Vigil and balloon release mark 2 years since Alonzo Smith's death at hands of "special police"

1 min video of the balloon release

On Nov 1 2017, Black Lives Matter activists and the mother of Alonzo Smith gathered at Marbury Plaza on Good Hope Rd for a vigil and balloon release marking two years since Alonzo's death. On Nov 1, 2015, two "special police officers" from MD based Blackout Investigations employed as security guards at Marbury Plaza beat or choked Alonzo Smith to death. A witness reported seeing him run into the hallway yelling "Somebody help me, they're trying to kill me."

On Nov 1 2017, a candlelight vigil with speakers and prayers in front of Marbury Plaza was followed by a march up the parking lot to the actual building where Alonzo was killed. It was there that the balloons were released in memory of him. During the vigil at the start, Alonzo's mother announced that a civil suit has been filed seeking justice for her son's death.

Background of this case:

Embedded in this pdf from of all places archdevelopment.org is a body camera photograph of an employee of Blackout Investigations (aka Blackout Security) at Marbury Plaza using his knee in an African-American resident's back to choke him out, followed by a second bodycamera picture of a BlackOut SPO using a cell phone while kneeling on someone's back, with the caption that MPD found that person no longer breathing when they arrived. While the article does not state if the photos are of Alonzo Smith's murder, they article states they are published "with apologies to the loved ones of Alonzo Smith."

A Dec 15 2015 update to a Huffington Post story reporting Alonzo's death being ruled a homicide mentions a pair of body camera images consistant with the pair shown in the developer's "improving greater Anacostia" newsletter and identifies them as being photos of Alonzo's murder.

Alonzo's mother reported that he appeared to have been beaten to death, with a broken neck and collarbone, bruises around his eyes, and more bruises around his groin.