Revolution #219, December 12, 2010
BEAR WITNESS
AGAINST POLICE ABUSE and BRUTALITY
If the police have... sweated you at school, dogged you in the streets, hit on you or otherwise sexually harassed you, or ... if the police have racially profiled, "stopped and frisked," threatened, tasered or brutalized you or any member of your family, …if the police have killed friends or family.
Write us!!! Tell your story.
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Revolution c/o RCP Publications,
Box 3486, Merchandise Mart,
Chicago, IL 60654-0486
Views of those who contribute to "Bear Witness" are their own and they are not responsible for views expressed elsewhere in this newspaper.
The following was submitted to Bear Witness...
"I was on my way home from school and the police told me to stop. They asked me to take out the stuff in my pocket. So I asked them why and then they told me to get against the wall. They patted me down and took stuff out of my pocket and threw it on top of their car. Then they told me to get my stuff and leave. 'Go home!' No questions. I didn't feel too great after that. I felt like I had just been robbed."
14-year-old student in Harlem
"The police walked up to my mother and me. I was drinking juice. This officer was like, 'Can I smell that?' My mother said, 'She's only a little girl. Who do you think I am? No, you can't smell that. It's juice.' Then the police started acting like they were gonna take my mom, arrest her... for no reason. They were like 'I should give you a ticket for that.' Just because she wouldn't let them smell the juice. They had an attitude. They showed disrespect to her. And what are we supposed to do when the police arrest our parents right in front of us. We gonna start crying. They don't even care what we say. That's not right. It's not fair."
12-year-old girl in Harlem
"im from kinston n.c. i am a victim of police brutality i been tasered 3 times pepper spray punch kick -- they strike me with baton. i need help."
"The police shot my cousin. They said he had a gun but it was his inhaler because he has asthma. He died two years ago. We been trying to fight the case but they say the cop has no fault in it. He was just using force because that's what good cops are supposed to do—whatever. We've been trying to fight it… we can't… we don't find a way out. I don't know. I don't know what to do."
A high school student in Harlem
Question: "Have you had any experiences with the police?"
Answer: "Not yet."
13-year-old boy in Harlem
"I was late for school. So I wrapped up my breakfast in a paper towel and ran out of my house. I was running and I put the sandwich in my pocket. A police officer saw me put the sandwich in my pocket so he stopped me and made me take it out and I had to unwrap it. He saw that it was just a croissant but he said I could have put something inside it so I had to open it up and hollow it out. He kept saying I might have drugs. But, then he took a bite of my sandwich and let me go. It was stupid and ridiculous, but what could I do? They stop a lot of people."
16-year-old student in Harlem
"I am Cornelius Hall, father of Jerrold Hall who was also murdered by BART Police (storm troopers). My family was suppressed as the Grants are being now. The same system that has supported murdering cops continues to do so. I asked help from Ron Dellums and he refused although he will say he don't remember. He is now in a position to help his community but won't.
"There are ministers, city officials and thousands of good citizens who do not and will not accept a second degree manslaughter verdict as justice. They have been to the Mountain Top and will fight with you no matter the cost, Keep the Course."
Cornelius Hall writing to Revolution about the police murder of Oscar Grant
"Can I tell about my father? He was going to New Jersey because he's a cab driver in New York. He had to drop somebody far and he didn't know how to get there. So he asked a police officer where to go. The police officer told him to get out of the car. Then the police officer threw him up against the car and started to pat him down. And then, my father, he felt very scared. And he started crying. From that day on he says he feels different. He has told me this story over and over again, almost every day. Every time I see a cop in the street, I don't know, I don't feel safe no more. I don't feel justice. You never know what's going to happen."
15-year-old boy in Harlem
"Me and my friend just finished work and stopped at a restaurant in the Flats. I came out the restaurant to get inside my car and eat my burger and my drink. Then 4 white guys walked up to my car with guns out, telling me to get out. I thought they were going to rob me because they had guns drawn. They told me to get out and put my hands on the car. They shook me down. I had nothing on me. Then they handcuffed me and put me in the back seat of their car, took me downtown, going underneath the Justice Center to the garage. And one cop asked me if I ever had my arm broken. I said, 'No.' He said, 'It is very dark and no one will hear you when you scream.' Then we get in the elevator and one cop punched me in the face and told me, 'You are going to say you tried to steal [your own] car.' 'No I'm not,' I said. I was booked and in jail for about 2 weeks. I went to court and the judge asked me if the detectives were in the court, I said, 'No.' The charges were grand theft of my car and they didn't show up because they didn't want to go before the judge. The judge said, 'You are not the only Black guy that came here to be charged with stealing his own car.' I can't understand how they are going to charge me with theft when I had my title and keys. They never asked me for them. But he hit me in the face and said he would make me say I stole my own car. Sittin' in my car eatin my sandwich. They stopped me cause I am Black. This happened a few years ago. This is something I will never forget, like if a person robbed you, something you will never forget."
From Ohio
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