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'Che's Life Matters!': Marchers Protest Seattle Police Shooting

About 100 people rallied in downtown Seattle Thursday to protest the shooting death of an African American man.

The protesters interrupted traffic as they marched down 5th Avenue after gathering outside police headquarters.

The crowd chanted, “Che’s life matters! Who’s life matters? Che’s life matters!” as a a nod to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Che Taylor was killed by Seattle police on Sunday.

The police department says officers were attempting to arrest him for unlawful gun possession and saw him reach for a weapon. The department has cited his criminal record -- he had convictions for rape, assault and robbery.

Taylor's family and friends are asking for more evidence in the case.

The local NAACP president calls Taylor's death “murder.”

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said earlier Thursday that body cameras would have helped in this case. The city doesn't currently use body cams. But Murray said the fact that dashcam video was released shows efforts in transparency by the SPD.

Murray: “The video was released in less than 24 hours. There’s no place in the nation that does that like Seattle does it. And we’ll continue to do that. Most places it takes weeks, months, and as we know in some cities, years. And that’s not the case here.”

The two officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave as the police department investigates the case.

The Washington State Legislature is considering a measure that would define rules for how police departments deploy body cams and release the video.

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