Chicago, IL – 200 protesters marched in Chicago's Federal Plaza, Wednesday evening, July 6, to demand justice for Jayland Walker, who was murdered on June 27 by Akron Ohio police. Speakers at the rally connected the murder to similar police killings and other police crimes such as torture and wrongful conviction. The protesters demanded that the officers who killed Jayland Walker be convicted, and that community control of the police be enacted.
Milwaukee, WI – In the calm before the storms hitting Milwaukee on July 4, over 1000 protested around the following six demands: True separation of church and state; repeal of Wisconsin State Statute 940.04; law enforcement shall not enforce abortion bans; the state of Wisconsin shall require law enforcement officials to read off Miranda Rights to those being detained; the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County shall not prosecute abortion cases – dismiss them all; and community control of the police now.
Tampa, FL – Tampa community members protested July 4 to demand Justice for Jayland Walker and community control of the police. The protest was organized by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) and was held at Lykes Gaslight Park in downtown Tampa.
Akron, OH – On July 3, hundreds of people took to the streets and participated in marches demanding justice for Jayland Walker, an African American man who was murdered by Akron police on June 27. Shot over 60 times and then handcuffed after his body was full of holes and bleeding wounds, Jayland Walker was unarmed while murdered by police. The organized protests follow days of sporadic unrest throughout the city. After the seventh day, the Akron Police Department finally held a press conference which released body-cam footage detailing the incident to the public.
New Orleans, LA – On the afternoon of June 18, New Orleans for Community Oversight of the Police (NOCOP) and about 15 community members from Orleans and Jefferson Parish held a rally in solidarity with the youth imprisoned at Bridge City Center. For over an hour, the group held signs and banners and led chants in a loud show of support for the youth.
Los Angeles, CA – On the two-year anniversary of the murder of Andres Guardado, June 17, UNITE HERE Local 11 and the Check the Sheriff Coalition held a press conference to call for a Los Angeles County Charter Amendment. This amendment will establish a new law with stronger civilian oversight of the LA Sheriffs.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Committee to Free Simon Trinidad. Simon Trinidad is a Colombian revolutionary illegally captured and extradited to the U.S. on bogus charges that required four separate trials to lock him up in solitary confinement in the Florence, Colorado supermax prison. The Special Court guaranteed in the 2016 Peace Accords is requesting his presence in order to move the country toward a peace with justice.
Grand Rapids, MI – Christopher Schurr, the Grand Rapids cop who executed Patrick Lyoya, has been charged with second-degree murder by Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker. Charges were announced at a June 9 press conference. The decision comes nine weeks after Lyoya was gunned down at a traffic stop on April 4. The family, along with local activist groups, have called for Schurr to be fired and charged with murder. Schurr turned himself in to officials in Calhoun County, and termination from Grand Rapids Police Department is now proceeding, according to Chief of Police Eric Winstrom.
Milwaukee, WI – On June 6, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression facilitated a meeting between the Fire and Police Commission (FPC) and families who have lost loved ones to police violence. Present at the meeting were the families of Samuel Rodriguez (murdered 2002), Larry Jenkins (murdered 2002), Jay Anderson Jr. (murdered 2016) and Alvin Cole (murdered 2020).
Los Angeles, CA – In a historic move, the Civilian Oversight Commission voted in favor of a resolution to support a charter amendment giving the LA Board of Supervisors, the Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) and Office of Inspector General stronger oversight of the LA County Sheriff's Department. The vote also included the ability of the Board of Supervisors to remove a Sheriff for misconduct. Members of Centro CSO, impacted families of police killings, Black Lives Matter-LA, the ACLU, and Check the Sheriffs Coalition joined the meeting and spoke in favor of the Board of Supervisors placing a November 2022 ballot measure to win community control over the LA County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Villanueva.
Los Angeles, CA – On May 21, over 50 people gathered in the city of Bellflower, in the southeastern region of LA county, to demand justice for Edgar Ortiz. Oritz, who was 32 years old, was shot and killed by a member of the LA County Lakewood Sheriff's Station on March 3, in front of his family, during a mental health crisis.
Appleton, WI – On Saturday, May 21, the family of Jimmie Sanders – a man murdered by Appleton police in May 2017 – alongside Fox Valley Food Not Bombs, Appleton SDS, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and United Action Oshkosh organized a rally and march to bring attention to the case, and to crowdfund for the Jimmie Sanders legal team.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following May 20 statement from Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
Peoria, IL – The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) brought a dozen activists from Chicago to Peoria, Illinois May 16 for the opening of the federal trial of Anthony Gay. Gay had previously defeated the charges when, in an historic trial, he won a hung jury representing himself. He is facing the same assistant U.S. attorneys and federal judge.
Tallahassee, FL – On April 30, Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) hosted a panel discussing Tallahassee’s current city budget and the need for a People’s Budget. The panel was put on at The Bark, a local vegan restaurant in the All Saints neighborhood, and was co-sponsored by the Tallahassee chapters of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
Grand Rapids, MI – On Wednesday, April 13, the Grand Rapids Police Department released four videos of Patrick Lyoya’s murder at the hands of a GRPD officer, who they still refuse to name. Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black man, was a Congolese refugee, and a father to two daughters.
Grand Rapids, MI – A crowd of hundreds marched to the Grand Rapids City Commissioners meeting, April 12, to demand both the release of the raw video showing the murder of Patrick Lyoya and the arrest of the still-unnamed killer cop. Lyoya was a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant executed by the Grand Rapids Police Department last week. In the days after his death, citywide mourning and protests against the police have increased and are expected to surge after the release of the video this Wednesday.
![More than 1000 march in Milwaukee for "People's Independence Day."](https://i.snap.as/cR7MVT13.jpg "More than 1000 march in Milwaukee for \\"People's Independence Day.\\" \(Fight Back! News/staff\)")
