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Demanding action on police crimes, Chicagoans push for civilian control


umbertino
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September 1 2015

 

 

 

CHICAGO - Protesters rallied at Federal Plaza here, Aug. 29, before marching on City Hall to demand an end to police crimes and for civilian oversight of the police. The marchers carried placards with the names and faces of just some of the most recent victims of police brutality as their family members marched at the front of the column: Gerald Reed, beaten into confession, Rekia Boyd, shot in the back of the head and killed by an off-duty officer, Jaime Hauad, tortured into a false confession and currently serving a 20-year sentence.

 

Hauad's mother Anabelle Perez said, "My son is wrongfully convicted and I'm here fighting for everyone's rights." Perez says she gets to speak to her son once a month that he says she is doing what he needs her to be doing. "Nobody hears them [inmates], we're their voices, their ears, their eyes and their mouths. My son supports us."

 

The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is organizing for a "Civilian Police Accountability Council." CPAC would give unprecedented oversight powers to the people of Chicago by creating elected positions for all of Chicago's 50 wards tasked with independent review of police activity and investigatory power into civilian complaints.

 

Perez says her son faced torture and had been threatened with the removal of his toes if he did not confess to a 1997 double-murder. They went as far as to cut the tips off his shoes with an office-grade paper cutter.

 

Just behind the families and survivors of police violence in the column of marchers were contingents from various labor organizations, among them were service and public workers, steelworkers and teachers.

 

Bunnie Johnson, a social worker for Public Aid, carried his union's banner, AFSCME Local 2858, which read, "An injury to one is an injury to all." Johnson linked his union with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. It was AFSCME that organized the famous "I Am A Man" campaign and strike of sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn.

 

Johnson said MLK gave his life while fighting for those workers. "We're here to let the community know [union members] are a part of the community. What happens to us, happens to them, for both working and nonworking people."

 

Connie Bennett, a fast food worker representing Fight for $15, believes in justice for people killed in the streets but also said there is a link between low wages and criminality.

 

"The jobs aren't out here, the wages are so low that a lot of us can't support our families. Men and women are turning to crime to feed their kids and that's wrong," she said.

 

Commenting on the role of the police unions, Susan Hurley, executive director of Chicago Jobs with Justice, said policing is a "tough job" and "not all are killing people."

 

"Everyone should - and do have - collective bargaining and a union."

 

But, she added, "Police can't investigate themselves and it's unfair to ask them." Hurley doesn't see union representation and civilian control as "mutually exclusive" but that in the long run it's in police officers' interest - the overwhelming majority of whom do a good job - to have civilian review authority.

 

Michael Ronson of the Chicago Teachers Union Black Caucus highlighted an ongoing fight for a neighborhood school in Chicago. He introduced Anna Jones, one of 12 parents on hunger strike to stop the closing of Walter H. Dyett High School on the city's Southside.

 

"This is the 13th day we haven't eaten solid food. We're searching for justice. It's time now for them [to stop] closing our schools and opening these prisons. We want community driven schools, and no more privatization," she said, adding that the following week would be "Hell Week" for Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and asked the crowd to show up in solidarity.

 

Among the largest organized groups on hand was the Arab American Action Network. They carried banners that read, "From Ferguson to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime." Muhammed Sankari, director of the AAAN, said, "Our community faces a different kind of attack from law enforcement than the black community in this country but we stand in unqualified solidarity with them and we're here in mass today to show that."

 

The marchers were of all ages, but the average age skewed young. "The next generations" was a favorite subject of many speakers who were inspired by their commitment to the cause of social justice.

 

One such youth activist was 20-year-old college student Regina Joseph from Tallahassee, Fla. "It's definitely a national problem. From Jacksonville to Tallahassee, From Chicago to New York, black and brown lives are consistently disregarded."

 

She told People's World that "24 people have been killed by the Tallahassee Police Department and not one officer has been indicted."

 

Frank Chapman, field organizer for CAARPR, told the crowd at the end of the rally.

 

"This is only the beginning. This is a march, a protest, a demonstration; this is a knock on the door only to let them know we're here." For more information about the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and its campaign, visit www.stoppolicecrimes.com.

 

 

Teresa Albano contributed to this article.

 

 

Video:

 

Elect a Civilian Police Accountability Council Now from Scott Marshall on Vimeo.

 

 

 

FlintDonnaRonald520x300.jpg

 

Photo: Jacob Anukulapo, "Families," Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Facebook.

 

 

http://www.peoplesworld.org/demanding-action-on-police-crimes-chicagoans-push-for-civilian-control/

Edited by umbertino
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I am so fed up with cop haters who want to find bad cops and label all the rest who risk their lives.  If the cops are so bad, next time you are in trouble call a druggie.  It is people like this that are getting the good cops killed.

 

NOBODY on here is a cophater, the article isn't about "cophaters" its about people utilizing their dang rights and  attempting to create an overwatch group.  did you read the article?

 

btw there are "bad cops" and not all cops are bad cops like you try to point out on here. but unfortunately the bad apples seem to be seriously on edge and need anger management classes . no one deserves to die, not cops, not civilians. but since there is a problem with police brutality seems this protest is reasonable. and don't tell me police brutality doesnt' exits. cuz ill have a hay day uploading videos for you.

