Check Out Sheryl Ferguson’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheryl Ferguson.

Sheryl, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
On the night of December 3rd 2019 I received a phone call from a very distraught daughter. She couldn’t even bring to words to tell me what she was upset about. Once I could finally pull out of her what was wrong I heard the heartbreaking news that her first love had been murdered. This was not any normal murder this was homicide by cop.

I’m able to say and call it a homicide because the court system said that it was and found him guilty, but that’s putting the end ahead of my story.

I spent the rest of the night on December 3rd and the following morning on December 4th trying to console my daughter of her loss. Not really just hers alone but this community is loss.

As the travesty of having a young black man killed in his own garage by the police began to set in people realized that justice was needed. I began getting tagged in Facebook posts and comments for the family to reach out to me in the quest for justice.

Little bit of background story I, in 2016, had been involved after the killing of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in a month long protest. I joined in with two other gentlemen, Kevin and Tai who started a protest that lasted for 30 days outside of the 27th Street police station. We began that protest that with the usual changing that black lives matter then, at one point in time, the thought of community policing was voiced to the two gentlemen. My belief was that if they (police officers) began to known the communities they “service” it would be less likely that they would shoot to kill (how they are trained) people they know. This is sorely needed since most (if not all) police officers do not work where they live. So about a week and a half after we began the 30-day journey we started with trying to hug an officer daily to help build that type of relationship.

Trying to get the officers to stop and give us a “hug” was not an easy task. They initially were very put off by the ask for that gesture. So we worked on going inside to form a relationship. By the end of that month we coordinated with one of the police captains to have a community cook out.

Based on the efforts I was given a proclamation from the police department in the December 2016 Board of Police Commissioners monthly meeting. In that event I was joined by one of the people that occasionally attended protests during those 30 days as well as members of 100 Men of Blue Hills, a group I was a member of.

So that was the reason people believed I would do something in seeking justice for Cameron Lamb.

The group I was a member of was no longer active after the leader moved out of town, but their were other organizations I reached out to. Some were just located here and some were/are known nationally. The local ones were already at capacity for their outreach efforts and the nationally known one that I made contact with told me they don’t engage themselves in these types of issues.

I started the protest for Cameron by giving the police department back the proclamation that was given to me in the January 2020 monthly meeting during the brief moment they allow for public comments. I had made some other connections with people previously and one reached out to me after seeing my return of the proclamation on social media.

That person was working on forming a group for citizens to police the police. This was either mid to late February or early March. I finally had found an avenue to make Cameron’s story known. Even with the small group we had we still couldn’t get this city angry enough to make a dent in getting the volume needed to make sure further steps were taken in Cameron’s case. Then May 25th, 2020 happened.

Our previous efforts got a boost by the country’s national outrage after the killing of George Floyd. Some protests started immediately and by God’s will I came across an event planned for the Sunday after George’s execution.

I reached out to the person that had planned the event to ensure she knew we had local issues that should be addressed. Once we were able to connect by phone I told her about not only Cameron’s murder, but also a case several years before where the police murdered Ryan Stokes in A Power & Light District garage for “fitting the description”, a black man in jeans and a T-shirt wanted for questioning in the theft of a cellphone. He was shot in the back and as for the officer being charged, unfortunately it will not happen. I do believe there is still a civil suit pending.

From a few hundred people indicating they would attend the protest on Wednesday after George’s murder by that Friday the number had grown to multiple thousands that would be in attendance.

There were a few power struggles that occurred because others tried to take over the planned protest. As the originator was feeling overwhelmed she was being bullied but others to take over the event. We were able to work with the originator of the event, coordinate the equipment needed, obtain many speakers including Congressman Cleaver, and prepare some handouts urgently the day before the event.

Previously I had separately taken steps that included creating a website intended for Cameron mainly, but also others that had senselessly been killed by those that are hired to protect and serve. So that’s how It’s Time 4 Justice began, with the logo created by my daughter

To summarize Cameron’s story Eric DeValkenaer was found guilty of Second Degree Manslaughter and Armed Criminal Action. His sentence was supposed to be for a mere 6 years. Unfortunately he was freed after only serving approximately 1 year and three months. Governor Mike Parsons commuted his sentence. So the commutation means he is still guilty but able to spend his sentence under parole.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It was a struggle with more hoops and closed doors than I can mention. It’s hard when you have some people that are with organizations you grew up thinking they are for the people, but when called upon they refuse to act.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As Cameron’s case met the final stages of a conviction and Chief Rick Smith being encouraged to retire our organization has not been as busy publicly. There are still issues we are preparing to tackle, and though small we’re still ready to rise to call if KCPD hasn’t learned their lesson after the results of Cameron’s case.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Kansas City is where I was born and where I’ve spent most of my adult life. The bond I have with this city feels something like a love and loyalty to a school or college that you went to.

The thing I really dislike the most is though people have that same type of feeling for this city, when something happens here locally it’s like crickets. We only express outrage when the country is expressing outrage. I hate to say it, but my true thought is if it hadn’t been for George Floyd, Cameron’s case may have fallen to the wayside like Ryan Stokes, Donnie Sanders, Malcolm Johnson and many others did.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Itstime4justice.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/itstime4justice/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT