Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

In-Justice System

By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Kobi Guillory, Co-Chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

On Thursday, September 7, the people's movements won another historic victory with the removal of the gang database by a unanimous vote of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA). We express our utmost congratulations and gratitude to all the organizations and community members who fought for years to erase the gang database, and to everyone who fought to pass the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance which made the CCPSA a reality. Our movement is powerful and it is growing.

The gang database was a tool of racial profiling which targeted Black and brown people as young as 9 years old by labeling them as gang members, creating barriers to housing and employment and increasing the frequency of violent interactions with police. Youth organizations have led the struggle against the gang database since 2017 and managed to stop earlier iterations of the database from being implemented by the previous mayor, Lori Lightfoot.

Erasing the gang database is exactly the kind of policy change ECPS was intended to enact and make permanent. When Lightfoot tried to instate a new version of the database in 2022, the newly formed CCPSA put a stop to it, and that same Commission, led by community and labor organizer Anthony Driver, scrapped the database altogether on September 7th.

In recent years we have seen monumental wins in the struggle for police accountability such as the passage of ECPS in July.

2021; the elections of Brandon Johnson, progressive alderpersons and a majority of pro accountability District Councilors in February and April this year; and freedom for survivors of police torture and wrongful conviction such as the Hernandez brothers. However, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which fights tooth and nail to maintain police impunity, will try to undo all our victories. We encourage all our allies in the movement to stay ready for the police to try reinstating the gang database through some other avenue, and to fight against the FOP's current attempts to bypass accountability by referring even the most severe cases of misconduct to private arbitration instead of the public Police Board.

As we celebrate this win, now is also the time to further consolidate the gains of ECPS by getting more people to engage with the CCPSA and their local District Councilors, pushing policies such as the Peace Book and Treatment Not Trauma, and opposing all efforts of the FOP to undermine the new system of police accountability. This victory, like all people's victories, has come through unity in the struggles of many diverse communities across the city. We need to maintain this unity as we continue to struggle for the empowerment of the people to truly hold the police accountable.

#ChicagoIL #CAARPR #ECPS #GangDatabase

By staff

LA protest demands justice for Adrian Rios.

Los Angeles, CA – On September 9, 40 friends, family and community members rallied in front of the East LA Sheriff’s station demanding justice for the in-custody brutal murder of Adrian Rios, a 28-year-old Chicano. They were joined by the family of David Ordaz Jr., who was killed by East LA Sheriff’s deputies.

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By Alex Carson

Atlanta protest against RICO indictments of stop Cop City protesters.

Atlanta, GA – Community members gathered outside of the Georgia Supreme Court on the evening of September 8 to display their opposition to the extreme state repression that was brought upon activists in the movement to Stop Cop City.

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By J. Cortez

Protest demands justice for Patrick Lyoya.

Grand Rapids, MI – On the morning of Wednesday, September 6, cries demanding justice for the murder of Patrick Lyoya resounded from the steps of the State of Michigan Building. There, a three judge Court of Appeals hearing for the ex-police officer, Christopher Schurr, was taking place. Schurr killed the 26-year-old Congolese immigrant Lyoya with a point blank shot to the back of the head during a traffic stop in April of 2022.

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By staff

Atlanta, GA – 61 Stop Cop City activists are being indicted on Georgia RICO charges by the state’s attorney general’s office.

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By David Pulido

Trabuco Canyon, CA – John Snowling, a retired sergeant from Ventura Police Department, shot and killed three people in Trabuco Canyon, Orange County on Wednesday August 23, wounding six others. He was targeting his ex-wife, Marie Snowling, who he shot in the jaw but who survived the injury. The 69-year-old ex-sergeant brought two handguns and a shotgun into Cook’s Corner biker bar that Wednesday, where his recently divorced wife, Marie, was attending a weekly spaghetti night. Snowling shot nine people in the bar and then turned his guns on police, who shot and killed him.

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By Sam Tunningley

Robert Womack and Reginald James demonstrate how Patrick Lyoya was murdered in A

Grand Rapids, MI – The calls for conviction of Christopher Schurr, the cop who murdered 26-year-old Congolese immigrant Patrick Lyoya, were heard in the streets of Grand Rapids on Thursday, August 31, during a rally of 70 people demanding justice ahead of Schurr’s Court of Appeals date next week. This is the first of two events planned – the second will be to pack the court next week for Schurr’s hearing.

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By Sam Tunningley

Robert Womack and Reginald James demonstrate how Patrick Lyoya was murdered in A

Grand Rapids, MN – The calls for conviction of Christopher Schurr, the cop who murdered 26-year-old Congolese immigrant Patrick Lyoya, were heard in the streets of Grand Rapids on Wednesday, August 30, during a rally of 70 people demanding justice ahead of Schurr’s Court of Appeals date next week. This is the first of two events planned – the second will be to pack the court next week for Schurr’s hearing.

