Minneapolis, MN – On April 15, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J) hosted a press conference to denounce police violence against protesters. Sam Martinez of Twin Cities 4 Justice for Jamar emceed the rally.

The opening speech featured TCC4J member DJ Hooker, standing alongside Victor Ramirez of MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, whose face was covered in bruises due to broken facial bones from a police projectile.

Speakers noted that police and city authority action are restricting First Amendment rights, the freedom of speech and to protest, including:

-- Posting official signage asking for no “offensive” slogans

-- Removing and cutting down peaceful protests of hanging locks and ribbons on fences on multiple occasions

-- Citing “cleanliness” as an excuse to deploy police

-- Holding over 100 protesters in jail for 36 hours

-- Having state agents from Operation Safety Net the National Guard, attack the press and even residents of the apartments across from the Brooklyn Center Police Department

-- Having the groups referred to as “Street Navigators” intentionally deployed to disrupt organizers from protesting, and including them among the only exempted groups from curfews

-- Turning off the lights at the Brooklyn Center Police Department so that visibility of badge numbers would be obstructed in protestor and press coverage

-- Destroying press equipment and recording storage to remove evidence of their brutality

Hooker’s talk included a testimonial regarding the “Street Navigators,” groups that are paid by the city to physically threaten organizers and interrupt their organizing. Street Navigators from Push for Peace literally pushed Hooker around, after already threatening to beat them up, while they were on the mic and speaking to the crowd. The Street Navigators also unplugged the mic during the speeches. Hooker said, “we are target practice for them,” noting that the cops intentionally targeted and shot Black and brown bodies with rubber bullets. They mentioned this as another reason why community control of police is needed – the community would never act as monstrously as these militarized cops.

Victor Ramirez’s testimonial was especially emotional, as the trauma of his facial fracture from rubber bullet wounds is rearing its ugly head. He cannot even hear any “small popping noises,” can’t watch the videos from the press covering the protests and can’t even cry. He ended saying that police are out in body armor, fully armed and in formation – but they’re saying they’re scared of him, in no gas mask, a t-shirt and sweatpants.

Nekima Levy Armstrong of the Racial Justice Network added that even the press has been injured, mentioning a journalist shot in the ring finger and others injured, and others detained and arrested. Most of these journalists said they have never experienced anything like this level of brutality before. Emcee Martinez added after this speech, that people have lost eyes and limbs from these so called ‘non-lethal weapons.’

Michelle Gross Communities United Against Police Brutality spoke up and mentioned that she has personally seen dozens of protestors with injuries that they do not get treated for because they are uninsured, and it would be cost-prohibitive. Among these is a young man with a hole in his neck, and many people with three-inch holes in their body from 40 mm rubber bullets.

Levy Armstrong declared that Minnesota is the “Jim Crow North” in its targeted lynching of Black people, and called out Sherriff Dave Hutchinson, Governor Tim Walz, and the Minnesota Democrat Party for their complacency and outright animosity against the protest movements. She also called out Christian conservatives and evangelicals who claim to believe in Jesus to truly walk the path of the Gospel, and fight against the criminal justice system, as Jesus was crucified by the criminal justice system.

Speakers expressed outrage at the lies put out by state and local officials in a press event the day before.

Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN noted that those children and families in the apartments across from the Brooklyn Center police station are not terrorized by the protests outside, but by state violence. He said, “We did not want to come out here, we were forced to come out here,” because the police refuse to listen to one simple request: “Stop killing us.” He said he is tired of fighting for the rights already guaranteed in the constitution.

Toshira Garraway Allen, of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, closed the press conference by asking, “Who listens to the families? Not the police – if they listened, then there would be no George Floyd and no Daunte Wright. Our community listens to the families. Human sacrifices should not be necessary to change the law.”

