Activists, some City Council members want independent review of fatal officer-involved shooting

A new night of protests took place near the intersection where a local man was shot and killed by police.

Protesters demanded accountability for a Jacksonville sheriff's officer who shot and killed Vernell Bing Jr.

A makeshift memorial for Bing sits on the corner near the crash site where he was shot by a JSO officer Sunday. Police say Bing led police on a high-speed chase and hit a patrol car head on.

The organizer of The Kemetic Empire, which is a group of grassroots activists, said he will continue to rally.

"We need justice for his mother, for his unborn child and for his little brothers," said Diallo Sekou.

Sekou said instead of an internal investigation within JSO, he wants an independent review committee to look into the shooting.

"You've got a cop shooting the bad guy, the bad guy says, ‘No the cop was wrong,’ and then it's the same cops that does the investigation. There's an issue there," said Sekou.

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Before the City Council meeting Tuesday night, Action News Jax spoke with City Council members about forming an independent review committee.

"Let's be transparent. Let’s get an outside agency in and look at it and let's move forward," said Councilman Reggie Brown.

Councilman Matt Schellenberg said, "I don't think we need another oversight because what we need to do is put trust back into the system.”

Other members said they would need to research the issue more before they could offer an opinion.

"I think we are going to have to work with the Sheriff’s Office to come up with a more transparent solution," said Councilwoman Lori Boyer.

People at the rally said it would help ease their minds about the investigation if officers wore body cameras.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said it would cost $3 million to $5 million to start a program to equip his officers with body cameras.

Cox Media Group