St. Paul, MN – After eight years of struggle, the family of Marcus Golden, who was murdered by Saint Paul police officers January 14, 2015, won financial settlements from the city of Saint Paul last week. On January 19, they held a press conference with a mind-boggling exposure of the lies told by city and county officials surrounding Marcus’ death.
In the 18 months since Chicago reached a turning point with the passage of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance, the coalition that won the ordinance has fought against the obstruction of the mayor and pro-police members of the city council to implement it. The current stage in the fight against police tyranny is the elections for the local office of police district council coming up on February 28.
Los Angeles, CA – After one day of deliberations, on January 18, Long Beach killer cop Martin Ron was unanimously found guilty of negligence for the murder of Cesar Rodriguez. On August 29, 2017, Ron and another Long Beach police officer stopped Rodriguez because he had failed to pay the $1.75 metro fare. Cop Ron then pushed Rodriguez onto the metro train tracks and an oncoming train pinned Rodriguez. For more than 20 minutes Rodriguez held on until he succumbed to his injuries and died on the scene. Rodriguez was 23 years old when he died.
Tampa, FL – In late December, the Tampa Police Benevolent Association (PBA) sent out a survey to city council candidates for the upcoming municipal election asking both “Have you ever participated in a protest, whether physical, virtual, digital or online or advocated against, publicly or privately, police brutality?” and “Have you ever been a member of, donated to or supported Black Lives Matters whether financially, verbally, online or through social media?”
Denver, CO – On January 4, Denver police officer Brandon Ramos was indicted by a grand jury for his actions on July 17, 2022. Ramos and two other officers, Megan Lieberson and Kenneth Rowland, fired their weapons into a crowd of people in an attempt to kill Jordan Waddy, a 21-year-old Black man, who held his hands in the air after throwing away his weapon. Waddy and six other people were injured in the mass shooting.
Chicago, IL – This is the first day of 2023, after a year that has tested our movement like nothing in the last half century. We have a tradition to ring in the New Year with a review of what we accomplished in 2022.
Milwaukee, WI – On December 15, members of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Brieon Green’s mother and sister attended the Fire and Police Commission general meeting to voice their support for the 24/48 Campaign.
Milwaukee, WI – On December 12, members of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) delivered a petition demanding a hiring freeze be placed on the UWM police department. The petition, part of the SDS “Chop from the Cops” campaign, had hundreds of signatures.
Fort Worth, TX – A Tarrant County jury with no Black people on it convicted former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean December 15 of manslaughter for the killing of Atatiana Jefferson.