Demands
to Stop Police Crimes in the U.S. Mount Resistance Movement Rejects Refusal to Charge Breonna Taylor's Killers
- Kathleen Chandler - 
Louisville, Kentucky
protest, September 23, 2020, following court's refusal to indict
officers for killing Breonna Taylor.
On September
23, Kentucky's Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that a grand
jury would not indict the racist police who killed Breonna Taylor in
her home, March 13, in Louisville. Two of the
police involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor were allowed to go
free, a third is charged only with "wanton endangerment" for shooting
into the apartment next to where Breonna lived, while a fourth, who
lied about Taylor's involvement in drugs to secure the warrant for the
police raid, was not charged. The warrant cited claims by a U.S.
Postmaster that Breonna was receiving illegal packages at her home,
claims which that U.S. Postmaster later testified he had never verified.
 Expressing the
views of many, a Palestinian-American activist in Louisville said the
failure to lay charges "tells people cops can kill you in the sanctity
of your own home." The response of the people of
Louisville was fast and furious. Demonstrations have been ongoing in
Louisville for more than 100 days and it is only as a result of their
determined resistance that Breonna's name has become known and that a
grand jury was even given the case, six months after her killing.
Demonstrations there swelled on the news of yet another government
provocation, whose atrociousness and inhumanity reveal the depths of
the racist system in the United States. Besides the
outrage expressed in Louisville, many poured into the streets in
protests across the country, in New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis,
Los Angeles and elsewhere. More than 11,336,700
people signed a petition demanding all police involved be held
accountable and that government officials take action. Everywhere
demands for Community Control, Stop Police Crimes, Remove
Federal Forces, and Drop All Charges Against
Organizers were heard. Many African Americans, young workers,
women, immigrants, union members, rights organizers, people of all
nationalities and political and religious persuasions are standing
together in their demands for justice and accountability.
Breonna Taylor was an award-winning emergency medical
technician (EMT). This is a specially trained medical technician
certified to provide basic emergency services. She was working at two
hospitals during the pandemic.  Breonna Taylor's
home was raided at about 12:40 am using a no-knock warrant obtained on
the basis of a police lie that she was involved in drugs. She was shot
six times in a hail of 32 bullets. The city settled a lawsuit for
"wrongful death" and gave the family $12 million. Despite all this,
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron presented a case construed in
such a manner that the grand jury was unable to indict. He added a
further affront, telling the millions of people across the country who
have been demanding justice and control over policing: "If we simply
act on outrage, there is no justice -- mob justice is not justice.
Justice sought by violence is not justice. It just becomes revenge."
Grand jury proceedings are secret so whatever evidence was
presented remains unknown. Police video footage and Taylor's autopsy
are not public. There is no accountability whatsoever. What is known is
the effort by the government to make it appear that it is the grand
jury that is at fault for not indicting. They claim the state was
providing "justice" by bringing the case to the grand jury. Invariably,
state governments present cases in such a way that police use of deadly
force is considered "reasonable" and therefore legal. Despite the hail
of bullets, it is said the police involved in Breonna's killing did not
"intend" to kill anyone. In a similar case in Tampa Bay, Florida,
African American Jonas Joseph was killed in his car in a military-like
attack of 120 bullets by undercover police. No charges were filed.
Police, as usual, claimed Joseph fired a gun, then changed their story
repeatedly and finally admitted that he had not fired a gun. Thousands
marched in New York City, September 23, in two actions, one in
Manhattan and another in Brooklyn. In Chicago, about 1,000 people
marched on police headquarters. In Minneapolis, where actions continue
to be organized to bring justice for George Floyd, more than 1,000
people rallied at the state capitol and marched for four hours,
including briefly shutting down interstate highway I-94. Thousands
had marched on September 19 in a day of national action against
government racism and repression. In Tallahassee,
Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, Florida, demonstrations against racist
police killings and racial profiling and for community control of
police took place. The demand for control, includes how community
safety and security should be organized, along with hiring, firing, and
powers to subpoena and charge -- not just an "advisory" board with no
power, as is common. Demonstrators in Tallahassee
also demanded the release with no charges of the Tallahassee 19
(#Tally19), who were arrested at an action September 9. They condemned
the government for the grand jury decisions not to charge police
officers in three recent killings of civilians. Banners read: "Black
Lives Matter," "Community Control of Police," and "Drop the Charges."
In Jacksonville, actions demanded control over the city budget
and policing. About 40 per cent of the budget goes to police. They also
demanded that laws which ensure police are not accountable for killings
-- in the name of "reasonable" use of force and/or "fear" for their
lives without any proof -- be eliminated. They too called for charges
against the Tallahassee 19 to be dropped. In Tampa Bay a speaker summed
up, "Enough is enough, we are fighting for Black and brown lives, for
justice, and will continue to be out here until change takes place."
Similarly, the demonstration on September 19 of hundreds in
Chicago, including an 80-car caravan, demanded control, removal of
federal forces and "Tallahassee 19, drop all charges!"  Dallas, Texas
also saw actions on September 19, including demands for control of the
city budget and policing. Organizers highlighted that Erin Nealey Cox,
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, which includes
Dallas, has been named by President Trump as one of the leaders of the
Department of Justice's so-called "Antifa Task Force." Organizers
emphasized that the task force is charged with disrupting and silencing
the resistance, which is also the reason for the many thousands of
demonstrators being arrested and charged, some with felonies. Recent
targeted arrests include those of six leading organizers in Denver,
Colorado on September 17, meant to undermine September 19 actions. The
six organizers were arrested at their homes, in parking lots, and while
driving. They are facing trumped-up charges including "inciting a
riot," "kidnapping" and "theft."
Ongoing actions in
Louisville, Portland, Denver, Detroit, Tallahassee and all across the
country, which have been met with brutal police repression and massive
arrests, show clearly that all efforts to intimidate and silence the
resistance are failing. The U.S. democracy has been revealed for the
entire world to see, as tyranny, the very thing the much touted
Constitution of the United States is said to prohibit. Indeed, the more
government actions give official permission and provide impunity for
racist police killings, the more evident it becomes that it is the
people's own efforts and struggle for empowerment and equality that
provides solutions. Everywhere the stand is that resistance will
continue until change that favours the people takes place.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 36 - September 26, 2020
Article Link:
Demands
to Stop Police Crimes in the U.S. Mount: Resistance Movement Rejects Refusal to Charge Breonna Taylor's Killers - Kathleen Chandler
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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