RIVERSIDE, CALIF.
Thousands protest whitewash of killer cops
By John
Parker
Riverside, Calif.
Thousands marched here May 10 in an angry response to the
whitewashed verdict of the Riverside County district attorney
clearing four cops responsible for the frenzied shooting of
Tyisha Shenee Miller, a 19-year-old African American woman,
last December.
"They killed this girl for no reason," said the Rev. Al
Sharpton, who spoke at the march. Sharpton was joined by Martin
Luther King III and Dick Gregory.
"Racism and biased treatment towards racial minorities is
alive and well in Riverside," said Miller's cousin, the Rev.
Bernell Butler, in a Sunday service preceding the march.
"They're sending a message that racism goes to the core in
Riverside ... and that police officers are above the law, that
they can get away with murder," Butler said.
Early on the morning of Dec. 28, Tyisha Miller and several
friends had car trouble and pulled into an all-night gas
station at Central and Brockton avenues in Riverside. Miller
was left in the car to wait for help. For protection, she put a
gun on her lap. She fell asleep and began having seizure-like
symptoms.
When relatives arrived on the scene, they saw her condition
and called 911 for help. Then the cops arrived and began
banging on the car door.
When Miller didn't respond, they smashed the window. Then
they started shooting.
At first the four cops claimed Miller fired her gun and they
responded in self-defense. The next day, when evidence showed
her gun hadn't been fired, the police changed their story. Now
they said the victim only reached for her gun.
However, witnesses at the scene said Miller was still
sleeping when the cops started shooting.
District Attorney Grover Trask said the shooting of Miller
resulted from a "mistake in judgment." Trask cleared the four
officers of any criminal wrongdoing.
The whitewash came as a surprise to some. Immediately after
the shooting, city officials had promised a thorough
investigation and justice for the victim.
But during the "investigation," Trask's team didn't even
bother to interview the four officers. Instead they relied on
transcripts of routine interviews conducted by police homicide
investigators.
Trask said he found no evidence that the shooting was
racially motivated, even after it was revealed that the cops
had made racist statements at the scene.
According to the May 7 Los Angeles Times, a cop who was
there told Deputy District Attorney Mike Soccio that another
officer "said something to the effect, `It looks like a Kwanza
gathering over there.' "
After the arrival of a grieving woman, another officer said,
"Get ready, here comes the Watts death wail."
The four cops were reportedly seen "slapping hands" after
the killing.
One of Miller's cousins who was at the scene told Soccio's
office that a cop yelled "Get your black a-- out of the car, or
we'll sic the dog on you."
Outrage over whitewash
Students and youths, so often the targets of police
repression, were well represented at the May 10
demonstration.
Irlanda Aguirre, a 21-year-old student from San Bernardino
Valley College, came with the Hip Hop Love Culture Club. She
said she saw the links between U.S. war abroad and violence
here at home: "I'm here to fight against U.S. imperialism
against the oppressed minorities of this country. Tyisha Miller
is just one of the many struggles we face in our society."
"I'm here fighting for justice for Tyisha Miller because she
represents all people of color that continue to be oppressed in
the U.S.," said Esther Portillo, a 21-year-old student from
Pomona. "When we fight for her, we're fighting for all the
oppressed."
Kimberly Butler, another of Miller's cousins, said she was
marching because the district attorney's decision "brought back
all the pain." And Kevin Taylor, a family friend, said the
decision "twisted the knife in the wound."
After a rally at City Hall, protesters march ed to Trask's
office. They blocked the door in an act of civil disobedience.
Forty-six people were arrested.
"We want them to know we are prepared to go to jail to get
the attention of the [California] attorney general and the U.S.
attorney," said the Rev. Butler as he waited his turn to be
taken away.
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