[News] US police have killed at least 52 people so far this July

[Anti-Imperialist News]

peoplesdispatch.org
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/22/us-police-terrorize-people-throughout-the-country-activists-say-nothing-new/>
US police terrorize people throughout the country, activists say nothing new
Natalia Marques - July 22, 2022
------------------------------

Mass movements of the people of the US have questioned the militarization
and overfunding of police departments.

Throughout July, US police have unleashed countless acts of violence on the
people of the United States. In this month alone, US police have killed at
least 52 people. The release of security footage to US media has further
exposed the negligence of the police response to the Uvalde mass shooting
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/06/05/police-in-the-us-are-not-legally-required-to-protect-people-uvalde-proves-this/>.
Videos on social media have shown the brutality of police in Akron, Ohio
towards those protesting the police murder of Jayland Walker, especially as
some of those protesters were family members of other victims of state
violence.

Yet, many activists have pointed out that US police often structure their
statements to conceal wrongdoing. When law enforcement acknowledges a
police murder, for example, they label it as an “officer-involved shooting”
<https://youtu.be/YY69yYhGNzY>. Many times, the media regurgitates the same
political line, effectively using the passive voice to obscure who was
killed, and who was doing the killing. “Anchorage police investigating
officer-involved shooting at Centennial Park”
<https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/07/21/anchorage-police-investigating-officer-involved-shooting/>
reads a headline after police open fire in a homeless encampment. “Identities
of the three police officers involved in shooting released”
<https://www.reformer.com/local-news/identifies-of-the-three-police-officers-involved-in-shooting-released/article_c3998958-081a-11ed-9dd2-c39c6c0d907d.html>
reads another after two troopers and one officer shot and killed a man
armed with only a knife.

Even finding out the identities of victims of police terror from law
enforcement can be difficult. 15 out of the at least 52 people killed by
police in July are labeled as “unidentified”
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/>
.

Therefore, it remains important to keep track of the myriad incidents of
state violence that plague the people of the United States. Especially as
police try their hardest to keep their crimes out of the headlines.
*Cops shoot Robert Adams in the back as he flees*

On July 16, at around 8 pm, police responded to reports of an armed man in
a parking lot in San Bernardino, California. Police pulled into the parking
lot in an unmarked car, and upon seeing Robert Marquise Adams with a gun in
his hand, got out of the car and rushed towards him, with their weapons
pointed directly at him
<https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgKw9i5A9nd/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D>.

Robert did not respond by using his gun against officers. It will always be
unclear if he even knew these men running towards him were police, or
civilians intent on murdering him. A surveillance video
<https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgKw9i5A9nd/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D> shows
Robert running for his life, before officers shot him several times in the
back, killing him.

Responding to the murder, San Bernardino police state that, “Officers
briefly chased Adams, but seeing that he had no outlet, they believed he
intended to use the vehicles as cover to shoot at them…Fearing that
bystanders’ or the officers’ lives were in danger, one of the officers
fired his gun, striking Adams.”

The video makes it clear that only a few seconds lapse between officers
getting out of their car and Robert’s murder, giving Robert time for little
complex judgement apart from fleeing from his life. It is also important to
note that US police have access to a myriad amount of nonlethal weapons
that can be used to stop someone in their tracks, such as tasers. Activists
are asking why the first response of San Bernardino police towards someone
running in the opposite direction is several bullets to vital organs.

Cristian Alcaraz, a local organizer in the greater Los Angeles Area,
told *Peoples
Dispatch*, “I think the murder of Robert Adams is like the many shootings
by police in LA County and the surrounding countied: outright executions of
Black people.”

“The police pulled up on him in an unmarked car, guns drawn, and rushed
him. Robert ran from the dangerous situation the cops created like any
person would. There wasn’t any danger there until the cops showed up, and
Robert was punished for daring to run away from unidentified men with arms
running towards him,” Alcaraz added.

In their response, San Bernardino police made little direct acknowledgement
of Robert Adams as a person. “It is unfortunate that our efforts to keep
the community safe through proactive police work occasionally results in
encounters with armed felons,” they said.
*Albuquerque police murder a child by fire*

On July 6, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) killed 15-year-old Brett
Rosenau in a SWAT-team “standoff” that led to a family home engulfed in
flames.

