Activists and organizers gathered in Westland, MI with the family of John Zook Jr., a man murdered by police while experiencing a mental health crisis.
The event was held to remember who John Zook Jr. was and next steps for the family and community.
On Wednesday, July 10 in Westland, MI, several organizations, along with family and community members, organized and attended a public hearing about a young Black man — John Zook Jr. — who was killed by police on June 18 after he called emergency services on himself in the midst of a mental health crisis.
The event, organized and sponsored by several groups, including Survivors Speak, Black Coffee, Detroit Will Breathe, Washtenaw County General Defense Committee, and others, began with speeches by family members. Attendees heard from John’s sister, his brothers, and his father. John’s brothers were the first to arrive at the scene of the shooting. As one of his brothers described, “On my way there, I thought he was only shot. I didn’t know Johnnie was dead.” He spent the whole day there, talking to police to figure out what happened and trying to communicate the situation to the rest of the family.
“Our mother was out of town, so I was on the phone with her, trying to show her Johnnie’s body.” One of the officers agreed to let him see his brother’s body as they brought him outside.
“I was drinking a water bottle, and as they were bringing his body out, I just threw it aside so I could show Johnnie to my mother. One of the cops looked at me and said, ‘You’re going to litter like that?’” The cops brought Johnnie’s body downstairs. The cop who had previously confirmed that his brother could show their mother her son’s body ignored him.
After murdering their brother, the police continued to disrespect John Zook Jr., his family, and his neighbors. They threatened one of John’s siblings and his neighbor with arrest, simply for walking around the scene as they grieved their loss.
Supposedly police are trained to de-escalate situations, but all the police did in the hours after and before John Zook Jr.’s murder was prove the opposite. John Zook Jr. was tased and shot six times. Instead of police de-escalating the situation and placing value on a human life, a Black life, they killed him.
After John’s brother’s testimony, several more speakers went up, each talking about John and how they loved him. They also talked about how the system prevented John from getting critical healthcare. Some brought up how Wayne, MI opted out of the mental health program which would allow specialists to go out on calls. Others brought up how this program is misleading anyway because the mental health program is just part of the police budget and ultimately gives more money to the police. Similar programs exist all over the country, denying or giving insufficient care to people in need of mental healthcare services and giving more funding to the police to murder with impunity.
Tristan Taylor, member of Left Voice and co-founder of Detroit Will Breathe, wrapped up the meeting by discussing next steps and demands. The demands were democratically discussed and voted on and included the following: releasing body cam footage from the murder, releasing the names and records of the individual cops involved, charging and firing those officers, and the formation of a mental health emergency response program that is independently funded and under community control. The group agreed to have another meeting to talk about what comes next.