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By staff

Lester Owens.

Chicago IL – In the following letter, hear directly from Lester Owens, a Black man incarcerated at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mount Sterling, Illinois. Like too many others, Owens was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 24 years for a crime he did not commit. Detective Brian P. Forberg, along with his partner Kevin Eberle, coerced witnesses into testifying against Owens by threatening them with drug charges. Owens has been fighting for his freedom since his wrongful conviction, alongside his loved ones and 15 other people targeted by Forberg. Forberg is among the highest paid detectives in the Chicago Police Department and remains on the force, despite 38 allegations of misconduct.

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By staff

Atlanta protest against the police murder of Johnny Hollman.

Atlanta, GA – On Thursday, August 14, over 100 protesters gathered in front of the Atlanta Police Department headquarters demanding justice for Johnny Hollman, holding signs and chanting “Justice for Johnny Hollman!” and “Indict, convict, send these killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell!”

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By staff

Protest demands an end to in-custody deaths at the Milwaukee County Jail

Milwaukee, WI – On August 25, 30 protesters gathered for a press conference, which was followed by a picket, to demand an end to in-custody deaths inside the Milwaukee County Jail. Beginning with the death of Brieon Green on June 26, 2022, six people have died in the custody of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO).

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By staff

San Jose protest demands justice for the Tampa 5.

San Jose, CA – On August 9, members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), along with community members and other organizations rallied to demand dropping the charges against the Tampa 5. The protest was primarily organized and hosted by SDS.

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By Dod McColgan

Chicago protest against the FOP attempts to weaken police accountability.

Chicago, IL – On Monday, August 14, 50 people joined the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and the Empowering Communities for Public Safety coalition in the pouring rain in Chicago’s Union Park to march to the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) headquarters in response to an arbitrator’s recent decision. The decision states that Chicago Police Department officers facing discipline, regardless of the severity, would have the option to take their case to arbitration, behind closed doors, instead of going before the public Police Board.

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By Luis Sifuentes

LA protest demands justice for the Tampa 5.

Los Angeles, CA – On August 9, Centro CSO, along with the Chicano Moratorium organizing committee, staged an action outside of the U.S. Marines recruitment office in East Los Angeles and joined a national call to action in solidarity with the Tampa 5. Joined with cities nationwide, 30 people gathered to protest the injustices faced by the Tampa 5, and to demand the U.S. stop funding wars overseas like in Ukraine and for Israel.

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By Alex Carson

Atlanta police attempt to break up rally against Cop City.

Atlanta, GA – On the morning of August 14, about 30 people gathered outside the 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals to protest the city of Atlanta’s attempt to appeal the “Stop Cop City” referendum. Protesters gave speeches and chanted “APF you have blood on your hands! No more cops on stolen land!”

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By Ryan Stitzel

Immediate family members Lena Mendez, Crystal Casillas-Ruiz, and Mario Fresquez

Golden, CO – When Adam Fresquez was murdered in the small suburb of Edgewater just west of Denver, his family was forced to travel all the way to Golden on Friday, August 11 in order to voice their grievances to District Attorney Alexis King. King has refused to press any charges against Fresquez’s killer or even reveal the assailant’s identity. A crowd of around 70 family members, friends, and activists from the community gathered at the DA’s office to demand accountability and transparency in Fresquez’s case.

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By staff

Jacksonville protest demands justice for the Tampa 5.

Jacksonville, FL – Over a dozen community members and students organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) and University of North Florida SDS gathered as part of an emergency National Day of Action to demand Justice for the Tampa 5. Rallying on August 9 during rush hour traffic of busy State Street in downtown Jax, the protesters withstood record heat to raise the banner and chants, demanding “Drop the charges.”

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By staff

Chicago, IL – Family and supporters of Murod Kurdi packed a Bridgeview Circuit court room, August 8, to demand justice in a case that highlights the racism of the Oak Lawn Police Department.

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By Angel Naranjo

Chicago protest demands drop the charges against the Tampa 5.

Chicago, IL – On August 9, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UIC and Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression joined forces with a powerful coalition to demand justice for the Tampa 5, at a rally in the Federal Plaza.

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By Carson Cruse

Protesters at UNO's campus hold signs supporting the Tampa 5.

New Orleans, LA – On August 9, a determined assembly of demonstrators gathered at the University of New Orleans, uniting in support of the Tampa 5. Despite the relentless summer heat, these committed activists collected petition signatures, amplifying the call for the dismissal of baseless charges.

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