More than 200 metro-area students walked out of class Monday to press for the release of bodycam footage from several law enforcement agencies following the death of Khalil Azad, who was found in Robbinsdale's Crystal Lake two days after a police pursuit last summer.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office concluded that Azad's death in July was an accidental freshwater drowning. But activists, including Azad's family, dispute that account.
The protest led by the MN Teen Activists began at U.S. Bank Stadium at 1:45 p.m. Rally organizers said students from Coon Rapids, Fridley, Columbia Heights, Blaine and Minneapolis North high schools were in attendance.
Student protesters demanded the release of Robbinsdale police dashboard and body camera footage, an independent investigation of every agency that responded to Azad's case and an investigation of the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
The student activists' demands mirror those of Azad's family. MN Teen Activists Executive Director Jerome Richardson said the footage is necessary to definitively conclude what happened.
"Until we have proper support … we cannot prove that," Richardson said of the family's claims of police brutality.
Robbinsdale Police Chief Patrick Foley has asked the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to conduct its own independent review. The Police Department is expected to release body camera footage from its officers this week.
Robbinsdale police say Azad fled officers who tried to catch up to him July 3 on suspicion of drunken driving, first in his SUV and then on foot after he crashed into a tree. Police say they did not have any contact with him.
Two days later, Azad was found when a passerby reported a body in the water of Crystal Lake.
Fatomeh Azad, Khalil's mother, addressed the protesters at U.S. Bank Stadium to reiterate her family's call for an independent investigation into the incident.
"I just want justice, and I want answers," she said.
Ayisha Johnson, Khalil Azad's sister, remembered him as someone who was always smiling.
"We were basically best friends," she said, later adding that her brother would appreciate the turnout for the rally. "He's still here with us."
The group then marched to the Hennepin County Courthouse, where a few more student speakers read poems and led chants before retiring shortly after 3 p.m.
Skeptics, citing what they describe as autopsy photos that show Azad's swollen face, say he was brutally beaten by police and bitten by K-9s. The medical examiner's office has not officially released any photos.
Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this article.