 

here is one where kids are having a snowball fight and an irate officer pulls his gun out on them... 

 

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this is why people are angry with the "bad cops" this is why copblockers and watchers now exist, because people are ate up with the unecessary use of force...they gave yall combat boots and now civilians are enemy combatants i guess...


 

 

and this guy!! doesn't he look like an upstanding boy in blue, puhlease, as a man lies dying this guy gonna be a thief... 

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Let me tell y'all what the problem is , take it for what's it worth. If you are a stupid uneducated SOB or someone who doesn't care for the moment or someone who believes they are righteous for the moment you have already put yourself in endangerment. Whenever you cause a police officer to react you are at his mercy. Your freedoms are f...cking out the window ! I'm not saying that you are wrong I'm saying that you have no f.....cking rights at that moment. Police officers are no different than you or I , and hey have good days of hey have bad days. They have family , and they do every single thing that you do in their bodily functions. If you are f....cking up, in anyway, shape or manor, and you encounter or cause a police officer to react, then it's your choice as to how you want to be handled. They are God on the streets, just like the judge is God in court or it's jury. A smile will go a long ways, a sir will go a long ways, a please will go a long ways, basically anything that doesn't cause a major reaction. WTF do people not understand! If you try and avoid any confrontation at all, your odds are a lot better. Don't put yourself in that position.

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It does not take a brain surgeon to figure out if you do not want a problem with a cop, you do as he says.  If he says on the floor, you go to the floor.  If he says hands behind your back, then you put your hands behind your back.  If you do not want to be shot by a cop, do not attack one.

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It does not take a brain surgeon to figure out if you do not want a problem with a cop, you do as he says.  If he says on the floor, you go to the floor.  If he says hands behind your back, then you put your hands behind your back.  If you do not want to be shot by a cop, do not attack one.

 

 

thats the point sometimes cops don't have the dang right... so they need to be watched since they cant police themselves.

so your saying cops are animals and to do what they say even if they are wrong... because some can't control themselves... BS

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Peace I really love your sest for life ! And all of the wrongs that you want to right, but bohica is right in so many ways. Unless your a doctor or a hangmans judge or a police officer you will not understand what's it like to have a life altering experience at the mercy of your judgement.

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Peace I really love your sest for life ! And all of the wrongs that you want to right, but bohica is right in so many ways. Unless your a doctor or a hangmans judge or a police officer you will not understand what's it like to have a life altering experience at the mercy of your judgement.

 

tex and maybe thats the problem, they are way to wound up, going out there every day and being on edge, but attacking defenseless pregnant women! unecessary use of force and there are more like that ... and they don't get in trouble they go unchecked which tell all the rest, "i can do it" i agree that police should be policed by others... if the community of peolple have been attacked over time like this, than if i was a mom or a sister or a brother or a dad id start getting really mad especially if someone died in the custody of the "peace officer", years of that kina shiz is gonna make people mad... no justice, who do you call when you have a problem with the police! 

 

my cousin was pregnant and kicked and punched by an officer, and  all she was doing was yelling at them to stop beating her husband, all he did was mouth off, and this story comes from my aunt who is super sweet and takes in everybody who was there watching in horror, she says she didn't know what to do. they are poor they don't have recourse. when cops beat people then it puts a real sour taste in their mouths, cuz now their mindset is "these cops are tyrants",  so what happens to the oppressed people, well one thing is they don't forget... so i love the idea of copwatchers and blockers and i even love the idea of armed citizens (lawful) cuz i think itll make em not so scared to be in the alley at 2 in the morn.

 

so cops should embrace the civilians showing up to help.  just saying im all for people and their cameras and their presence.

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I do acknowledge that there is a problem and maybe with technology (cameras) on the officers and civilians that will change how an officer responds to an incident. The greatest task will be how do you ask an officer to respond to a deadly situation and hold him responsible for a split second decision. If you were in their shoes in an highly elevated situation,when there is enough adrenaline to turn over a car with your bare hands, how should he be judged? Clearly this is not normal and so what should we do ?

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All these civilians judging cops in the field is like politicians judging our military in combat for hitting a terrorist in the mouth after a firefight.  Too many armchair experts who have no experience about that which they judge.  I am not saying every cop is an angel.  I have my own experience of bad cops.  So what, I would like someone to tell me ANY  professions with perfect people.  In spite of the bad experiences, I would rather have a cop by my side than a druggie any day of the week if the shtf.  If cops are all so bad, don't call one but if you do not want to have a negative experience with a police officer then show them respect and do what they say.  I have been raised to always respect the officer and I have yet to have a cop beat me with a baton.  For those who want to think I have a rosy view of police, I have experienced a psycho chief of police who used his office to run drugs and cover sexual abuse.  People told me that the last person who ticked him off like I was doing in encouraging people to talk disappeared.  I know what it is like to be a dead man because you know you might disappear at any time with no record or evidence.  I still would believe that there are more good cops than bad but if someone has a beef with police to begin with then it does not matter how many good cops they meet because they have their minds made up that they are all bad.

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