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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">US police terrorize people throughout the country, activists say nothing new</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Natalia Marques - July 22, 2022<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>Mass movements of the people of the US have questioned the militarization and overfunding of police departments.
</p><div>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/06/05/police-in-the-us-are-not-legally-required-to-protect-people-uvalde-proves-this/"><span>Uvalde mass shooting</span></a><span>.
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.</span></p>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://youtu.be/YY69yYhGNzY"><span>“officer-involved shooting”</span></a><span>.
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. </span><a href="https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/07/21/anchorage-police-investigating-officer-involved-shooting/"><span>“Anchorage police investigating officer-involved shooting at Centennial Park”</span></a><span> reads a headline after police open fire in a homeless encampment. </span><a href="https://www.reformer.com/local-news/identifies-of-the-three-police-officers-involved-in-shooting-released/article_c3998958-081a-11ed-9dd2-c39c6c0d907d.html"><span>“Identities of the three police officers involved in shooting released”</span></a><span> reads another after two troopers and one officer shot and killed a man armed with only a knife. </span></p>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/"><span>“unidentified”</span></a><span>. </span></p>
<p><span>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.</span></p>
<h3><b>Cops shoot Robert Adams in the back as he flees</b></h3>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgKw9i5A9nd/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D"><span>weapons pointed directly at him</span></a><span>. </span></p>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgKw9i5A9nd/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D"><span>video</span></a><span> shows Robert running for his life, before officers shot him several times in the back, killing him. </span></p>
<p><span>Responding to the murder, San Bernardino police state that, “</span><span>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.” </span></p>
<p><span>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. </span></p>
<p><span>Cristian Alcaraz, a local organizer in the greater Los Angeles Area, told </span><i><span>Peoples Dispatch</span></i><span>,
“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.”</span></p>
<p><span>“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.</span></p>
<p><span>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.</span></p>
<h3><b>Albuquerque police murder a child by fire</b></h3>
<p><span>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. </span></p>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://www.cabq.gov/police/news/apd-releases-update-on-death-related-to-house-fire"><span>statement</span></a><span>
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 </span><a href="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/"><span>died from smoke inhalation</span></a><span>. </span></p>
<p><span>“</span><span>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.</span></p>
<p><span>The statement continues, “</span><span>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.”</span></p>
<p><span>Officers did not move to arrest Kelley, even as he lay on the ground.</span></p>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/city-terrace-standoff-swat-police/2081824/"><span>caused</span></a> <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-05-30-0105300347-story.html"><span>fires</span></a> <a href="https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/2002/06-28/0081_fire_marshal_s_report__tear_gas_c.html"><span>on</span></a> <a href="https://www.khq.com/news/fire-report-shows-tear-gas-the-cause-of-house-fire/article_327f622f-57aa-5055-9302-17183b49c8e2.html"><span>numerous</span></a> <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/city-terrace-standoff-swat-police/2081824/"><span>occasions</span></a><span>. According to activists, it is worrisome that APD seems to be unaware of the risks of their own weaponry. </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">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 death<a href="https://t.co/yNJLMUTjaK">https://t.co/yNJLMUTjaK</a></p>
<p>— Hemry, Local Bartender (@BartenderHemry) <a href="https://twitter.com/BartenderHemry/status/1548561553774956549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><span>The Albuquerque branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf-zugbOm-I/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D"><span>stated</span></a><span>,
“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.”</span></p>
<p><span>“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.”</span></p>
<p><span>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.</span></p>
<p><span>“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.</span></p>
<h3><b>Negligence of Uvalde cops is fully revealed</b></h3>
<p><span>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, </span><i><span>Peoples Dispatch</span></i><span> covered the </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/06/05/police-in-the-us-are-not-legally-required-to-protect-people-uvalde-proves-this/"><span>ineptitude</span></a><span>
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 </span><a href="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d005cf551ad52eea13d8753ede93320c/Uvalde%20Robb%20Shooting%20Report%20-%20Texas%20House%20Committee.pdf?_ga=2.26554303.366249018.1658427823-1259546391.1658257258"><span>report</span></a><span> shared with the </span><i><span>Texas Tribune</span></i><span>, as well as </span><a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2022/07/12/uvalde-school-shooting-video-of-robb-elementary-shows-police-response/65370384007/"><span>surveillance footage</span></a><span> shared by the </span><i><span>Austin Statesman</span></i><span> earlier this month reveals a deeper extent to their fatal negligence.</span></p>
<p><span>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.</span></p>
<p><span>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. </span></p>
<p><span>Most gunshot victims die from blood loss, so in these cases,
time is of the essence. A training manual used by Uvalde police reads, </span><span>“A first responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should consider another career field.”</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">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? <a href="https://t.co/79ur5QxdVy">pic.twitter.com/79ur5QxdVy</a></p>
<p>— whoffster (@WhiffWhaffWhoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiffWhaffWhoff/status/1546972414348861442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><span>Immediately after the shooting, Texas Governor Abbott claimed that, “</span><span>[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.</span></p>
