The event uplifted voices of the victims of police crimes and their families who come from various communities who face the brunt of racist police brutality, including African American, Chicano and indigenous nationalities.

Thomas “TC” Armstrong, a Black man, shared his story about how Denver PD beat him to a coma on November 11, 2005. He was stopped on the street by DPD officers for “suspicious activity.” He was placed in handcuffs as his wallet and other items were taken by police. He was later beaten and tased by six to eight police officers for over 30 minutes. He was beaten across his head, face, chest, arms and genitals so severely he wanted to die. So he tried to play dead, hoping the cops would stop. He was placed in a body bag and taken to University of Denver Hospital, where he tried to escape, only to be beaten again. He was placed in a medically-induced coma, which Armstrong says was “so that I’d forget what they did to me.” Folks at his local church call him “Lazarus” after “coming back from the dead.” After a series of lawsuits gone wrong, Thomas “TC” Armstrong is still seeking justice and encouraging folks to organize against police brutality.

Next, a cousin of Paul Castaway, Donny, shared the story of his cousin. Paul Castaway was an indigenous man struggling with schizophrenia murdered by Denver police officer Michael Traudt on July 12, 2015. On that day, Paul was dealing with the news that a member of his family was recently diagnosed with leukemia. While the police and the district attorney claimed this was a case of so-called “suicide by cop,” Donny and his family reject this narrative. They say that more could have been done to safely help Castaway through his mental health crisis and are still seeking justice from DPD and the city.

Ari LeDoux of the Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee shared her experiences with Denver police, which had a profound effect on the crowd. LeDoux described how Jayland Walker’s murder and the murder of other Black and brown people by police remind her of the violence that her family have experienced for generations. She remarked, “You may only see the one brown face on the news, but I see the mothers, the fathers, the siblings, cousins, friends, classmates, I see the sheer pain eroding from their eyes, the way their bodies shake, shoulders crumble, the screams, I can feel it all. In their eyes, I see my mother’s eyes, my father’s shoulders, I feel my own bones shaking because their pain is a reflection of mine. Their loss is a reflection of mine.”

The action was organized by the newly-formed Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee, and cosponsored by Students for a Democratic Society, Young Communists League, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Throughout the speeches, folks in the crowd chanted things like, “Cops and Klan go hand in hand!” and “When killer cops are on patrol, what do we want? Community control!” Organizers with DACAC and their coalition partners will continue to struggle against police brutality by organizing for a civilian police accountability council in Denver, Aurora, and the surrounding metro area.

#DenverCO #PoliceBrutality #CommunityControlOfThePolice #JaylandWalker

The speak-out was organized by the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) and took place in Herbert Von King Park, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The speakers discussed the recent police murder of Jayland Walker, in Ohio, and also raised awareness about local victims of police violence in New York, such as Sofia Gomez, Ronald Anthony Smith and Allan Feliz.

“Although the police are already attempting to smear Jayland and cast him as deserving of such horrific violence, we condemn this as just another of the tactics that the police employ to justify their brutality,” said Briony Morgan, a member of NYCAP.

“Some of you may have heard about Ronald Anthony Smith, an African American man who was killed this April by an NYPD officer recklessly driving a police van in Crown Heights, hitting him by driving over a median. In 2020, a similar case happened, when NYPD officers in the Bronx sped through a red light, killing Sofia Gomez Aguilon, who had just moved here from Guatemala. In another instance in the Bronx in 2019, Allan Feliz was shot at point blank range during what should have been a routine traffic stop. Why is the NYPD so negligent and outright abusive toward people? It’s because their job isn’t to serve and protect the people, but to keep us scared of their power through intimidation and murder,” added another NYCAP member, Jessica Schwartz.

The organizers handed out flyers explaining their ongoing campaign for community control over the police, and highlighting the failures of police accountability in NYC.

#BrooklynNY #PoliceBrutality #PoliceCrimes #NewYorkCommunityActionProjectNYCAP #JaylandWalker

Milwaukee, WI – After a series of storms this week, the skies cleared up and the sun shone down on a lively Milwaukee crowd of 30 people gathering for a vigil on July 9 at Lucille Berrien Park hosted by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR). The vigil honored Jayland Walker and various victims of police crimes in Milwaukee, especially Ernest Lacy, who was murdered by Milwaukee police 41 years ago to the date.

Various families of victims of police in Milwaukee joined the Milwaukee Alliance to speak about their own cases and to explain the importance of legal and social change to prevent future cases of police crimes.

Maria Hamiton, mother of Dontre Hamilton, who was murdered by police in 2014, said, “we’re losing too many lives because of a system that is doing exactly what it was meant to be doing,” adding, “we need laws and policy to change.”

Linda and Jay Anderson Sr., parents of Jay Anderson, who was killed in 2016, explained that a lot has been accomplished these past two years. Officers and authorities from Wauwatosa left their positions after the immense pressure of the movement, but, as Jay Anderson Sr. expressed, “now we need to get this legislation and change these laws.” Despite the unsuccessful John Doe Case this year, the Andersons continue to fight and seek the changes required to hold the police and authorities accountable.

Cecil Lacy, brother of Ernest, and Myrtle Lacy, mother of Ernest, spoke next. They both documented the tragic events of that night in the summer of 1981, and they described how the police and authorities quickly sought to cover everything up, even harassing the Lacy family. Cecil Lacy spoke about how justice could not be brought about by authorities but only because “of the fight that’s in people like [the audience] who refuse to give up!” Other people who were commemorated at the vigil but whose families could not attend were Larry Jenkins, Antonio Gonzalez and Alvin Cole.

