Salt Lake City, UT – Utah Against Police Brutality rang in the New Year with a rally here at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building. Around 50 people braved the freezing temperatures to hear speeches against the ongoing police brutality in the U.S. In the state of Utah, police murders are outpacing those committed by drug dealers, gang members and child abusers.

In 2014, two high-profile police shootings occurred, taking the lives of Dillon Taylor and Darrien Hunt. Officer Bron Cruz killed Dillon Taylor, even though Taylor was unarmed. A body camera captured the incident; however, Salt Lake City (SLC) District Attorney Sim Gill justified the shooting. SLC Police Chief Chris Burbank said, “Under the circumstance, he used the appropriate force necessary facing that difficult situation,” while in the same breath he declared, “that young man shouldn't have lost his life.”

In another police murder, Darrien Hunt was stopped while carrying a model toy sword after two 911-phone calls reported him as suspicious. Darrien was an African American man walking in the majority white suburb of Saratoga Springs.

Despite contradicting testimonies, officers Schauerhamer and Judson were cleared, with Utah County District Attorney Jeff Buhman justifying the shooting. This result came despite video surveillance showing Darrien Hunt running for his life, with no toy sword in hand when the fatal shots were fired. The autopsy reports six shots to Darrien’s back. It was reported that Officer Judson wore a body camera that day, yet it was not activated during the encounter.

Activists are looking forward to 2015 as a year when all this changes. Utah Against Police Brutality made two New Year resolution: a campaign to create mandatory external reviews of all police shootings and a campaign to organize community classes for Know Your Rights training.

“They kill indiscriminately. They never are held accountable. Nobody asks questions. They sweep it under the rug and lie, then vilify the victim after that,” said Ash X to the crowd in front of the Federal Building.

Pratik Raghu spoke: “I was deeply upset by the way that the UN Human Rights Commission and Committee on Torture dismissed and belittled Mike Brown's family members.” Raghu views the killings, “as part of an international epidemic of police violence against civilians from Ferguson to Palestine to India.”

“The way the Ogden Police Department racially profiles Latino youth results in higher incarceration rates,” explained Malik Dayo an activist from nearby Ogden.

“Now we have to talk about Antonio Martin, not just Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Darrien Hunt,” explained Lex Scott, president of the United Front Party. Lamenting the ever-growing list of African Americans shot dead by police, Scott added, “We need to let those people out there know, that there will be no peace until we get our justice.”

Protesters marched on major streets in downtown Salt Lake City, taking the full lane of traffic on State Street, Main Street and West Temple. They then staged a die-in at a busy intersection, causing traffic to shut down and TRAX trains to back up.

The marched ended at the New Year’s ball drop, with protesters shutting down a major intersection. Police scrambled on scene to block off traffic, while protesters chanted “From Ferguson to SLC, end police brutality!”

A dozen SLC police officers looked on as cars forced their way through the crowd of protesters. The cops stood idle as protesters took action, with some ending up on top of moving vehicles. No severe injuries were reported.

One SLC cop pushed his way through a crowd, using his wooden baton to shove protesters out of the way. This officer refused to reveal his name and badge number to protesters.

“Utah Against Police Brutality is a great group doing great things. The United Front Party is proud to march with them and address the issue of police brutality. Addressing this issue is long overdue,” declared Lex Scott at the end of the action.

Follow activists on the ground in Utah with #utahprotests.

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Salt Lake City, Utah – 100 people who came out to support the police were met with a counter-protest organized by Utah Against Police Brutality. In Utah, police murders are outpacing murders committed by drug dealers, gang members and child abusers. The pro-police rally was organized in the middle of the work day by well-off whites who had Utah District Attorney Sean Reyes come to address them.

30 counter-protesters set up on the steps of the county building, using their chants to shut down the pro-police rally. They chanted “Serve and protect, that’s a lie, you don’t care when Black kids die,” and “Good cop bad cop, police violence gotta stop.”

The supporters of police carried signs reading “Police don’t shoot to kill, they shoot to stay alive.” Three days after Mike Brown was killed in Ferguson, unarmed Dillon Taylor was shot at a 7-Eleven store by Officer Bron Cruz. Darrien Hunt was a Black man shot in an overwhelming white city running for his life.

The pro-police crowd chanted “We love police,” but soon stopped when Gregory Lucero of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke at the protest. Lucero said, “We are out here against police brutality. That other rally is for police brutality. We will stand against all forms of racism and police brutality.”

The pro-police people marched over and attempted to engage with counter-protesters, but counter-protesters disregarded them and continued chanting until the pro-police rally disbanded.

Val Brown, who attended the counter-protest, said, “I saw a big action in Milwaukee on the media, seeing my friends standing up and fighting back got me inspired to come out here today.”

Protester Fubuki Abe said “I think the protest was extremely important today to show people who are in favor of cops, that there are people in the community who stand up against police injustice.”

Utah Against Police Brutality will hold an event on New Year’s Eve at the Federal Building in Salt Lake City. People can follow protests and other events using #utahprotests.

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Ogden, UT – On a wet and cold Dec. 13, protesters gathered at the Ogden City courthouse to demand an end to police brutality in Utah and all across the U.S. In Utah, police murders are outpacing murders committed by drug dealers, gang members and child abusers. In the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, police killed Dillon Taylor and Darrien Hunt in Utah. People have had enough.

50 people rallied to a call for justice for victims of police violence and their families. They chanted popular slogans in solidarity with protesters in other cities: “Black lives matter!” “I can't breathe!' and “Hands up, don't shoot!”

Malik Dayo spoke to the crowd, “The police are practicing racial profiling and it has got to end!” Latino youth are the main target of discriminatory practices by the Ogden police.

After the rally came to a close, protesters took their message on a march through the area, where Ogden families were gathered to enjoy the Christmas displays in City Hall Park.

Chris Manor, an organizer with Utah Against Police Brutality said, “It's great that people in Ogden are starting to build the struggle against police brutality. Even the smallest action plants the seeds which grow into a larger movement.”

Activists in Utah are using the hashtag #utahprotests for live updates on the ground.

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