The Clearwater/Upper Pinellas County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Florida held a vigil Sunday night for Markeis McGlockton, who was killed in what authorities called a “stand your ground” shooting.
The death of McGlockton, a father of three, has sparked national outrage when Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced Friday his office would not arrest Drejka citing Florida’s controversial self-defense law commonly known as “stand your ground.” The law exempts people who use force from prosecution if they fear for their lives.
“I’m not saying I agree with it, but I don’t make that call,” Gualtieri said Friday.
McGlockton, who is black, and Michael Drejka, who is white, got into an argument in a convenience Circle A Food store parking lot in Clearwater, Fla., over a parking spot. According to deputies, Drejka confronted McGlockton’s girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, about parking in a handicap space without a permit. McGlockton pushed Drejka with both hands according to the video before Drejka shot him while he was sitting on the ground.
McGlockton’s girlfriend is devastated according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“It’s a wrongful death,” she told the Times earlier Friday. “It’s messed up. Markeis is a good man. He was just protecting us, you know? And it hurts so bad.”
