Victory in Legal Case of Arrests from the Anthony Hill Protest in Chamblee, Georgia, on Blow the Whistle Day

October 6, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

From readers:

On March 14, 2015, the Saturday after DeKalb County, Georgia, police murdered naked and unarmed Anthony Hill at his apartment complex in Chamblee, a powerful outpouring of protest called for by the Stop Mass Incarceration Network on national Blow the Whistle Day hit the streets of Chamblee. The protest involved over 100 people from the apartment complex and activists from various communities and organizations. As the march was ending, the DeKalb County police snatched and arrested seven activists from the crowd, including several members of the Atlanta Revolution Club, and eventually took six to jail and slapped them with multiple charges (see Revolution’s original coverage of the protest).

Last week, DeKalb County dropped all the charges and dismissed the case against the six activists! This is a sweet and important legal victory that stopped this attempt by DeKalb County to criminalize political protest and intimidate people from rising up against the murderous police force.

DeKalb police killed again in August, chasing and then tasing Troy Robinson while he was on top of an eight-foot wall, causing him to fall to his death with a broken neck. Troy was the third person killed by DeKalb County police within the past year. The police chief, Dr. Cedric Alexander, is president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and a frequent “expert” commentator on CNN. He infamously issued statements quickly after the murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner that urged people to be calm and patient and trust that the Ferguson and New York police chiefs would be thorough and “transparent” in their investigations.

None of the DeKalb County cops involved in these murders has been charged or indicted. Family members, their lawyers, and community activists have been relentless in the struggle for justice, which continues. Some of the activists whose charges were dropped in the Chamblee case celebrated by being back out in the face of the DeKalb County police the following day to protest the “Beat the Badge” police fundraiser 5K race (see correspondence on that protest here).

 

 

Volunteers Needed... for revcom.us and Revolution

Send us your comments.

If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.