Police Brutrality

George Floyd’s Murder Reminds Us; Israel’s Knee Sits On The Neck Of Black America

May 7, 2023 David Miller, Mintpress News. Educate! Black America, George Floyd, Krav Maga, Police Brutrality

Nearly three years have passed since, on 25 May 2020, four Minneapolis police officers were involved in killing George Floyd. Then, the iconic shots of Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd sparked a rejuvenated mass movement against structural racism in the police, specifically about using the “knee-on-neck” technique. The iconic photo meant that Chauvin became the poster boy for the technique. But subsequent video evidence indicated that at least three of the four cops involved in the incident had knelt on Floyd’s back or neck in the encounter – at the same time. This is important since, as we show in this investigation, the local police department had trained all four officers in training sessions that routinely involved the knee-on-neck technique.

Baltimore Cops Kept Toy Guns To Plant On Their Shooting Victims

February 1, 2018 By Michael Harriot, Mintpressnews.com Educate! Baltimore, Guns, Police Brutrality

In April 2016, a 13-year-old boy was shot by officers of the Baltimore Police Department. The boy ran when faced with the police, so they gave chase. During the chase, the police spotted the boy holding a gun, and when he turned, they shot the teenager. The youngster wasn’t critically injured, and it seemed like an open-and-shut case of a justifiable use of force. Now people are wondering. The Baltimore Police Department is currently in court over one of the biggest scandals in the history of American law enforcement. The corruption case is replete with intrigue as police reveal secrets that sound like something out of an urban-fiction novel or a lost season of The Wire. It has revealed how one of America’s largest cities just happened to be filled with crooked cops, but no one seems to be talking about it outside of Baltimore.

Peaceful Strikers Being Attacked By Armed Police

June 1, 2017 Esther Ojulari, www.blackallianceforpeace.com Resist! Colombia, Human Rights, Police Brutrality, Strike

By Esther Ojulari for Black Alliance for Peace. Buenaventura, Colombia - “I know you’re fighting a just cause…We go all round the country and we see people fighting just causes all the time…But this is our job…our role here is to attack, so that’s what we do.” These were the words my friend was told when he engaged in conversation the other night with an agent of the ESMAD (Mobile Anti-Disturbances Squadron) on the streets of Buenaventura, Colombia, in the context of the ongoing civic strike. The mainly Afro-descendant and indigenous community of Buenaventura on the Pacific Coast of Colombia has been on a civic strike now for 16 days. 16 days in which business, banks, shops and schools have been closed down and taxis and buses have stopped working to demand that the national government fulfills its basic human rights obligations to its citizens.

Unarmed 15 Year Old Killed By Police In Texas

May 2, 2017 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! killed by police, Police abuse, Police Brutrality, Racism

By Staff for Popular Resistance. On Monday, the police department of the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs, Texas, changed its story on the shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, who was killed by a police officer on Saturday. Edwards was a a freshman at Mesquite High School. The story changed after Chief Jonathan Haber watched body-cam footage of the shooting. The video tape has not been released and police say a decision on its release will be made by the police and prosecutor. The Balch Springs police Tuesday fired Oliver who fatally shot Jordan Edwards. In a statement the family said "Over the past 24 hours Chief Haber has made commendable strides toward justice. However, there remains a long road ahead. We anxiously await this officer's ... arrest for the crime of murder. . . The magnitude of his horrible actions cannot be overstated. We fully expect an equivalent response from those responsible for investigating and punishing the crime. We also know that although his actions were the most wicked and consequential, he was not the only officer responsible for dreadful behavior that evening."

Newsletter: Protest Is Working & Growing

February 11, 2017 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter #NoDAPL, Betsy DeVos, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Charter Schools, Deportations, Donald Trump, Education, Healthcare, Immigration, Keystone XL, National Improved Medicare for All, Police Brutrality, Racism, Russia, TISA, Trade, Wars and Militarism

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. People are recognizing that they have power to protest in a lot of areas. Some see the potential for protest at work, such as the resistance and non-cooperation among federal workers. And, many are planning on building toward a general strike, something unheard of in US history. State officials are even talking about protesting by not paying federal taxes. Early in the Trump era, protest is working and the potential ahead is for an even larger resistance movement. The dysfunctional nature of government will add to protest movements, making the country ungovernable. We can defeat the oligarchy, as currently represented by Trump, but which began long before him, by remaining independent of the corporate parties and fighting for the changes we need.

