By Richard Ruelas | The Arizona Republic
‘I’m a minister’
The Rev. Jarrett Maupin could sense that some in the crowd wanted to do more than just take over the streets.
It was a Friday in early July. A protest march against police brutality was moving through downtown Phoenix. But in the crowd, there were calls to take the march onto the freeway and shut it down.
Maupin had single-handedly orchestrated this march — single-handedly, because many other people had wanted it not to happen.
It came one day after five officers were murdered by a gunman at the end of a similar march in Dallas. African-American leaders in Phoenix, as well as the police chief, had asked Maupin to delay his protest. Maupin persisted, tapping a sense of outrage and drawing hundreds of people into the streets.
