Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis police once again proved that Black lives in this city do not matter when they shot and killed a 20-year-old man, Tekle Sundberg, who was having a mental health crisis, July 14. MPD officers Aaron Pearson and Zachary Seraphine shot him early Thursday morning after a six-hour standoff at an apartment building in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis. Both officers were also part of the SWAT team that murdered Amir Locke in Minneapolis in February of this year.

A vigil Thursday night outside the apartment building where Tekle was killed and was attended by around 100 people. Tekle’s loved ones at the vigil shared outrage that MPD asked Tekle’s parents to come to the scene but were not allowed to enter the apartment building to speak with their son or de-escalate the situation. They also shared that MPD officers waited until many witnesses had left the scene and stopped live streaming before entering the apartment building and shooting Tekle. His loved ones said the apartment building was fully evacuated at that point and said that meant that the only life at risk in the building was Tekle’s life.

“There will be a spotlight yet again on the city of Minneapolis because the city of Minneapolis just can’t get it right,” said Marcia Howard, a teacher at Roosevelt High School and an activist with the George Floyde Square community.

A similar incident happened in Fairbault, MN the same night that Tekle was shot, where a man was also experiencing a mental health crisis and asked police to shoot him. However, that man was apprehended alive by police and less lethal measures were taken. Tekle’s loved ones reminded attendees at the vigil that police often find ways to disarm and de-escalate white men with guns but do not use that discretion for Black folks, showing their blatant disregard for Black lives. Howard added, “That was an execution. That was: ‘Oh, we’re free to go now.’ But that was a person’s life that they dismissed like it was just so much of a bother. Shift’s over, and he is now dead.”

Tekle’s loved ones addressed the media who were present at the vigil, demanding that they tell the truth, stop harassing Tekle’s family, and stop reporting MPD’s propaganda and misinformation. They admonished MPD not only for taking so many Black lives but for their awful treatment of the victim’s families. Tekle’s sister also thanked the crowd for showing their support.

Tekle was a graduate of Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, and many of his classmates and teachers were present at the vigil. They said that he was a creative student with a big heart who cared deeply for his community, loved art and farming, and was a wrestler.

Speakers at the vigil demanded that MPD release all of the body camera footage from the incident. They urged people to fight for justice for Tekle and to hold MPD and the city of Minneapolis accountable for this latest murder.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment #PoliceCrimes

Minneapolis, MN – Around 5000 people marched in protest here February 5, to demand justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man murdered by police on February 2. Police were carrying out a no-knock search warrant on the apartment where Locke was sleeping and shot him three times, nine seconds after they snuck open the door. Protesters demand jail, prosecution and murder charges for the officer who shot Amir and those who planned the raid; an end to no-knock warrants; and the resignation of the Minneapolis Police Chief Huffington and Mayor Frey.

There have been multiple protests since the murder of Amir Locke, including a 100-plus vehicle car caravan through downtown, organized by CAIR-MN the night before Saturday’s protest.

The February 5 protest was initiated by the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J), endorsed by over a dozen groups. Amir’s father Andre Locke and other family member were the featured speakers.

#MinneapolisMN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment #TwinCitiesCoalition4JusticeForJamarTCC4J #AmirLocke

Minneapolis, MN – Around 5000 people marched in protest here February 5, to demand justice for Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man murdered by police on February 2. Police were carrying out a no-knock search warrant on the apartment where Locke was sleeping and shot him three times, nine seconds after they snuck open the door. Protesters demand jail, prosecution and murder charges for the officer who shot Amir and those who planned the raid; an end to no-knock warrants; and the resignation of the Minneapolis Police Chief Huffington and Mayor Frey.

There have been multiple protests since the murder of Amir Locke, including a 100-plus vehicle car caravan through downtown, organized by CAIR-MN the night before Saturday’s protest.

The February 5 protest was initiated by the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J), endorsed by over a dozen groups. Amir’s father Andre Locke and other family member were the featured speakers.

#MinneapolisMN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment #TwinCitiesCoalition4JusticeForJamarTCC4J #AmirLocke

Minneapolis MN – The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) has come out against the city council’s proposed Community Safety and Violence Prevention charter amendment (2020-00668), that would rename the Minneapolis police department and would give the city council and mayor the power to anoint the head of the newly-named “Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention.” The measure was heard in the online city council meeting June 26.

Instead, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar advocates community control of the police via CPAC – an all-elected, all-civilian council with power over the police department to hire, fire and prosecute cops.

