Tears and anger at funeral of 'police chokehold victim' Jonathan Sanders

Matthew Teague in Stonewall, Mississippi
Saturday 18 July 2015 22.02 BST

Mourners packed into a church here on Saturday morning, to grieve the loss of Jonathan Sanders and to grapple with the circumstances of his death.

Sanders, 39, died on 8 July, allegedly choked to death by a local police officer in a case state and federal authorities are now investigating. Sanders was black. The officer, Kevin Herrington, is white. Police have appealed for residents to stay calm until the investigation is finished. But at Sanders’s funeral, the grief was shot through with protest.

A thousand people turned out – as many as live in the entire town of Stonewall – and many wore shirts printed with the slogan “Justice For Jonathan”.

“When you put heat to the kettle, the pressure begins,” said speaker Dennis Evans, in remarks that brought the congregation to its feet. “When you turn up the heat, the water starts to boil. And finally when the pressure gets too high, the kettle whistles. That’s us whistling, now, calling for justice for Jonathan.”

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