Jacksonville, FL – On March 24, over 50 people from the community, along with members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, gathered to remember the life of Vernell Bing Jr., an African American man gunned down by Officer Tyler Landreville of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in 2016. Along with members of Take Em Down Jax and the Northside Coalition, the Bing’s mother, Shirley McDaniel, thanked attendees for coming. Vernell Bing would have been 25 this year.

Christina Kittle, vigil emcee and organizer with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, spoke on the need for community control of the police in Jacksonville. “We need a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council to hold JSO accountable for misconduct and put the people in charge over the police, not the other way around.”

Vigil attendees chanted, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now.”

In 2017, State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s office ruled the shooting justified. The killer cop Tyler Landreville is still patrolling the streets of Jacksonville.

Activists pledged to continue the fight for police accountability in Jacksonville.

#JacksonvilleFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #VernellBingJr #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommittee #JacksonvilleSheriffsOffices

Jacksonville, FL – Over 50 community members gathered here, June 11, at 9th and Liberty Street to protest the police killing of Vernell Bing Jr. Bing was killed on May 22 after his car collided with a police cruiser at the end of a car chase initiated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO). After the crash, Bing left his vehicle, unarmed, and was shot in the head by Officer Tyler L. Landreville. This comes just over a year after another white JSO officer shot and killed another unarmed African American, D'Angelo Stallworth.

The Justice for Bing rally, hosted by Jacksonville's Kemetic Empire, drew local leaders and organizers. Diallo Sekou, chairman of the Kemetic Empire, called for the arrest and trial of Officer Landreville on murder charges.

Other speakers included City Councilman Reggie Gaffney, who called for an independent investigation into the shooting. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is one of the many law enforcement agencies in Florida that investigate themselves. Wells Todd, from the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition, spoke out against the ongoing systematic oppression from the capitalist class that benefits and rewards the killing and incarceration of Blacks.

Saturday's rally saw many speakers from different walks of life gather together in solidarity to make non-negotiable demands that Landerville be brought to justice and that the city of Jacksonville adopt a Community Police Accountability Council and outfit officers with body cameras. Additionally, organizers of the rally provided food, drinks, and a DJ for the attendees and their families.

Organizers have already been successful in forcing the FBI to investigate this shooting and will continue to gather at 9th and Liberty Street every weekday at 6:30 p.m. until the officer who murdered Bing is arrested.

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #VernellBingJr #KemeticEmpire

Jacksonville, FL – On May 22, a white deputy from Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) murdered 22-year-old Vernell Bing Jr. in Springfield, one of the city's historic Black neighborhoods. Bing was unarmed and fleeing the scene of a car crash when JSO officer Tyler L. Landreville shot him in the head. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead the next day after losing brain function.

Several eyewitnesses to the murder say the shooting took place at a close range. To date, JSO has given no reason for why officer Landreville shot Bing. Nevertheless, JSO placed Landreville on paid administrative leave.

The shooting occurred at the corner of 9th and Liberty Street in historic Springfield, one of Jacksonville's largest Black neighborhoods.

Within minutes, community members responded and began planning actions to demand justice. Since then, the community has held vigils and rallies at the scene of the murder each night.

On May 24 at 2 p.m., Bing's family and organizers from the Kemetic Empire held a press conference at City Hall demanding that officer Landreville be fired, arrested and tried for murder.

Later that evening, more than 100 people from the community rallied at the corner of 9th and Liberty for a vigil. Chanting, “No justice, no peace! No racist police!” the crowd called on State Attorney Angela Corey to indict Landreville for murder.

“This fight is a long fight because we're battling a systemic issue,” said Diallo Sekou, chairman of the Kemetic Empire. “We are specifically targeting JSO and the cop who killed Vernell Bing. We want the cops arrested and charged with murder. We want body cameras and cameras in police cars. And we want an independent investigation into not only this case, but also past cases of police brutality.”

Bing's family and the community plan to rally at the same street corner every night until justice is won, and invite supporters to come participate. They encourage supporters to use the hashtag #Justice4LilRedd on social media.

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #VernellBingJr