He was the white truck driver who was dragged out of his truck and almost beaten to death.
Agreed Paula, there are good people everywhere out there.
It is people like this gentleman and his friends that give me hope.
This reminds of when a few African Americans came to the aid of Reginald Denny during the King riots.
Me too! From Wiki:
Four residents of South Central Los Angeles, Bobby Green Jr., Lei Yuille, Titus Murphy, and Terri Barnett, who had been watching the events on television, came to Denny's aid. All four who helped rescue Denny were African Americans. Green, also a truck driver, boarded Denny's truck and took over at the wheel and drove him to the Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood. Those who helped Denny were recognized by the City of Los Angeles, TRW trucking, and Washington Mutual Bank.
Unfortunately, I will never, and I mean NEVER, forget seeing what happened to Mr. Denny. It was the first time in my life that I realized I could have killed another human being, or rather, 3 human beings. (Gary Williams robbed Mr. Denny but did not assault him. That makes him a creep, but not worthy of a bullet.) All four drains on society were given miniscule sentences and released in short order. If not for the actions of
Mr. Damian Williams, the guy who threw the cinder block on Mr. Denny's head and then cheered like he just won a football game, was convicted of murder in 2000, and is serving 46 years. What a surprise.
Antoine Miller was shot and killed in a bar 2004. Again, what a surprise.
Like his pals, Henry Watson became quite the disappointment, as well. Although he later shook Reginald Denny's hand and accepted his forgiveness, he has since stated in many interviews that he felt no regrets or remorse. Even as recently as May of this year, he reaffirmed his no regrets no remorse stance. A former Marine, he had a chance to make something in his life right. What a waste.
My job was only a few miles from the flash point. My colonel was given permission to carry a side arm in case rioters figured out that we were sitting on a vault full of M16 rifles. We didn't have ammo on site, but it could have been easily obtained elsewhere.
"CNN has not been able to independently verify what the injured man was doing at the protest before the incident or why he was there. CNN has not yet been able to identify the injured protester."
" Another Group " …… does photo's like this …….. with no corroborating evidence either.