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Man Accuses Gov. Baker Of Refusing To Meet With Black Constituents About Coronavirus

BOSTON (CBS) – Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker's coronavirus press briefing featured several tense moments as he was met by questions from the public on police reform and outreach to the Black community.

When Baker began taking questions, a man in the crowd scolded the governor for refusing to meet with him and other Black constituents months ago. The man was Brother Lo of the Boston Black COVID-19 Coalition.

The governor told Lo he didn't know about the request and would set up a meeting.

"We have not been able to meet with the governor. We have sent a letter to meet with him since April," Lo told reporters after the press conference. "When we heard he was going to be here, we had to take the necessary steps to be here because if don't meet with him now, we'll probably never get to meet with him."

A few minutes after the exchange with Lo during the press conference, Baker was met by another person questioning his plans to give bonuses to police officers to complete de-escalation training.

Baker's plan to award police bonuses for de-escalation and anti-bias training was also at the forefront of demonstrators' minds at the State House on Monday. They marched there from Roxbury, calling for police funding to be cut and put pack into social services.

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