ORLANDO, Fla. — In an effort to bring law enforcement closer together with people in the Orlando community and honor lives lost, the city held its inaugural Stop the Violence Unity Walk on Saturday.
Saturday’s walk started off at Exploria Stadium and ended at Lake Lorna Doone Park with dozens of officers walking side-by-side with members of the community for the inaugural Lt. Debra Clayton and Jack Williams Stop the Violence Unity Walk.
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Lt. Clayton was shot and killed by Markeith Loyd in 2017 after she tried to arrest him outside of a Pine Hills Walmart. Lloyd was wanted for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
Clayton’s husband, Seth Clayton, led the march.
“She was a loving, dedicated and caring person,” Clayton said.
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Jack Williams was an anti-violence advocate and founder of “Stop the Violence and Embrace.”
The city teamed up with community and faith leaders to give the opportunity for people to gather in a way to begin building better bonds.
“Bind us together to anything that’s hindering us from being together as a unit,” said Pastor Annette Stubbs.
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Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said he recognizes events like this won’t rid Orlando of the problem overnight.
“It helps because the community stands with us to fight crime, but we also have to be proactive against it,” Smith said. “I think we have to have the officers out there working the streets to keep crime from happening.”
While this is only the first one, Clayton hopes it’s a step toward beginning the healing process to strengthen the community.
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“Like Debra used to say - if you see something, say something, so that the police can help,” Clayton added.
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