Does Jeff Sessions At DOJ Signal Death Of Police Reform?

November 20, 2016 Adeshina Emmanuel, www.inthesetimes.com Resist! Immigration, Jeff Sessions, killed by police, Police abuse, Police Brutrality

By Adeshina Emmanuel for In These Times. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Senator Jeff Sessions (R – AL), a longtime ally, to become his attorney general. Sessions is known as an immigration hard-liner with an alleged history of racist remarks and actions, sparking fears that his confirmation could mean major changes at the Department of Justice (DOJ)—especially as it relates to communities of color. “I would hope the folks who have been activists around police reform, who have built an important and effective movement, will see this as a moment where that movement needs to get bigger,” says Jonathan Smith, former DOJ official. Activists concur, but not just because of the potential shifts in the DOJ. Master notes that Trump’s presidency has emboldened proponents of white supremacy, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and anti-Muslim sentiments in the U.S. She says that means activists from marginalized groups have to change their approach, bolster their bases and collaborate more with one another. “Trump’s regime … doesn’t stop our work,” says Samantha Miller, a Baltimore area organizer.. “It makes it more pressing.”

‘Officer Slam’ Will Not Be Charged For Brutalizing Teenage Girl

September 5, 2016 Aviva Shen, www.thinkprogress.org Resist! Police abuse, Police Brutrality, Racism, Students, Youth

By Aviva Shen for Think Progress. A video of Security Resource Officer Ben Fields yanking a teenage girl from her desk and throwing her across the room shocked the internet and inspired investigations into South Carolina’s use of police in schools. But on Friday, after 11 months of investigating, prosecutors announced they would not be pursuing criminal charges against the officer. Fields was fired in October for his conduct, which the sheriff said at the time made him “want to throw up.” About 100 students at Spring Valley High protested his firing. Other students had reportedly nicknamed him “Officer Slam,” because he had a reputation for violence.

Reporter Recounts Arrest, Prison Stay After Baton Rouge Protest

July 25, 2016 Karen Savage, www.jjie.org Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Criminal Justice, militarism, Police Brutrality, Racism

By Karen Savage for Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — For a few seconds on July 10, the ear-splitting police noisemaker — referred to as an LRAD — and the chants demanding justice for Alton Sterling awkwardly paused at exactly the same moment. I closed my eyes in relief. As if on cue, a lone cicada cried out from the tree above, the insect’s call piercing the air, but not the tension. With my eyes closed and the cicada's solo still echoing through the sweltering heat of a Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge, I saw neat bungalows, crape myrtles and longleaf pine trees. I imagined a crawfish boil, kids on bikes, grandmothers with church hats. But when I opened my eyes, we were still surrounded on three sides by an army of militarized police. Officers still gripped automatic weapons, still wore gas masks and bulletproof vests, still held tear gas cylinders ready to be fired.

Afromation Protest In Baltimore Against Police Violence

July 17, 2016 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Baltimore, killed by police, Militarized police, Police abuse, Police Brutrality, Racism

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance. The Afromation protest in Baltimore stood up for black life and the importance of black culutre in the face of ongoing killings. To understand the reasons for protests in Baltimore and across the nation, we must look at the "race-based trauma" caused by police killings. As we prepared to march, I was talking with two of our colleagues. They described how it felt to be an African American man and see video of people who look like them being killed by police for no reason. It creates a trauma that requires them to act in order to stop it. The demands of the Afromation protests are reasonable: 1. An all-elected civilain complaint review board to give communities control of the police and self-determination; 2. A ten percent cut in the police budget away from militarization of the police and surveillance of the community with the funds used for community programming.

Newsletter: US Racism Is Killing Us

July 10, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Black Lives Matter (BLM), killed by police, Police, Police Brutrality, Police violence, Racism

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. This was a traumatic week. Two more unjustified killings of black men were caught on video and shared widely. Mass protests erupted throughout the country. And then, at the end of a Dallas protest against police violence, a lone gunman shot 12 people, killing five police officers. A graphic video shows Baton Rouge police shooting Alton Sterling outside of a convenience store where he was selling CDs. Two police have him on the ground, then shots ring out and Sterling is dead. Forty-eight hours later in Minnesota, Philando Castile is shot dead at a traffic stop while he is reaching for his wallet. In the aftermath of Castile's fatal shooting, a video made by his girlfriend from the passenger seat is posted on Facebook and goes viral. Police violence is a growing public heath threat that is wounding, traumatizing and killing people.