<h3><b>Family members of police brutality victims arrested in Akron</b></h3>
<p><i><span>Peoples Dispatch</span></i><span> previously covered the protests that rose up in Akron, Ohio in response to the gruesome </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/01/us-police-fatally-shoot-black-delivery-driver-over-90-times-following-traffic-violation/"><span>police murder of Jayland Walker</span></a><span>—and the subsequent </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/06/after-an-especially-bloody-july-4-when-will-the-people-of-the-us-say-enough/"><span>state repression</span></a><span> of those protests. </span></p>
<p><span>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. </span></p>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/24/outrage-in-us-following-police-shooting-of-a-black-man-in-wisconsin/"><span>paralyzed</span></a><span>
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.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">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. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/freejakeblake?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#freejakeblake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/freepressure?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#freepressure</a> <a href="https://t.co/MbDcVVLlig">pic.twitter.com/MbDcVVLlig</a></p>
<p>— jolly_good_ginger (@jollygoodginger) <a href="https://twitter.com/jollygoodginger/status/1544876230532538373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><span>Jacob Blake Sr., who has several health conditions, was hospitalized following his arrest. He was </span><a href="https://courts.akronohio.gov/AkronCaseInformation/cases/criminal/22-CR-04926-001"><span>charged</span></a><span> with </span><span>rioting, resisting arrest, failing to disperse and disorderly conduct.</span><span> Blake Sr.’s brother, Justin Blake, told </span><a href="https://journaltimes.com/news/local/jacob-blake-sr-detained-hospitalized-after-protest-in-akron/article_2205434f-a397-5fce-90b0-4ab96c150626.html"><i><span>The Journal Times</span></i></a><span>,
“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.”</span></p>
<h3><b>Denver police carry out a mass shooting</b></h3>
<p><span>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 </span><a href="https://twitter.com/DenverPolice/status/1548609267149594625"><span>“posed a significant threat”</span></a><span>, there is no evidence that he fired his weapon at all during the incident. </span></p>
<p><span>This shooting is a part of </span><a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/denver-police-update-on-multiple-police-shootings-over-the-last-week/"><span>three shootings</span></a><span> carried out by Denver police within only one week, the other two resulting in the death of those shot by police. </span></p>
<p><span>—</span></p>
<p><span>Police in the United States receive a vast arsenal of </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/06/after-an-especially-bloody-july-4-when-will-the-people-of-the-us-say-enough/"><span>leftover military equipment</span></a><span>
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.</span></p>
<p><span>Mass movements of the people of the US have </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/08/black-lives-matter-protests-continue-in-cities-across-the-us/"><span>questioned</span></a><span>
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.</span></p>
<p>—</p>
<p><strong>Police have thus far killed at least 52 people in July alone. These are their names.</strong></p>
<ol><li><span>Robert Marquise Adams, 23, San Bernardino, California</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Chandler, Arizona</span></li><li><span>John Todd Bigham, 53, Amarillo, Texas</span></li><li><span>James Robert Frazier, 50, Georgetown, South Carolina</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Denver, Colorado</span></li><li><span>Stephen Blossom, 35, Newport, Maine</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Vinton, Texas</span></li><li><span>Trent William Millsap, 27, Westminster, California</span></li><li><span>Maurice Hughes, 45, Hattiesburg, Mississippi</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Modesto, California</span></li><li><span>Matthew Hyde, Hollywood, Florida</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Ontario, California</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Denver Colorado</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Hancock County, Illinois</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Salinas, California</span></li><li><span>Romayne Manuel, 31, Grand Prairie, Texas</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Harris County, Texas</span></li><li><span>Malachi Lavar Carroll, 20, Henrico County, Virginia</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Salem, Oregon</span></li><li><span>Andrew Tekle Sundberg, 20, Minneapolis, Minnesota</span></li><li><span>Mark Evers, 65, Clearcreek Township, Ohio</span></li><li><span>Thomas Cromwell, 27, Mason, Ohio</span></li><li><span>Madeline Miller, 64, Flossmoor, Illinois</span></li><li><span>Dillon Walker, 31, Cave City, Kentucky</span></li><li><span>Malik Williams, New York, New York</span></li><li><span>Raoul Hardy, 60, New York, New York</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Colorado Springs, Colorado</span></li><li><span>Jaime Rodriguez, 42, Long Beach, California</span></li><li><span>Roderick Brooks, 47, Houston, Texas</span></li><li><span> Shane Netterville, 28, Fargo, North Dakota</span></li><li><span> Rafael Estevan Ramirez, 26, Marietta, Georgia</span></li><li><span>Felipe Guerrero, 36, Los Angeles, California</span></li><li><span> Jasper Aaron Lynch, 26, Mclean, Virginia</span></li><li><span> Ehmani Mack Davis, 19, Detroit, Michigan</span></li><li><span>Jerry Lee Esparza, Beeville, Texas</span></li><li><span>Matthew Scott Jones, 36, Bradley, West Virginia</span></li><li><span>Chanin Emil Mayfield, 32, Toccoa, Georgia</span></li><li><span>Reginald Humphrey, 31, Los Angeles, California</span></li><li><span>Juan Carlos Bojorquez, 15, Glendale, Arizona</span></li><li><span> Trevon Darion Hull, 21, Port Neches, Texas</span></li><li><span> Unidentified, Martin County, Kentucky</span></li><li><span> Unidentified, Wilmington, California</span></li><li><span>Miguel Gallarzo, 46, Las Vegas, Nevada</span></li><li><span>James Parks, 44, Warner Robins, Georgia</span></li><li><span>Glenn Nisich, 57, Sioux Falls, South Dakota</span></li><li><span>Bryan Humble, 63, Chaparral, New Mexico</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, Denver, Colorado</span></li><li><span>Michael Moore, 75, Sacramento, California</span></li><li><span>Unidentified, 30, Huntington Park, California</span></li><li><span>Jesus Rodolfo Torres, 30, Los Angeles, California</span></li><li><span>Jada Johnson, 22, Fayetteville, North Carolina</span></li><li><span>Brett Rosenau,15, Albuquerque, New Mexico</span></li></ol>
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