Jacksonville, FL – Over a month has passed since two Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office (JSO) officers shot and killed 28-year-old D'Angelo Stallworth outside his apartment. The African American father of three was shot six times in the back by two white police officers, who claimed that they thought D'Angelo looked suspicious. Although Stallworth was unarmed at the time of the shooting, State Attorney Angela Corey has still not indicted the two officers for murder.

The family and friends of D'Angelo Stallworth hope to change that. Since the murder on May 12, family members and close friends have organized rallies, vigils and marches to win 'Justice for Dee.' Earlier in June, a crowd of over 100 people marched on the JSO building and Angela Corey's office in downtown Jacksonville to demand justice.

'Extremely successful' block party for D'Angelo

Most recently on June 13, several hundred people attended a block party hosted by D'Angelo Stallworth’s family and friends. The afternoon block party took place at Wesconnett Park and raised funds for D'Angelo's three children.

Throughout the day, hundreds of people from across Jacksonville flocked to the park to honor Stallworth’s memory. Several coworkers from UPS, where Stallworth worked as a part-time supervisor, came out to show their support. Many people wore t-shirts with the slogans 'Justice for D'Angelo Stallworth,' and '#Justice4Dee.'

“We raised $3200 cash,” said Brandon Brown, one of Stallworth’s best friends and a main organizer in the movement to win justice. “It was extremely successful.”

Another rally to win justice for D'Angelo is scheduled for June 26 at 12:00 noon outside the Duval County courthouse. Rally organizers say that the purpose is to continue putting pressure on State Attorney Angela Corey to indict the two killer cops.

Autopsy suggests that police 'executed' Stallworth

On May 12, D'Angelo Stallworth was murdered by two JSO officers outside his apartment on the west side of Jacksonville. Police were at the complex serving an eviction notice unrelated to Stallworth. The officers began a confrontation, claiming they thought he appeared suspicious, which ended with six shots that left Stallworth dead.

An independent autopsy ordered by friends and family indicated that the fatal shots fired by the officers came from above and behind. In other words, the police essentially executed Stallworth, who was unarmed at the time of the shooting, as he fled down the apartment stairs.

State Attorney Angela Corey's silence on D'Angelo Stallworth's murder

Many people are skeptical that Corey will give into the people's demands, even in light of the autopsy, because of her close relationship with the police. When she initially won the office of State Attorney in 2008, Corey was endorsed by the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police. In pure campaign donations alone, at least 10% of the $534,507.75 she raised came from police officers or their families in 2008, according to research by the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) and records from the Florida Division of Elections.

Further questions of Corey's commitment to justice for Black victims arise in light of her record of mass incarceration. In Florida, Corey's 4th Judicial Circuit leads the state in the incarceration of juveniles, particularly African Americans. From 2006 to 2011, Black males comprised 70% of all juvenile offenders that Corey's office tried as adults, while white males comprised just 18%.

Corey's inaction on D'Angelo's murder thus far follows a pattern of biased and racist prosecution practices. In 2013, Corey gained national notoriety for her botched handling of the George Zimmerman murder trial, which allowed the racist vigilante to walk free after murdering 17-year- old African American Trayvon Martin.

On the other hand, Corey obsessively persecuted Marissa Alexander, the African American mother who fired a warning shot to defend herself from domestic abuse, for nearly three years. A mass movement of people around the country forced Corey to offer Alexander a plea deal that included only a few months of jail time, versus the 60-year prison sentence she originally sought.

D'Angelo Stallworth’s family and friends, along with activists in Jacksonville, are building for the June 26 rally in hopes of putting pressure on Corey.

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #Florida #Antiracism #DangeloStallworth

Over 1000 mourners gathered today, May 23, for the memorial service for D'AngeloStallworth. Stallworth was a father of three and part-time supervisor at UPS with 11 years at the company. Pastor Craig Campbell, a UPS driver, led the service at the Paxon Revival Center.

D'Angelo was shot and killed by two Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officers on May 12 as the officers were serving an eviction notice to a neighbor. After getting into a confrontation with Stallworth, the officers fired a total of six shots as he fled down the stairs. The police immediately came out with a story full of inconsistencies, so the family ordered an independent autopsy of the body. The recently released autopsy shows that the bullets that entered his body, including the fatal shot, came from above and behind. This indicates that not only was D'Angelo unarmed when killed, but he was shot in the back.