TCC4J presented to the council via email – the only method for public input, because of the rules of the city council’s online meeting. TCC4J outlines the reasons for opposing the council’s measure, “First, all the power would still be in the hands of the council and mayor's office. Both bodies have a long track record of letting the police murder and maim with impunity. They had their chance, many chances over several decades, and they blew it. There is no reason to believe that in a few months, the city council won’t revert back to appeasing the police force and the FOP.

“Also, there are no details in the proposal about how things would change, except in name and in letting the city council have a say (instead of just the mayor) in picking the new ‘director.’ Our CPAC proposal spells out in great detail what needs to be done. When CPAC gets onto the ballot or before the council, the people will know what they are voting for.

“The city council’s proposal does not spell out any new disciplinary measures or oversight of the police, nor does it spell out what community involvement will look like beyond a vague ‘consistently engaging the public…’ Without discipline and true community engagement (and not token community involvement, either), change will not occur. This proposal is trying to take the easy way out: saying what they think the public wants to hear without doing the hard work of getting rid of violent cops.

“Since the righteous uprisings in Minneapolis and around the world after the murder of George Floyd, elected officials have been scrambling like cockroaches after the lights got turned on. Then they retreat to the dark again and do most of their business in secret.”

The measure goes before the city charter commission on July 1.

#MinneapolisMN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJusticeForJamarTCC4J #CommunityControlOfThePolice

Josh Pauly, who is a member of the school board, put out a statement regarding the resolution, as quoted in The Guardian, “Public schools cannot partner with organizations that do not see the humanity in our students, [and] cannot align itself with [the Minneapolis Police Department] and claim to fight institutional racism”

Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 also support the call to end the contract with MPD.

Staff and students spoke of their experiences with ‘School Resource Officers’ (SROs) in their schools and that the money spent on officers could be better spent on counselors, social workers and support staff. A student from Washburn High spoke of the conditions at her school and that SROs do not make it safe for her to attend. George Floyd, the man who was killed May 25,was not far from the minds of folks at Davis Center. After every speaker his name was chanted.

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar was also in attendance. She spoke of sending her children to school in Minneapolis and is herself a graduate of Edison High School. She said that Black students in the Minneapolis School District are 338 times more likely to be suspended from school.

In a unanimous vote (8-0) Minneapolis Public Schools voted to end the contract with Minneapolis Police.

This was one of many actions in the city June 2 regarding the murder of George Floyd.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #Labor #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #PublicSectorUnions #Antiracism #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment #TeachersUnions #MinneapolisUprising #MinneapolisPublicSchools

Minneapolis activists are the early stages of drafting legislation they call MPAC, similar to Chicago’s CPAC (Civilian Police Accountability Council). After TCC4J presentations on the history of the struggle for community control of the police, nationally and locally, attendees discussed what community control should like in Minneapolis, and how to win it.

They discussed how to ensure an elected council would not suffer from the same politicking that prevents the mayor and City Council from holding police accountable today; policies MPAC could enact to end racist over-policing in some parts of the city, and how MPAC could take power back from the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis and its white supremacist president, Bob Kroll.

Community activists and newly-active community members were joined by family members of Jamar Clark and Isaiah Tucker, both killed by police officers.

#MinneapolisMN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment #CPAC #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJustice4Jamar

Jess Sundin, of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J), which is working for an all-civilian Minneapolis Police Accountability Council (MPAC), stated, “Police have no place directing medical personnel on the administering of medications, especially strong sedatives that risk people’s lives and cause memory loss. We know that several people were already restrained before they were given ketamine against their wishes, and that some stopped breathing or even had their hearts stop.”

Sundin continued, “This is an outrage, and justice demands more than a report by the city’s Office of Police Conduct Review, which has no power to discipline officers, even when it finds wrongdoing. This is why we demand community control of the police, and all-civilian board with the power to get rid of violent and abusive cops.”

#Minneapolis #MinneapolisMN #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment #PoliceCrimes #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJusticeForJamar #MinneapolisPoliceAccountabilityCouncilMPAC

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown Minneapolis on May 31 to demand justice for Terrance “Mookie” Franklin, a 22-year-old African American man killed by the police in a South Minneapolis home on May 10.

Led by Terrance Franklin’s family and friends, the protesters gathered at Hennepin County Government Plaza and then marched through busy downtown streets, tying up traffic during the evening rush hour. They demanded that the police be prosecuted for killing Franklin, who was unarmed, and that an independent investigation be carried out. Franklin was shot multiple times – in the back of his head and in his back – in the basement of a house on 27th Street and Bryant Avenue South.

The family and supporters of Terrance Franklin vowed to continue organizing until they get justice.

To keep up-to-date on the struggle for justice for Terrance Franklin, go to https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForTerranceFranklin

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #TerranceFranklin #MinneapolisPoliceDepartment