We Keep Us Safe: Police Brutality & State Violence
Constance Malcolm lost a son. Victoria Davis, Allisa Findley and Ashley and Michelle Monterrosa lost their brothers. Akbar Rogers & Jacob Servin almost lost their lives. On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, The Gathering for Justice brought these people and more together for We Keep Us Safe: A Virtual Town Hall on Police Brutality & State Violence.
Since of the murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day, it seems that the nation has finally started to acknowledge the realities of police brutality and state violence against people of color. However, U.S. state violence against Black and Brown communities has existed since this nation’s founding. To ground our program in a historical analysis, The Gathering for Justice’s President and CEO, Carmen Perez, was joined by Brea Baker, Director of Programs at Inspire Justice and a Justice League NYC member.
Segment Two featured directly-impacted people who are leading the movement for accountability and transparency in policing. We were joined by Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramarley Graham, Victoria Davis, the sister of Delrawn Small, Allisa Findley, the sister of Botham Jean, Ashley and Michelle Monterrosa, the sisters of Sean Monterrosa, and Yul-san Liem, from Justice Committee, one of New York City’s leading social and racial justice organizations working directly with families who’ve lost loved ones to police violence.
Here are some actions you can take right now to support these family members:
- Share the Justice Committee’s Open Letter to Governor Cuomo from families of New Yorkers Killed by Police
- Watch Justice Committee’s video on legislative victories
- Sign the petition to rename Lamar Street in Dallas to Botham Jean Blvd
- Sign the petition to release more information in the death of Sean Monterrosa
- Visit the @justice4sean Linktree and Stand with Sean website to learn more and take further action
We were also joined by Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour, original Justice League NYC members and co-founders of Until Freedom, which has been fighting for justice for Breonna Taylor. Today, August 6, 2020, it’s been 145 days since Breonna Taylor was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, and only one of the officers responsible has been fired. On July 14, Until Freedom led a nonviolent civil disobedience in front of State Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s house, in which 87 people were arrested.
Segments Three & Four featured two men from two different coasts, from different backgrounds, who are eerily connected by the fact that their experiences of police brutality happened within 24 hours of each other in December 2019.
Akbar Rogers, 44, was brutally beaten by police in Freeport, Long Island, in an incident that was caught on video by an outraged bystander. Seven officers restrained Akbar on the ground and hailed punches, tased him and kicked him. “I thought I was going to die,” says Akbar, “all I could think about was who would take care of my kids, my mom.” The officers responsible continue to patrol the streets of Freeport, without consequence. At least two of the officers are related to the Mayor of Freeport, prompting calls for a transparent investigation from U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer as well as NY State Attorney General Tish James. Join us in calling on Governor Cuomo to support a fully independent, transparent investigation.
Jacob Servin, 29, received life-threatening injuries during a vicious assault by police inside the San Joaquin County Jail in California. Jacob, who is locally known by his nickname Jaykie, says he was called racial epithets as officers kicked and punched him in a holding area that was conveniently just off-camera. Shortly before our town hall, Jacob was called into work and unable to attend, but his lawyer joined us to deliver Jacob’s message. His case has brought to light other stories of similar kinds of violence from officers in the jail, but there is currently no independent oversight or outside accountability mechanisms — the police are responsible for policing themselves in San Joaquin County.
For the fifth and final segment of the night, we were joined by fellow activists in the movement for a discussion on defunding the police and other immediate solutions and next steps for stopping the violence, moderated by Justice League NYC member Keris Lové.
Dr. Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles delivered many powerful observations through the segment, and shared advocacy efforts to #DecertifyThePolice in California. Los Angeles County has lost 610 people to police violence and not a single officer has been prosecuted. The bill to decertify officers who abuse their power and harm civilians is named after Kenneth Ross, Jr., who was shot by police in broad daylight in an L.A. park. The officer who killed him has killed at least four other people.
New York State Assemblyman Michael Blake discussed legislative initiatives as well as the coordinated pushback from police unions and prosecutors. “Think about the lack of humanity,” he says, “when you have law enforcement officers honestly communicating, ‘I don’t know about that chokehold bill’.” The chokehold bill makes the use of the deadly maneuver — officially banned by the NYPD but used by officers without consequence — a crime under the law.
London Arnold, also of Justice Committee, talked about the effort to divest $1 billion of the NYPD’s $6-$10 billion dollar annual budget into programs that support youth and communities. Despite a huge grassroots coalition in support of the cuts — and weeks of activists camping outside of City Hall in solidarity — New York City passed a budget that cagily recategorized spending line items without actually shifting any financial resources away from the NYPD.
Anthony DiMartino of Californians for Safety and Justice, also talked about the legislative fight to shift resources away from a policing culture that trains people to shoot first and ask questions later. “It’s about reimagining safety and what that means.”
We are so grateful for our partners who helped bring this critically important discussion to the public: Justice Committee, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Inspire Justice, Sisters of the Movement, Californians for Safety and Justice and Until Freedom. Special thanks to our live-streaming partner Roland S. Martin, whose simultaneous broadcasts allowed We Keep Us Safe to reach 85,000 viewers and counting!
Take action:
- Visit untilfreedom.com/breonnataylor to get involved in #JusticeforBreonna
- Share the Justice Committee’s Open Letter to Governor Cuomo from families of New Yorkers Killed by Police
- Watch Justice Committee’s video on legislative victories
- Sign the petition to rename Lamar Street in Dallas to Botham Jean Blvd
- Sign the petition to release more information in the death of Sean Monterrosa
- Visit the @justice4sean Linktree and Stand with Sean website to learn more and take further action