The service included a praise dance as well as a beautiful solo singing performance by Latoya Watts. Pastor Campbell then opened up the microphone for reflections from those who knew him best. Friends and family shared stories of D'Angelo as a man who loved his children and always had a smile on his face. Several remarked on the huge attendance as a testament to the kind of person D'Angelo was. Many of the speakers ended their reflections by stating that “justice will be served.” Dozens and dozens of mourners wore #Justice4Dee T-shirts to mark their commitment to bringing the officers who killed D'Angelo to justice.

Many fellow UPSers attended the ceremony to show their support. Coworkers used the week beforehand to go to the massive Jacksonville UPS warehouse where D'Angelo worked to inform people of the memorial service. A supervisor set up a board at the warehouse entrance while hourly employees handed out fliers at the gates.

After the service, attendees drove to Jacksonville Memory Gardens to put D’Angelo Stallworth’s body to rest. Fight Back! will continue to cover further actions and events regarding this case.

#Jacksonville #JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #Florida #BlackLivesMatter #DangeloStallworth #Justice4Dee #Jax

Jacksonville, FL – An unjust system promotes injustice until it is replaced with a better system. This current system is more clearly unjust in the Black community in the U.S., and caused tragedy to strike again in Jacksonville, Florida. A rally was held on May 16 to honor D'angelo Stallworth's memory and to fight for justice.

On May 12, two white Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) deputies murdered D'angelo Stallworth – father, friend and part-time supervisor at the Jacksonville UPS hub. Stallworth was shot several times in the back by JSO in his own complex, Planters Walk Apartments. The two deputies were serving an eviction notice to a nearby apartment and claim that Stallworth “looked suspicious.” The two officers confronted D'angelo, a confrontation that ended when the two officers shot Stallworth, killing him. Lawyers working on the case agree that various points of the officers’ stories seem contradictory and questionable. It seems that D'angelo has been another victim of being Black around a police officer, and the community has vowed to fight for justice and answers in Stallworth's case.

On May 16, friends, family including the victim's children, community members and fellow UPS workers gathered at Planters Walk Apartments, near a shrine made in Stallworth’s memory. The rally was organized mainly by family members. Some brought signs with pictures of Stallworth and many wore shirts that read “#Justice4Dee.” After about 70 protesters gathered, the crowd began marching, chanting, “Justice for Dee!” “Black lives matter!” and “What do we want? Answers! When do we want them? Now!” The crowd marched up to a busy intersection in front of Planters Walk Apartments. Protesters began waving their signs and continued chanting at the intersection for over two hours.

Some friends and relatives spoke to the crowd about their outrage and the need to fight for justice. One of Stallworth's relatives, Tamika Jones, spoke to the crowd, “We demand answers. D'Angelo was a father, a son, an employee, a lover. The police killed him for no reason.” One UPS employee brought a gift for Stallworth’s young son: a hat with Stallworth’s favorite basketball team, the L.A. Lakers. The crowd was very moved by this, especially since several of the UPS workers present at the rally where white and standing in solidarity with the largely Black crowd.

It wasn't long before three Jacksonville Sheriff's Office cars pulled up on the side of the road and began harassing the crowd of demonstrators. One UPS worker began chanting “Indict JSO! JSO lied!” and the crowd quickly joined him as the JSO officers tried quieting the protest down. The police spoke to a few of the protest organizers, who were mainly women related to Stallworth. The police knew that the crowd was angry and was going to continue demonstrating, so they stood far away from the crowd looking for excuses to move in and put an end to things. The crowd gave them no excuses and several protesters filmed the police as the demo continued for another half an hour.

As things began to wind down, a woman spoke out and thanked everyone for coming to support the fight for justice. A general consensus was reached that the next protest would happen in downtown Jacksonville near either the police station or the courthouse. The demo ended with a group prayer.

For more information and to get involved, please join the Facebook group: Justice 4 D'Angelo.

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #DangeloStallworth