Baltimore cops kill again
Death of Joe Wilbon sparks 'Walk for Justice'
By Sharon Black
Baltimore
On July 5, residents of the Brentwood and Barclay
neighborhood in East Baltimore joined the family of Joseph
Wilbon, the All-Peoples Congress and Unity for Action in a
"Walk for Justice" for Joe Wilbon who died shortly after an
encounter with Baltimore police.
On June 5, Joe Wilbon left his shop to help fix a car for
one of his customers. He owned a small body shop in the
neighborhood. Witnesses from the neighborhood state that police
surrounded Wilbon when he attempted to enter the car and began
to beat him. Then they dragged him into a police van.
Several hours later, he was pronounced dead at Mercy
Hospital.
The victim's family was not allowed to view the body until
days later at a funeral home. By their account there were
bruises on his badly swollen face that were not there before,
despite efforts by the funeral home to restore his
appearance.
One month has transpired since Joe Wilbon's death and many
questions remain unanswered. The coroner's office has yet to
release a report on the cause of death. And no one from the
police department has spoken with the family.
Despite several rallies, all of the big-business media have
remained silent. Only the local African American community
newspaper has printed a story.
'We won't go back!'
Family members continued to call for justice at the July 5
event for Wilbon.
Andre Powell, an organizer for the All-Peoples Congress,
told those gathered, "We demand that the police stop the cover
up, release the reports and jail the cops responsible for
killing Joe Wilbon."
As the family and supporters took over city streets, police
attempted to stop the march. But the determination of the crowd
turned the police away.
Eric Easton, vice president of Unity for Action, took the
microphone and denounced the police. He shouted, "How dare they
try to stop our march. First they kill us; now they try to take
away our rights. We won't go back."
Jeff Bigelow, a union organizer and member of the
All-Peoples Congress, said, "Joe Wilbon's death is not an
isolated incident. Since the mayor appointed Ed Norris as
police commissioner the incidence of police abuse and killings
has risen.
"This neighborhood has become a target," he continued.
"Residents tell of police forcing Black men to lay spread eagle
on sidewalks, youth being verbally harassed, residents being
called names and police using obscene gestures. The attempt is
to intimidate, but our organization will continue to work with
the community to stop police abuse and killings."
After the rally, the group marched through the neighborhood
and local business district and back to the body shop near the
sight of Wilbon's beating. Activists distributed hundreds of
flyers along the route of march to sympathetic residents who
appeared energized by a show of opposition to police
terror.
The All-Peoples Congress, Unity for Action and the family
have called for a picket line at the City Council on July 10.
The City Council voted unanimously to ratify the appointment of
Ed Norris to police commissioner despite protests from many in
the African American community.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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