Community members marked Tuesday's anniversary of the downtown Davenport building collapse with a memorial service and vigil.
About 50 people attended a memorial service at Third Missionary Baptist Church hosted by Alderman Tim Kelly, 5th Ward, ahead of the candlelight vigil at the site of 324 Main St.
Part of the six-story building collapsed on May 28, 2023, killing three men, leading to a woman's leg being amputated and to dozens of people losing their homes and belongings.
Jerry Johnson and the Voices of the Quad Cities filled the church with music.
Community members read the obituaries of the men killed — Branden Colvin Sr., Ryan Hitchco*ck and Daniel Prien — and recalled the collapse and the days following.
Johnnie Woods, aunt to Branden Colvin Sr., recalled the frantic search for her nephew and her family's struggle to bring attention to the fact that Colvin was missing in the hours after the collapse.
"We started out on Monday morning, looking for Branden at the Red Cross, at the church downtown, and everywhere we could, and we couldn't find Branden," Woods said. "... My nephew Michael decided we would have a prayer vigil, and we had a prayer vigil, and I'll never forget this because this reporter came up and asked us, why were we there?"
Along with Colvin's family, the family of Lisa Brooks was also at the vigil, Woods said. They could see that Colvin's apartment was in the collapsed part of the building.
Woods said she asked around families who were downtown and thought based on the answers that there were between three and five people still missing.
"I believe that if we had not decided to protest, they would have demolished that building," she said.
On the morning after the collapse, the city announced during a news conference that first responders would soon transition from rescue to recovery efforts and had no credible information that anyone was unaccounted for. A city spokesperson announced later that day demolition was expected to commence the following morning.
But the families and friends of Colvin and Lisa Brooks protested. Later that night, Brooks was seen waving out of an upper-floor window and rescued by firemen.
The city backtracked on a timeline for demolition. In the next week or so, rescue crews did additional sweeps of the building, getting people's pets out in the process. State, regional and local emergency responders reinforced the sides of the building and searched the rubble pile at the base of where the west wall collapsed. Crews located and identified the bodies of Colvin, Prien and Hitchco*ck.
Renee Williams lived next door to Lexus and Quanishia "Peach" Berry, the latter of whom was rescued from the rubble with her leg amputated above the knee.
Williams wasn't at home at the time of the collapse.
Williams called the last year a healing process. She said she's had more good days than bad days. It's a slow process, but the place she lives now is nice and clean. Williams said she hoped speaking publicly would help her heal.
She misses what she lost in the collapse, like little things her now 33-year-old daughter made growing up — clay pots; a black vase Williams said, "was ugly, but my daughter made it and that's all that mattered to me;" paintings and drawings — and her parents' marriage license and sewing machine.
"My whole life," Williams said.
About 85 people attended the candlelight vigil held at the site of the collapse. The area has been a green space since the building was demolished.
A banner had photos of Colvin, 42, Hitchco*ck, 51, and Prien, 60. Over their photos was written "Rest in Peace."
Several dozen votive candles were lighted and sitting on the sidewalk adjacent to the banners and photos of the men.
"I'm here to support the people that are fighting for the memory of these people," said Paul Vasquez, referring to Colvin, Hitchco*ck, and Prien. "I'm here to let them know that I stand with them. It's a tragic loss. It could have been totally avoided."
Davenport Mayor Mike Matson sat in a back row seat next to former alderman JJ Condon.
"I'm just here to pay my respects," Matson said, with Condon echoing Matson's words.
Aldermen Mhisho Lynch, 7th Ward; Paul Reinartz, 8th Ward; Ben Jobgen, 6th Ward; Rick Dunn, 1st Ward; Tim Dunn, 2nd Ward; and Kyle Gripp and Jazmin Newton, both at-large, also attended the event, as did Interim City Administrator Mallory Merritt and Public Works Director Nicole Gleason.
Willie Shorter said he was attending "to support my community and support the three men who lost their lives."
Shorter said he and others warned the city many times about The Davenport apartment building, but his warnings went unheeded.
"The city should have been on top of this," he said.
LaShanna Dixon, who was one of many people who rarely left the site of the collapse last year, said she was there to "memorialize the lost and also be able to celebrate Peach Berry."
The vigil opened with a prayer by the Rev. Taryn Cleaves, children's pastor at River City Church.
Speakers remembered about the three men who died, but many also criticized city leaders.
Ezra Sidran, who has been a frequent public speaker at city council meetings and filer of open records requests since the collapse, was among those who place blame with the city, along with the building's owner, Andrew Wold.
Sidran asked Matson why he hasn't resigned or fired Bruce Berger, Director of Community Planning and Economic Development, or Rich Oswald, Development and Neighborhood Services Director.
Dixon encouraged the people to attend city council meetings and speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.
"If you don't speak, you're never heard," she told the crowd.
Kelly, who had organized the earlier memorial service, also spoke, urging the crowd to come together and to attend city council meetings, speak and vote.
"I haven't seen a lot of y'all since the building collapsed," he said.
"Do you care about your city?" Kelly said to the crowd. "Vote those in that's going to help you or you're going to keep getting what you're getting."
Mike Collier, Colvin's cousin, said he does not blame Matson.
"Everybody was in shock was in shock. When a tragedy like that happens, it's hard to act. The mayor is human," Collier said. "Ain't nobody perfect out here, man. But at the same time when you know you're doing wrong you've got to start to do what's right and correct your wrong."
Collier said a lot of things have happened since the collapse of The Davenport. There have been buildings around Davenport and the Quad-Cities that have been condemned to save those living inside from harm, he added.
"It's been like a reality check so that everybody can live safely," Collier said. "I just want to say we've got to keep the movement going."
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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