Chicago, IL – 500 demonstrators rallied in Federal Plaza and marched through downtown Chicago, July 27, to protest the atrocious police murder of Sonya Massey. Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, was shot in the face in her own home after calling the police to report a potential intruder.
The officer who murdered her, Sean Grayson, a sheriff's deputy in Sangamon County, Illinois, was discharged for murdering Sonya. Grayson was previously discharged from the army for serious misconduct, had a pattern of DUIs, and was shuffled around to at least six different police departments over the span of four years.
Atlanta, GA – The family of Christon Collins, a 27-year-old veteran who died in Dekalb County Jail, held a press conference on Monday morning, July 22, to share new information about their son’s death.
Jonia Milburn, Collins’s mother, says she got mixed and confusing stories from the sheriff’s office. The family is asking for an independent investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable.
Emotions filled the room as Jonia Milburn talked about what she saw in the video of her son’s last moments in the jail. “My son laid on the floor for three hours with no care. Nobody noticed. No guards, no supervisors, no one but the inmates.” Milburn says the video shows her son losing balance and hitting his head, then lying on the floor for three hours in the common area of the jail with no one checking on him but the inmates. Documents shared by the family show that when Collins was finally attended to hours later, EMTs did not perform life-saving measures on him.
Milwaukee, WI – As the Republican National Convention came to an end on Thursday, July 18, hundreds of law enforcement officers and dozens of media outlets circled a crowd gathered for a rally at Red Arrow Park demanding justice for D’Vontaye Mitchell and Samuel “Jah” Sharpe, Jr.
Milwaukee, WI – On Tuesday, July 16, five police officers with the Columbus, Ohio Police Department shot and killed 43-year-old Samuel “Jah” Sharpe Jr. These police officers came to Milwaukee to provide security for the Republican National Convention (RNC), but the shooting took place near 14th and Vliet Streets, which is more than seven blocks away from the RNC security perimeter.
Alan Chavoya, outreach chair of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated, “We warned the representatives of the city, of the Milwaukee Police Department, over the past two years that they were exposing our city to this kind of violence with the 4500 out-of-town police officers coming in for the RNC.”
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression is ecstatic to announce that the Milwaukee Police Association has dropped their lawsuit in opposition to Standard Operating Procedure 575. The Milwaukee Alliance has been fighting for SOP 575 since Memorial Day Weekend of 2021. This SOP will force the Milwaukee Police Department to release footage, including body camera footage, of critical incidents to the victims’ next of kin within 48 hours and the public within fifteen days. This is a huge victory for the people of Milwaukee and the first step towards true transparency and accountability between police and the community. For the first time, Milwaukeeans will have a hard timeline on when they can expect answers about police crimes in our communities.
Fullerton, CA – Over 30 people, including families impacted by police killings, protested against police brutality at the Fullerton Transit Center on Friday, July 5. The protest was spurred by the March killing of Alejandro Campos Rios by the Fullerton Police Department. Rios was homeless and experiencing a mental health crisis when police killed him.
Winter Haven, FL – On Sunday, June 30, the voices of hundreds assembled at the Church of God the Bibleway echoed the demands for police accountability in nearby Lakeland, Florida as stories of abuses at the hands of the Lakeland Police Department were shared.
Attorney Bobby DiCello, representing the victims, moderated the press conference. Activists and victims spoke out about the abuse that Lakeland Police Department is responsible for. DiCello, on behalf of the victims, asked for a meeting between the victims and the Lakeland Chief of Police Sam Taylor, who has time and time again covered for the abuses and incompetence of his officers, as they beat, harass and invent bogus charges against African Americans in Lakeland.
Baton Rouge, LA – On Monday, July 7, the family of Deaughn Willis held a press conference in front of City Hall to demand justice. Willis was murdered by East Baton Rouge Deputy Eno Guillot in 2022. Guillot was denied qualified immunity for the murder in a ruling earlier this year. However, Guillot is still employed by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and has not faced any criminal charges.
Dallas, TX – On Saturday, July 6, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR) Dallas partnered with the Stop Cop City Dallas coalition for a town hall meeting at Pan-African Connection to educate the community on the planned construction of a police training facility to be built on the University of North Texas at Dallas campus.
San Jose, CA – Over two dozen people gathered in San Jose to demand the freedom of political prisoner Leonard Peltier on the 49th anniversary of the shootout at Pine Ridge, June 26. Peltier is a leader of the American Indian Movement who has been wrongfully imprisoned since 1978 after being framed for the killing of two FBI agents during the shootout.