After the families spoke, Alan Chavoya, outreach chair of the Milwaukee Alliance, echoed the families’ demands for legal change in Milwaukee. Chavoya brought up the importance of the 24/48 campaign, which the families involved at the vigil have expressed their support for. Chavoya proceeded to read off the demands that the National Alliance put out this week, focusing on the last one, community control of the police.

As Chavoya stated, “When we say community control, we’re talking about community members having a direct and democratic say into who polices them and how they are policed. We need this because through community control, we, the people of Milwaukee, can hold the police accountable without depending on DAs or the FPC who drag their feet and waste our time.”

Omar Flores, who spoke on behalf of FRSO and is co-chair of the Milwaukee Alliance, provided a wider scope for the need for community control and bringing up the need for socialism. Flores stated, “We don’t have to have racist cop gangs. In the South, during Reconstruction, the community controlled the cops and the KKK almost went extinct.” It is only through organization that we can get these kinds of victories, and, as Flores exclaimed, “socialism is the only solution.”

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #MilwaukeeAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #JaylandWalker

Chicago, IL – 200 protesters marched in Chicago's Federal Plaza, Wednesday evening, July 6, to demand justice for Jayland Walker, who was murdered on June 27 by Akron Ohio police. Speakers at the rally connected the murder to similar police killings and other police crimes such as torture and wrongful conviction. The protesters demanded that the officers who killed Jayland Walker be convicted, and that community control of the police be enacted.

The march was organized by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and was one of several protests this week called for by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). Southsiders Organizing for Unity and Liberation, BLM-Chicago, the Rainbow PUSH coalition, and Justice for Nick Lee were among the organizations represented at the rally.

“Police killing Black people is not just an Ohio problem, it happens all over the country,” said Kobi Guillory, one of the emcees at the rally . “That's why we have to fight for justice for Jayland Walker, Laquan McDonald, RonnieMan Johnson, Rekia Boyd, and everyone whose name doesn't get in the news.”

Chants such as “Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell” pointed to the systemic nature of police crimes.

Several of the speakers have family members who were killed, tortured or framed by police. Angel Gill of Mothers for Justice spoke about the wrongful conviction of her brother, Michael Minnifield, stating “This system treats our people like animals. We're not animals, we're human beings.”

The protesters pointed to community empowerment as the solution to police crimes. “There will be another Jayland Walker, and another and another until we win.” Frank Chapman, executive director of NAARPR said. “The only way we can win is by taking power.” Chapman spoke about the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance, a step towards community control of police pushed through Chicago city council by community organizations, and the need for continued pressure on elected officials to make community control a reality.

Chants of “All power to the people” rang throughout the march. At the end of the protest, organizers urged attendees to keep fighting for justice outside of protests, and specifically to demand that their alderpersons support the referendum to strengthen ECPS as well as the Peace Book ordinance written by youth-led organization Good Kids Mad City.

#ChicagoIL #PoliceBrutality #PoliceCrimes #CommunityControlOfPolice #JaylandWalker

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

In the early morning of Monday, June 27, 8 Akron police officers fired over 90 shots at Jayland Walker, 25, striking him over 60 times, while attempting to stop him for a traffic violation. Following nearly a week of protests in Akron, authorities have now publicly released the bodycam footage of this deadly shooting. It’s a horrific video to watch, but its public release is crucial in the fight for justice.

Police departments know the importance of public perception in these kinds of cases, which is why they immediately push narratives, often without evidence, that seek to justify their officers and smear their victims. This is why Akron police claimed “[Walker] posed a deadly threat to them” and fired a gun outside his vehicle. Their goal is to depict Jayland Walker as deserving of such horrific violence in the minds of the public.

Body cam footage shows Jayland Walker running on foot until the shooting begins. The police unloaded 90 shots into Jayland with most of the shots being fired when he was on the ground. After being shot, police handcuffed Jayland’s lifeless body. At the time of the murder the police chief admitted that Jayland Walker was unarmed.

The murder of Jayland Walker comes at a time when our government driven by white supremacists is removing its reactionary mask and showing its ugly, repressive face. The overturning of Roe v Wade, the inability to sue police officers who fail to read people their Miranda Rights, the targeting of same-sex marriage and unions, etc., are creating even more oppressive conditions in this country. We’re in a moment of crisis, and Black, Brown, and working class people are being tightly squeezed out of the little freedoms we have. Conditions are rough, and all signs signal to even further repression in the future.

However, we must not give into despair and apathy. We must turn our despair into action. Only through disciplined organizing and action can we lead the masses towards a future in which the police do not get away with murdering Black people. A future in which the people have a direct say over who polices them and how they are policed. This is a future with actual police accountability through community control, and the time to build that future is now!

The National Alliance stands in full solidarity with the family and friends of Jayland Walker and their demands for justice and accountability. We are also demanding the following:

    • Fire and indict all officers involved in the shooting of Jayland Walker

    • The DOJ launch an immediate investigation into the shooting of Jayland Walker

    • Community Control of the Police Now!

We call on Alliance chapters, affiliates and all strains of the peoples movements to hold protests demanding Justice for Jayland Walker in their cities starting July 5th.

#JusticeForJaylandWalker

#AllOutForJaylandWalker

#ComminityControlNow

#ConvictKillerCop

#UnitedStates #PoliceBrutality #PoliceCrimes #NationalAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepressionNAARPR #JaylandWalker