POCATELLO — The Black Lives Matter protest in Pocatello concluded on a poignant note during a candlelight vigil on Sunday that drew over 100 people to remember 46-year-old black man George Floyd and other people of color who have died during encounters with police.

The event came a day after a Pocatello protest march that drew 600 to 800 people.

At the candlelight vigil the next evening, Amanda Running Horse of Fort Hall spoke emotionally about her brother, Neal Stuart Nevada, who died in a Feb. 25 altercation with Pocatello police officers. Nevada, who authorities allege was holding a knife during the encounter, also lived in Fort Hall.

“Growing up it was just me, Neal and our brothers. We were all each other had,” she said.

This has been pretty tough for her to deal with, Running Horse said.

“I just want to thank everybody who has been on this journey with me to know that without friends and family we probably wouldn’t know what to do,” she said.

Running Horse also said that she could be angry at police, but she’s not.

“I just want them to know that I don’t hate them but I no longer trust them and to also thank them for protecting our community and community members,” she said.

Running Horse says she understands police are only human, but she points out so are the people who have lost their lives.

“We all hurt but we deal with it in our own way,” she said. “And for me it’s to show forgiveness. But just know we are fighting for justice and we want to be heard, not only for Neal, but for everybody.”

So what’s next for the movement? Event co-organizers Lizzy Bennett, 19, who graduated from high school in 2019, and Brock Keller, 20, another recent high school graduate, and activist Nyele “Nye” Alvarez say they don’t want the event to be a one-off awareness raiser that rapidly disappears and is forgotten.

“I didn’t want to get involved in this march if it was going to be another thing that it’s one day and then ends,” Alvarez said.

To that purpose, Keller, who graduated from Highland High School in 2019, said they are making contacts with the Idaho State Board of Education, law enforcement and Idaho State University.

Keller would like for all of the parties to cooperate on writing down plans to improve relations between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve. He said the plans should identify things that must change to keep every group safe — not just white people.

“Hopefully after this event we’ll keep working,” he said.

They can meet public officials in small groups, have meetings and establish some clear logical next steps, Keller said.

He said establishing a community review of police and body cams, supporting more training for officers and making sure people understand their rights are other possible steps. He says that it takes more training to become a barber than a police officer.

Meanwhile, Alvarez said she enjoyed a chance to talk with Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei, who attended the event with others officers.

“I sat down with Nye and had a great conversation with her,” Schei said. “I let Nye know if she’s got anything she wants to sit down and talk about to myself as well as Chief Deputy Tony Manu that she can come in and sit down and talk to us if she’s got any questions. I invited her to come to one of our next citizens police academies. So she said she was open to that.

Alvarez said she was pleased to talk to Schei.

“No police officer has ever been kind enough to talk to me in my life,” she said. “It was nice to actually have a conversation.”

She said she really does feel that a change is coming.

“It’s all about opening lines of communication and building relationships,” Schei said. “And I feel like the (takeaway) today is building better relationships than we had when we got here, so mission accomplished.”