Baltimore groups to demand 'Stop killer cops'
By WW Baltimore bureau
Baltimore area groups have called for a
downtown march and rally on April 4. The protest will demand an
end to police killings and abuse.
The activity will coincide with the anniversary of the
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Other protests
against police brutality are set for April 4 in St. Louis and
New York.
Community groups calling the march include the All-Peoples
Congress, Concerned Citizens for Police Accountability and
Review, the Local Organizing Committee of the Million Man
March, and Unity in Action.
Baltimore activists have been horrified by the growing
number of police killings in the area.
Andre Powell, a march organizer, said, "The number of
victims of police killings continues to grow in our city. James
Quarles, Preston Barnes, Simmot Thomas, Melvin James, Scooter
Jackson, Jesse Chapman, Shawn Freeland.
"These young men are just a few of the victims," he
added.
There is also a growing number of police brutality and
harassment cases. Powell described the recent case of the King
family. Cops broke down their door, then physically abused the
teen aged daughters.
The April 4 program will feature victims and family members
of those brutalized by police.
Nicole Wood, office coordinator for the campaign, said: "We
have already distributed over 6,000 fliers. The word is going
out to the youth and to everyone in the community."
Wood is a young person who has herself experienced police
harassment. She has spoken at a number of organizing meetings
about the need to reach out to other young people.
She told Workers World: "We have been contacted by young
people during this campaign. I just spoke with a teenaged
father who will be speaking at the rally. His baby died as a
result of police tear gas."
The march demands include:
• a grand jury investigation of the killing of James
Quarles
• justice for all victims of police killings and
abuse
• community control of police-
including the right to hire from the community and the right to
fire
• an end to racism
• a citizen review board, with subpoena powers,
independent of police
• passage of Resolution 282
• jobs and education for youth, not jails and police
harassment
• a full-scale community investigation into police
corruption
• an end to police falsifying evidence, stealing drug
money and recycling drugs in the community.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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