APD claims to have been pursuing 27-year-old Qiaunt Kelley for several
crimes, including a parole violation, when he barricaded himself inside the
home of Sundra Coleman, alongside Brett, who was innocent of any crime.
APD’s statement
<https://www.cabq.gov/police/news/apd-releases-update-on-death-related-to-house-fire>
following the incident reveals that they knew that Brett was inside the
home when they threw tear gas canisters into the house, causing the fire
that eventually killed the child. An autopsy revealed that Brett died from
smoke inhalation
<https://atlantablackstar.com/2022/07/11/these-are-black-men-that-fear-the-police-albuquerque-police-face-backlash-after-boy-burns-to-death-during-police-standoff-with-suspect/>
.

“Kelley fled from detectives and barricaded himself inside the home. A
second individual, later identified as Rosenau, followed Kelley into the
home,” reads the police statement.

The statement continues, “At one point, a man believed to be Kelley, opened
the back door of the home and lay on his back as officers monitored his
actions. He ignored officers’ commands to stand up. He eventually sat in
place. Officers used a noise flash diversionary device to get Kelley to
follow commands. But he retreated back into the home, shutting the door.”

Officers did not move to arrest Kelley, even as he lay on the ground.

Police also claim that the tear gas and other chemical irritants they used
to lure Kelley out of the house were “designed for indoor use to minimize
the likelihood of igniting a fire, and no fires have been reported over the
many years they have been used in Albuquerque.” And yet, tear gas canisters
have caused
<https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/city-terrace-standoff-swat-police/2081824/>
fires
<https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-05-30-0105300347-story.html>
on
<https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/2002/06-28/0081_fire_marshal_s_report__tear_gas_c.html>
numerous
<https://www.khq.com/news/fire-report-shows-tear-gas-the-cause-of-house-fire/article_327f622f-57aa-5055-9302-17183b49c8e2.html>
occasions
<https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/city-terrace-standoff-swat-police/2081824/>.
According to activists, it is worrisome that APD seems to be unaware of the
risks of their own weaponry.

The crazy thing about this article is that it extensively quotes the cops,
and those quotes reveal that the cops knowingly burned an innocent child to
deathhttps://t.co/yNJLMUTjaK

— Hemry, Local Bartender (@BartenderHemry) July 17, 2022
<https://twitter.com/BartenderHemry/status/1548561553774956549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

The Albuquerque branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation stated
<https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf-zugbOm-I/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D>, “On July
7, 15-year-old Brett Rosenau was murdered by Albuquerque Police Department
officers using a fraudulent arrest warrant to launch an all-out racist
assault on a family home.”

“APD officers needlessly threw tear gas and flash-bang devices into the
home every 30 minutes for five and a half hours causing a catastrophic
house fire, then waited 40 minutes before calling for assistance from
Albuquerque Fire Rescue,” the statement continued. “Due to the inferno that
resulted from APD’s aggression, Brett died of smoke inhalation and the
family home was destroyed.”

Brett was visiting Sundra Coleman’s son when the SWAT-team raid began.
Coleman has now lost her family home, passed down from her mother, along
with one of her dogs, which perished in the fire.

“If any of our actions inadvertently contributed to [Brett Rosenau’s]
death, we will take steps to ensure this never happens again,” said APD
Chief Harold Medina.
*Negligence of Uvalde cops is fully revealed*

On May 24, a gunman opened fire in an elementary school classroom in
Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers. Soon after the
shooting, *Peoples Dispatch* covered the ineptitude
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/06/05/police-in-the-us-are-not-legally-required-to-protect-people-uvalde-proves-this/>
of the police in Uvalde, who waited over an hour to apprehend the shooter
while children were shot and bled out inside two adjoining classrooms. But
a July 17 report
<https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d005cf551ad52eea13d8753ede93320c/Uvalde%20Robb%20Shooting%20Report%20-%20Texas%20House%20Committee.pdf?_ga=2.26554303.366249018.1658427823-1259546391.1658257258>
shared with the *Texas Tribune*, as well as surveillance footage
<https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2022/07/12/uvalde-school-shooting-video-of-robb-elementary-shows-police-response/65370384007/>
shared by the *Austin Statesman* earlier this month reveals a deeper extent
to their fatal negligence.

