The teenage squeegee worker accused of fatally shooting Timothy Reynolds was defending himself and should not face criminal charges, a group of activists joined by the youth’s family insisted on Monday night.
Just under two dozen protesters gathered in McKeldin Plaza in the Inner Harbor near the intersection of Light and Conway streets where a confrontation July 7 between a 48-year-old white man wielding a baseball bat and a group of young Black squeegee workers resulted in the Hampden man’s death.
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“If I were a teenager and an adult who is almost 40 years old came at me with a baseball bat, I would use whatever I had in hand to defend myself from harm,” said Andre Powell of Peoples Power Assembly. “It is a matter of self-defense, and self-defense against a racist attack is not a crime.”
Powell’s organization organized the rally along with the Prisoner Solidarity Committee to demand that Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby drop charges of first-degree murder against the 15-year-old, who was charged as an adult.
Defense attorneys for the youth have said their client, who turned 15 the day following the shooting, shot Reynolds in self-defense after he left his car and confronted workers with a bat.
The Baltimore Sun is not naming the suspect because he is a minor.
The boy’s mother, Aijah Gatson, attended the rally but did not speak publicly. She said her son was not responsible for Reynolds’ death.
“Everyone saying it was self-defense, he had every right ... he didn’t do it,” Gatson said. “If they can prove it to me that he did it, then I’ll shut up.”
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His aunt and grandmother said the boy began washing motorists’ windshields when he was 12 to help support his younger brothers, who were also there Monday.
Holding neon green signs reading “drop the charges, address the root causes” and “support squeegee workers, not repression,” the activists also demanded that the city provide more job opportunities for squeegee workers.
Last week, city officials held a hearing to discuss providing resources for squeegee workers. Many of the young people holding squeegees at busy intersections do so to provide for children and younger siblings. Some lack access to stable housing and employment, while others are too young to work.
Democratic nominee for Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, who defeated Mosby in last month’s Democratic primary and is running unopposed in the general election, has said he will issue pedestrian citations to squeegee workers with the aim of getting young people into court diversion programs.
That would require Mayor Brandon Scott to rescind an order that prevents Baltimore Police officers from enforcing quality-of-life issues without a supervisor’s permission.
Speakers at Monday’s rally accused both Mosby and Bates of taking advantage of the shooting for political ends. The Rev. Annie Chambers said Mosby lost votes in July’s primary election because of the charges. However, she had equally harsh words for Bates.
“He has always, always been on the wrong side,” Chambers said. “We have to be able to stand up and fight and say this is wrong. How do you make one law for one set of people and another law for another set of people? You can’t do that.”