Martinez ended the event by listing the demands TCC4J have for the city, including:

-- Reopening the cases of police murders in Minnesota with independent investigations

-- Indict, convict, send the killer cops to jail

-- Stop the street navigators program entirely

-- End the curfews

-- Free all the protesters and drop their charges

-- Community control of police via the Civilian Police Accountability Commission (CPAC) legislation in the city of Minneapolis

-- Passing the nine police reform bills the groups are pushing at the state capitol

TCC4J and other speakers also announced that their coalition of 20-plus other activist groups will protest for the April 19 closing arguments of the Derek Chauvin trial and on the day the jury returns a verdict.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJusticeForJamarTCC4J #GeorgeFloyd

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

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J).

Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J), is committed to protecting our most vulnerable community members during this pandemic; at the same time, we continue the fight against police abuses. Problems of police violence and economic and health inequalities are rising to the surface of day-to-day life under quarantine. Unlike billionaires, corporations, and politicians, TCC4J is staying on the front lines to defend our communities.

Minnesota’s Stay At Home Order aims to reduce the spread of the deadly coronavirus. That makes sense for the public health, but we worry about the role of police as enforcers. It can’t be a blank check to raise the levels of policing in our communities or destroy our democratic rights. The Stay At Home Order doesn’t mean you lose the right to leave your house until May 4, it means you should not gather in public. We do not trust police to respect our rights.

City and state officials said police would “educate community members” violating the order, before resorting to other means; but some police have charged people going about their business, in no way violating the order. Police are not educators, and we don’t see them setting aside their force-first routine, especially with Black, brown and Native people. Without community control of the police, racist and violent policing will continue. If you see or experience police abuses, please reach out!

In New York, Detroit, Chicago and St. Paul, cops have tested positive for COVID-19. Police can spread the virus in our communities. In most of Minneapolis, arrests and traffic stops are down; in North Minneapolis, police activity is up. We see cops in our neighborhoods taking no efforts to avoid exposing community members. This needs to change. The enforcement of petty violations is not worth risking lives.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, we were in the fight to free Myon Burrell. His wrongful conviction got a lot of attention when Amy Klobuchar used his case in her (failed) campaign for president. Now Myon, and thousands of others are at risk in jails, prisons and immigrant detention centers, with no protection from the virus and no access to adequate health care.

TCC4J is still working to free Myon Burrell and has joined with others to demand that more people be released from jails, prisons and ICE detention centers. The fight to end racist police violence in our communities, means we need to win community control of the police. Supporters are encouraged to get involved.

#Minnesota #MN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoners #Antiracism #PoliticalRepression #civilianPoliceAccountabilityCouncilCPAC #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJusticeForJamarTCC4J #MyonBurrell

St. Louis Park, MN – Amy Klobuchar supporters couldn’t fill the gymnasium, March 1, at Saint Louis Park High School, even with the help of some 250 protesters demanding freedom for Myon Burrell, an innocent Black teen she sent to prison for life when she was the county district attorney. Myon Burrell’s family, the Racial Justice Network, Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar, Communities United Against Police Brutality, and Black Lives Matter Minnesota called for community members to mobilize to protest at the Klobuchar rally, two days before the primary vote. For more than a month, they’ve been calling on Klobuchar to drop out of the race. Hours after the protest, she announced she’s doing just that.

After rallying outside briefly, protesters marched into the campaign rally, easily overcoming the resistance of a few campaign staffers. The marched to the front of the space, and soon took over the stage and much of the area directly in front of the stage. Doors opened at 7 p.m., and protesters were running the program. The campaign turned up the rally music to full blast, including tracks by the Indigo Girls, Bob Dylan and, shamelessly, Prince. As the music got louder, so did protesters’ chants, “Free Myon!” “Black lives matter!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Klobuchar has got to go.” As Klobuchar was supposed to take the stage at 8 p.m., the campaign scrambled, asking organizers to meet with Klobuchar off-stage, and to let her rally proceed.

The campaign has since spun that story, claiming that organizers refused to meet. In fact, it was Klobuchar who backed out when organizers said they would speak to her with Myon’s family, but Klobuchar refused. Protesters were going strong for more than an hour and a half, facing off with upset Klobuchar supporters, almost all white, including some large men who attempted to physically intimidate women and children. Nothing stopped the protesters, and Klobuchar was unwilling to answer for her role in Burrell’s unjust imprisonment in front of her own supporters. Shortly after that, at 8:43 p.m., a voice came booming over the loudspeaker, “We’re sorry to say that the night’s event has been canceled.”

