By M'Kayle Pugh
ON February 17, protesters gathered in Forsyth Park to voice their concern, anger, and grief over the deadly crash that took the life of Dr. Linda Davis, a beloved special education teacher at Herman W. Hess K-8 School, after Oscar Vasquez-Lopez crashed a vehicle into Davis’ car in an attempt to flee ICE agents pursuing him in a high-speed chase.
The “emergency” protest, organized by the Party of Socialism and Liberation (PSL) Savannah and Atlanta chapters, urged those in attendance to express their frustrations regarding recent DHS/ICE operations across the U.S., including incidents that resulted in the deaths of Keith Porter Jr., Renée Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti.
“We have a united political line,” Tyson shares when asked why both Savannah and Atlanta chapters are working together, citing previous collaborations in the wake of ICE’s immigration raid at the Hyundai plant in Bryan County in 2025.
“We understand the desire to keep [protests] local...but we understand these moments can trigger a national event,” Tyson says.
“I’m sure Dr. Davis wouldn’t have cared if her student was documented or not.”
The protest included a moment of silence to honor the life and loss of Dr. Linda Davis.
“I was on my way back from Texas when I saw the news,” says a rally attendee. “I couldn’t get over the sadness. It could’ve been any of us coming from the Landings. It could have been our grandchildren.”
Local officials, such as city Alderman Detric Leggett, were also in attendance.
“I’m here to represent the people regardless of who you are…I want to make sure that it was an event that was going to be safe…and showed respect for Linda Davis,” Alderman Leggett shared with me, taking a break from livestreaming the protest for his constituents.
The DHS in a press release published the day of the incident claims that “[after] months of sanctuary politicians encouraging and instructing illegal aliens to resist and evade federal law enforcement, a criminal illegal alien attempting to flee from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement struck and killed a motorist in Savannah, Georgia.”
The release goes on to cite politicians from blue states such as governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and New York congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as agitators.
It is important to note that Savannah is not and, legally, cannot be a sanctuary city.
While Mayor Van Johnson has expressed that local law enforcement will not participate in immigration raids, there is no evidence of city officials or law enforcement purposefully impeding or instructing others to impede immigration investigations conducted by federal agents.
Furthermore, the Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) has stated several times since the incident that they were not made aware of ICE’s presence during the day of the incident, despite instances of cooperation as recent as August of last year.
Alderman Leggett corroborates CCPD’s statements:
“No one knew that [ICE] was operating, and I believe that [is] very disrespectful, very distasteful, and [these are] the types of [incidents] that happen when people are not notified and they are doing action within cities and they don’t know what the laws and ordinances are that govern our cities.”
Laws and ordinances referring to Chatham County’s strict no-chase policy, though state and federal law differ on the circumstances in which a vehicular chase is warranted, as well as what types of vehicles are authorized to be used when engaging in a chase.
Leggett also alleges that DHS has not reached out to the city nor the county in the aftermath of the incident:
“They have not spoken with us, they have not reached out to us, they have not even apologized on behalf of what happened. We still want some justice, and the only way to get justice is to create a space for those types of conversations to happen.”
As evening grew darker, the crowd swelled to 200 participants. 200 voices chanting, shouting, and demanding the immediate expulsion of ICE agents from Chatham county. Of course, the population of Chatham county is much bigger.
“Please delve deeper into this,” a commenter on Alderman Leggett’s livestream urges. “It was not an ICE problem. It was an illegal who'd been given an opportunity to self deport and didn't.”
“Fuck you,” a man screams from his truck window as he drives by the crowd. He screams this over and over, middle finger up, until he’s too far down Drayton St. to hear.
“Everyone saying it’s a no-chase county, it’s a local policy. When they have a chase, they request GSP. GSP’s policy is to end chases by whatever means. DHS follows the same policy as GSP,” a commenter alleges underneath a WTOC Facebook post.
“This is the illegal immigrant who took the life of Beloved Chatham County Georgia School Teacher Dr. Linda Davis,” Buddy Carter begins his post on X, featuring Vasquez-Lopez’s mugshot. “The left has blood on their hands.”
Of course, for many in Savannah, Forsyth Park was simply a site for jogging, walking the dog, or strolling through on the way to dinner. Spectators watch the protestors from the fringes of the crowd. Some clapping in support, others simply staring and cupping their mouths to talk to the person next to them. The thoughts and opinions of these on-lookers unknown that night, but perhaps boldly broadcasted in TikTok comment sections or shared via Instagram infographics.
Others like Laura Carrier, a former non-profit instructor who worked with a student of Dr. Davis’ during her time at Brock Elementary, are no longer Savannah residents, but nevertheless mourn her passing.
“I was consistently impressed by how caring and supportive the [Brock Elementary] faculty was toward their students, but Dr. Davis stood out,” Carrier told me over text.
“I grabbed one of her students each week to work on behavioral management skills, and Dr. Davis would meet me at the door. She constantly had ideas for how we could create a safer, less overstimulating environment for her student…I watched her transform a child’s behavior by reminding him that he mattered and that he had control over who he becomes. Any student that ever had the opportunity to have Dr. Davis as a teacher will definitely remember her for the rest of their life.”
What is certain, is that many who planted themselves firmly in the crowd share the same sentiment as Alderman Leggett: “ICE is not welcome here in Chatham county.”
See the GoFundMe for the family of Dr. Linda Davis here.