Protests Across the Country In Response To Police Killings

July 8, 2016 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter (BLM), killed by police, Police, Police Brutrality, Racism

By Staff for Popular Resistance. In response to the police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota there were protests held in many cities across the country. The New York Times reported "Baton Rouge Is Passionate, and Peaceful, After Shooting of Alton Sterling" writing: The protest of the fatal police shooting of a CD vendor here in Louisiana’s capital had many of the trappings of similar flare-ups around the country: blaring music, young men with faces obscured by bandannas, and obscene and brutal sentiments directed toward the local police department, on angry tongues and homemade placards. But as Wednesday night’s street rally flowed into Thursday morning, it had managed to be as peaceful as it was passionate. In Minnesoata, outrage grew over the death of Philando Castile, killed in a traffic stop. The video of the aftermath published on Facebook by his girlfriend after the shooting went viral and caused immediate reactions. The police did not even check for a pulse or administer first aid.

Heather Doyle Jailed For Complaining About Police Abuse

May 29, 2016 Seed Coalition, www.seedcoalition.wordpress.com Resist! Courts, Cove Point, Fracking, Police abuse, Police Brutrality

By Seed Coalition for SEED. Heather and another activist with Stopping Extraction and Exports Destruction (SEED) climbed a crane on a site being used for the construction of a massive fracked gas export terminal in the community of Cove Point, Maryland. They hung a banner from the top of the crane that read “Dominion, go home. No gas exports. Don’t frack Maryland. Save Cove Point.” The climbers’ lives were jeopardized when law enforcement officers tried to remove them from the crane in an unsafe way — an allegation that the state’s attorney didn’t challenge in court. The complaint Heather filed that is central to this case stems from her being assaulted during the extraction by a 6’4”, 285 lb. cop while surrounded by numerous officers, Dominion employees, and contractors. A statement about the assault and endangerment was released after the court process from that action ended, in order to not incriminate the defendants when they had open legal cases.

Trial Begins For Cove Point Activist

May 25, 2016 Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Climate Change, Cove Point, Oil and Gas, Police Brutrality

By Anne Meador for DC Media Group. Prince Frederick, MD - The first day of an unusual trial of an anti-fracking activist began with jury selection, opening statements and testimony from four witnesses for the prosecution. Charged with making a false statement, Heather Doyle is the object of retaliation for political reasons by the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, according to SEED Coalition, the grassroots group she is affiliated with. On Tuesday, the prosecution challenged the veracity of the complaint she made alleging police brutality and unsafe conduct and attacked her credibility. The whole process started more than a year ago with a protest initiated by Doyle and Carling Sothoron on February 3, 2015. They were trying to draw attention to Cove Point LNG, the massive gas liquefaction facility being constructed by Dominion Resources in Lusby, MD.

Mothers For Justice United Joins Students’ Protest Of Racism

May 25, 2016 Mothers for Justice United,www.popularresistance.org Petitions and Online Actions Education, Police Brutrality, Racism, Structural Violence

By Mothers for Justice United. Seattle, Washington - The Matteo Ricci College (MRC) Coalition of Seattle University is standing against racism and oppression felt by students in the Humanities program. The MRC Coalition has presented five demands to University leadership that they feel will improve the undergraduate experience by eliminating racism at the institution. As the sit-in and take over of the Seattle University Casey Building continues, mother and social justice activist Maria Hamilton, joined the students in their protest. Maria Hamilton is the mother of slain Milwaukee man Dontre Hamilton, who was killed by former Milwaukee Police Officer Christopher Manney on April 30, 2014.

Police Chief Resigns After Fatal Shooting Of Black Woman

May 22, 2016 TeleSur, www.mintpressnews.com Educate! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Police Brutrality, Violence

By TeleSur in Mintpress News. San Francisco, CA - The San Fransisco police killed another Black person Thursday morning, except this time there were actually consequences. The city’s police chief, Greg Suhr, resigned hours after the fatal shooting of a Black woman and after San Fransisco Mayor Ed Lee asked him to step down. “It’s unfortunate it required another innocent life to be taken … but this shows the power of the people and the community,” tweeted Frisco Five hunger striker Edwin Lindo. The “Frisco Five” is a group of local activists who went on a 17 day hunger strike outside of the city’s Mission District police department to protest police brutality and racism and to demand Suhr’s removal from his position.

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