It was originally thought that 19 police officers responded to the
shooting, yet the new report reveals that the number was 376. Despite this
high number of personnel, surveillance footage shows how police idled for
one hour and fourteen minutes after arriving at the scene, before finally
breaching the classroom and killing the shooter.

At one point, several police who had congregated in the hallway outside of
the classroom ran from gunfire, despite being protected with tactical gear
and carrying massive weapons themselves. Stills from the footage have
circulated social media, especially those where police idle in the hallway,
checking their phones or using hand sanitizer while children cower or bleed
out inside the classroom.

Most gunshot victims die from blood loss, so in these cases, time is of the
essence. A training manual used by Uvalde police reads, “A first responder
unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should
consider another career field.”

Uvalde cop checks phone with tough-guy punisher skull background while kids
are being murdered a few rooms over. I wonder why Uvalde PD thought this
footage would be embarrassing? pic.twitter.com/79ur5QxdVy
<https://t.co/79ur5QxdVy>

— whoffster (@WhiffWhaffWhoff) July 12, 2022
<https://twitter.com/WhiffWhaffWhoff/status/1546972414348861442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Immediately after the shooting, Texas Governor Abbott claimed that, “[Police]
showed amazing courage by running toward gunfire”. Texas Department of
Public Safety Director Steve McCraw claimed that cops “immediately breached
[the classroom], because we know as officers, every second’s a life.” Both
these statements have been revealed as lies.
*Family members of police brutality victims arrested in Akron*

*Peoples Dispatch* previously covered the protests that rose up in Akron,
Ohio in response to the gruesome police murder of Jayland Walker
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/01/us-police-fatally-shoot-black-delivery-driver-over-90-times-following-traffic-violation/>—and
the subsequent state repression
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/06/after-an-especially-bloody-july-4-when-will-the-people-of-the-us-say-enough/>
of those protests.

The people of Akron rose up early this month in outrage over the shooting
of Jayland, who was shot over 60 times by police. On July 4, a patriotic
holiday for the US, roughly fifty people were arrested at a protest after
the mayor declared a 9 pm curfew. Police deployed chemical weapons such as
tear gas against protesters.

When people came out in protest again on Thursday night, July 7, police
once again arrested and brutalized protests. On this night, those arrested
included Jacob Blake Sr., father of Jacob Blake who was paralyzed
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/24/outrage-in-us-following-police-shooting-of-a-black-man-in-wisconsin/>
after Kenosha, Wisconsin police shot him. Also arrested was Bianca Austin,
aunt of EMT Breonna Taylor who was shot and killed in her sleep after
Louisville, Kentucky police entered her home on a “no-knock” warrant.

Full video on my TikTok or IG. Akron Police just assaulted and arrested
Jacob Blake Sr. Mr Blake has been transported to a local hospital.
#freejakeblake
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/freejakeblake?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
#freepressure
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/freepressure?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/MbDcVVLlig <https://t.co/MbDcVVLlig>

— jolly_good_ginger (@jollygoodginger) July 7, 2022
<https://twitter.com/jollygoodginger/status/1544876230532538373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Jacob Blake Sr., who has several health conditions, was hospitalized
following his arrest. He was charged
<https://courts.akronohio.gov/AkronCaseInformation/cases/criminal/22-CR-04926-001>
with rioting, resisting arrest, failing to disperse and disorderly conduct.
Blake Sr.’s brother, Justin Blake, told *The Journal Times*
<https://journaltimes.com/news/local/jacob-blake-sr-detained-hospitalized-after-protest-in-akron/article_2205434f-a397-5fce-90b0-4ab96c150626.html>,
“They were there to unite the community and family and to get justice,
before they were attacked…He wasn’t resisting arrest, he was leaning on the
fence for a respite. He’s handicapped.”
*Denver police carry out a mass shooting*

On July 17, police in Denver opened fire on a crowded street with little to
no provocation, injuring 6 people. Officers claim to have been responding
to an alleged fight perpetrated by 21-year-old Jordan Waddy, who allegedly
pulled out a gun and pointed it towards officers. In response, police
opened fire. Although police later claimed that Waddy “posed a significant
threat” <https://twitter.com/DenverPolice/status/1548609267149594625>,
there is no evidence that he fired his weapon at all during the incident.