Protesters cheered, and Klobuchar’s supporters fled, like their leader. The rally closed with a performance by the TKO Drumline and Knockout Danceteam.

Myon Burrell was just 16 years old when he was wrongfully convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Amy Klobuchar’s office prosecuted Burrell on the basis of paid jailhouse informants, coerced eye witness testimony, questionable interrogation tactics, with no DNA, fingerprints, ballistics, or other tangible evidence linking him to the crime. Myon Burrell has spent nearly 18 years in prison and is now 33 years old. He has continued to maintain his innocence since day one.

Facing little support nationally, and losing support every day in her home state, the final nail in the coffin of Amy Klobuchar’s presidential bid was the fight to free Myon Burrell.

#StLouisParkMN #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #Elections #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJusticeForJamarTCC4J #AmyKlobuchar #MyonBurrell

TCC4J demands freedom for Myon Burrell, despite Mike Freeman’s politically motivated endorsement of Klobuchar’s prosecution.

On Monday, February 24, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman released a statement defending Amy Klobuchar for the wrongful conviction of Myon Burrell. Freeman claims the attacks on Klobuchar for her highly questionable handling of the case are ‘politically motivated.’ They are not. Activists and community members want Burrell’s unfair conviction reviewed and overturned, and we want Freeman and Klobuchar to be held accountable for railroading an innocent Black teenager to gain political points for being “tough on crime.”

In truth, Freeman’s response is as politically motivated as Klobuchar’s choice to hold up this case as an example of her work on behalf of the African American community. Freeman’s statements are a combination of platitudes and attacks on Myon Burrell designed to do damage control for Klobuchar’s campaign heading into the Super Tuesday primaries.

This situation provided both Freeman and Klobuchar the opportunity to do the right thing and join the community and say that Burrell’s conviction should be overturned. Instead both chose political expediency over justice.

Freeman’s statements gloss over well-known facts about Myon’s case. It is known that the MPD [Minneapolis Police Department] illegally held Myon despite requests for his mother and legal representation. It is well known that Klobuchar chose to use an unreliable jailhouse informant to convict Myon, ignoring statements of two other suspects that Myon was not present.

After the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned Myon’s conviction based upon flawed, missing and false evidence, Klobuchar chose to try Myon again, because she was unwilling to lose a “victory” in her fight on crime. After Klobuchar became a senator, it was Mike Freeman who oversaw Myon’s second case, which found a conviction based upon Freeman knowingly using the same flawed evidence and a biased judge.

The situation is political. It is about the politics of Klobuchar and Freeman doing harm to yet another Black man for their own political gain. Community members demand politics get out of the way of justice. It’s time for Klobuchar and Freeman to stop talking, and get to work to free Myon Burrell.

#MinneapolisMN #OppressedNationalities #US #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #Elections #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJusticeForJamarTCC4J #AmyKlobuchar #MyonBurrell

St. Paul, MN – Activists and relatives of victims of police killings held a press conference in front of the state capitol, August 8. They marched into the capitol chanting, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” and seized the governor’s office, chanting, giving speeches and demanding the governor follow through on his broken promise to meet with community members about police violence and take action.

Governor Tim Walz had previously scheduled meetings with members of Racial Justice Network (RJN) and Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), but then he bowed out of the meetings, sending aides who stated the governor would not meet with community members.

Members of the groups explained that the aides said that the governor would not call for reopening the case of Jamar Clark because “there is no new evidence.” Activists called this response a lie and pointed out community investigators have found pages of false and misleading information in the BCA [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] report on Clark’s murder. The recent trial of Minneapolis officer Mohamud Noor for killing Justine Damond documented many examples of incompetence and cover-up by the Minneapolis police and the BCA in investigation of police shootings.