This shooting is a part of three shootings
<https://kdvr.com/news/local/denver-police-update-on-multiple-police-shootings-over-the-last-week/>
carried out by Denver police within only one week, the other two resulting
in the death of those shot by police.

—

Police in the United States receive a vast arsenal of leftover military
equipment
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/06/after-an-especially-bloody-july-4-when-will-the-people-of-the-us-say-enough/>
from the US government, which itself has the largest military in the world.
And yet, incident after incident indicates that police have a lack of
responsibility necessary to wield deadly weapons, often resulting in
disastrous consequences. When it might in fact be necessary to use deadly
force, as in the case of Uvalde, police show unusual hesitancy.

Mass movements of the people of the US have questioned
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/08/black-lives-matter-protests-continue-in-cities-across-the-us/>
the militarization and overfunding of police departments. As more and more
incidents of police brutality and negligence are reported, such questioning
of the role of police can only grow.

—

*Police have thus far killed at least 52 people in July alone. These are
their names.*

   1. Robert Marquise Adams, 23, San Bernardino, California
   2. Unidentified, Chandler, Arizona
   3. John Todd Bigham, 53, Amarillo, Texas
   4. James Robert Frazier, 50, Georgetown, South Carolina
   5. Unidentified, Denver, Colorado
   6. Stephen Blossom, 35, Newport, Maine
   7. Unidentified, Vinton, Texas
   8. Trent William Millsap, 27, Westminster, California
   9. Maurice Hughes, 45, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
   10. Unidentified, Modesto, California
   11. Matthew Hyde, Hollywood, Florida
   12. Unidentified, Ontario, California
   13. Unidentified, Denver Colorado
   14. Unidentified, Hancock County, Illinois
   15. Unidentified, Salinas, California
   16. Romayne Manuel, 31, Grand Prairie, Texas
   17. Unidentified, Harris County, Texas
   18. Malachi Lavar Carroll, 20, Henrico County, Virginia
   19. Unidentified, Salem, Oregon
   20. Andrew Tekle Sundberg, 20, Minneapolis, Minnesota
   21. Mark Evers, 65, Clearcreek Township, Ohio
   22. Thomas Cromwell, 27, Mason, Ohio
   23. Madeline Miller, 64, Flossmoor, Illinois
   24. Dillon Walker, 31, Cave City, Kentucky
   25. Malik Williams, New York, New York
   26. Raoul Hardy, 60, New York, New York
   27. Unidentified, Colorado Springs, Colorado
   28. Jaime Rodriguez, 42, Long Beach, California
   29. Roderick Brooks, 47, Houston, Texas
   30.  Shane Netterville, 28, Fargo, North Dakota
   31.  Rafael Estevan Ramirez, 26, Marietta, Georgia
   32. Felipe Guerrero, 36, Los Angeles, California
   33.  Jasper Aaron Lynch, 26, Mclean, Virginia
   34.  Ehmani Mack Davis, 19, Detroit, Michigan
   35. Jerry Lee Esparza, Beeville, Texas
   36. Matthew Scott Jones, 36, Bradley, West Virginia
   37. Chanin Emil Mayfield, 32, Toccoa, Georgia
   38. Reginald Humphrey, 31, Los Angeles, California
   39. Juan Carlos Bojorquez, 15, Glendale, Arizona
   40.  Trevon Darion Hull, 21, Port Neches, Texas
   41.  Unidentified, Martin County, Kentucky
   42.  Unidentified, Wilmington, California
   43. Miguel Gallarzo, 46, Las Vegas, Nevada
   44. James Parks, 44, Warner Robins, Georgia
   45. Glenn Nisich, 57, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
   46. Bryan Humble, 63, Chaparral, New Mexico
   47. Unidentified, Denver, Colorado
   48. Michael Moore, 75, Sacramento, California
   49. Unidentified, 30, Huntington Park, California
   50. Jesus Rodolfo Torres, 30, Los Angeles, California
   51. Jada Johnson, 22, Fayetteville, North Carolina
   52. Brett Rosenau,15, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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