The governor’s only action on police killings has been to form a commission. According to activists, no member of the commission except one member of the ACLU has been active in investigating, researching or responding to police violence. Locations and times of meetings are being kept hidden from the public, and community members and family local members of police killings are not being invited to speak on the panel. The secret location of the first meeting turned out to be a small room in the capitol – expressly limiting access to the community. The co-chair of the commission, Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, previously oversaw a notoriously murderous era of the Saint Paul police department, then moved to the state senate, where he co-authored a bill crippling the Minneapolis police civilian review authority. These facts led activists and community members to call the commission a sham.

Governor Walz was aware the protesters were coming. He had the state patrol send emails described as “intimidating” to organizers, and he sent aides out to intercept and discourage protesters at the beginning of the event. Then he again cowered away from meeting with activists and did not provide an aide authorized to discuss the community’s concerns.

At the press conference, Sam Martinez from Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J) stated, “The governor could get involved if he wants to. He says he has no power, but that’s not true.”

Todd Schuman, from Justice for Justine Damond Ruszczyk, stated that Justine’s trial demonstrated to the public “the corruption and the incompetence of the Minneapolis police department and the BCA as well. There were so many incidents of mishandling of evidence and failures to follow through on investigations that it honestly is a miracle that a conviction was secured. Given that the BCA is responsible for all the police shooting investigations in the state, one has to imagine that these kinds of failures have been endemic to the system.”

Leslie Redmond, president of the Minneapolis branch of the NAACP said, “We scream to the state of Minnesota ‘Black lives matter,’ because the state of Minnesota continues to show and tell us that Black lives do not matter. We know that we have some of the worst racial disparities in the nation, and we know that will never get better as long as we continue to justify the killing of unarmed Black men and women.” She added, “This is not just a civil rights issue. This is a human rights issue, and it is time to stand up. Silence equals consent.”

In the governor’s office, the group chanted “Black lives matter” and “Where’s Governor Walz?”

Nekima Levy Armstrong from RJN said, “Enough is enough. We have a message for you, Governor Walz. We will continue to disrupt the status quo. We will show up at your meetings. We came here nicely, asking for a meeting with you. You knew that we would be here, and instead of facing the people – people of all hues and all backgrounds – coming in solidarity, you chose to run. We are expecting a governor who will stand up for the rights of the people.” She went on, “It should not be the case, that the only person in the state of Minnesota to get any semblance of justice when being killed by an officer is an affluent white woman.” The only conviction in the history of Minnesota for a police officer killing a civilian was against a Black Somali officer, Mohamed Noor, who killed a white woman, Justine Damond.

Michelle Gross from CUAPB documented the evidence for reopening the case against Jamar Clark’s killers and described how police investigators ignored the testimony of almost 20 witnesses, took away civilian video footage from witnesses at gunpoint, and misrepresented the incident leading to Jamar’s murder as a domestic violence incident. She closed by telling the absent governor, “Your next three years can be easy, or they can be hard. We can make them hard.”

Dinni and Sumaya Aden, the siblings of Isak Aden – a young Somali man who died after being shot by seven police officers last month – spoke about the disrespect and the lack of cooperation family members of victims are treated with. Sumaya Aden explained that two of the officers who killed her brother had killed before, “One of them killed somebody in 2015, while he was laying on his stomach, in front of his mom and his wife in his mom’s backyard. Shot him in the back. And he just moved from Duluth to Eagan.” They also described how the officers that killed their brother are already back on the job after only three days of administrative leave.

Monique Collars Doty, of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar and other organizations and the aunt of Marcus Golden, who was killed by shots in the back from the Saint Paul police, said, “We have to continue to force the system’s hand to give us the justice we need,” and explained how all of the information needed to charge Jamar Clark’s killers is documented and readily available on the internet.

Other speakers included representatives from Women’s March Minnesota and Native Lives Matter. Representatives of The Anti-war Committee, Blue Lies Matter, and the director of the Justice Forgotten documentary about Jamar Clark’s murder, were also present.

Although police officers lingered outside the governor’s office, the event ended without a police incident. The protesters marched out chanting and promised to continue to disrupt the governor’s schedule until he takes real action against police violence.

#StPaulMN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #CommunitiesUnitedAgainstPoliceBrutality #Antiracism #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJusticeForJamarTCC4J #GovernorWalz