NYPD kills again
By Imani Henry
Brooklyn, N.Y.
There is anger in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn over
the police killing of a 23-year-old Black man, Louis Geme. On
the afternoon of Jan. 16 he was shot at close range by Sgt.
Thomas Muirhead and Officer Joe Thompson. They fired a volley
of bullets near the busy front entrance of 3501 Foster Ave. in
the Vanderveer Estates, barely missing community residents who
ducked for cover. Many horrified residents had just arrived
home after picking up their children from school.
This is the first known police killing since Michael
Bloomberg was sworn in Jan. 1 as mayor. Ever since Sept. 11,
there has been an orchestrated effort to portray New York
police as national heroes, despite continued reports of police
brutality and harassment.
Within two days Police Commissioner Ray Kelly gave his nod
that the shooting was justified. The two officers were put on
"modified duty"--more a vacation than a punishment--pending
further investigation.
Workers World visited 3501 Foster Ave. one day after the
shooting. No investigation was taking place. There was no
police caution tape to seal off the area. Anyone could walk
right up and witness the large stain left by Louis Geme's
body.
Many residents of this working-class neighborhood made clear
they were furious at the police but feared reprisal. They told
Workers World that after an incident a month earlier, in which
a bicycle falling from a roof had hit a cop, police harassment
had increased.
The official story
New York Newsday on Jan. 18 alleged that after an
altercation with residents in the courtyard, Geme had forced
his way into an apartment, wrestling with a 14-year-old boy and
his grandmother. After stealing a kitchen knife and a "hook,"
he then ran back out into the courtyard, where police
confronted him. They said he lunged at them with a knife before
they opened fire.
Geme was portrayed in some commercial media as a mentally
disabled person. The Jan. 17 New York Times reported that he
"had behaved erratically, scuffling with several people on the
street before forcing his way into an apartment, where he
grabbed the knife and hook."
The New York Police Department has a history of killing
mentally disabled people. In August 1999, in the Borough Park
section of Brooklyn, police responding to a noise complaint
dragged Gideon Busch, a Hasidic Jew, from his apartment and
pepper-sprayed him. When he broke away from them and rushed
down the street holding a small hammer, they shot him to
death.
In this latest police shooting, neighbors agreed there had
been an altercation in the courtyard, and said Geme was beaten
up. But some told the press they believed Geme had been the
victim of an anti-gay bashing--and was then gunned down by
police who had been called to help him.
Whether or not Geme was gay, the police have sent a clear
message to the lesbian, gay, bi and trans communities: you can
be shot and killed by the police if they are called after a
bashing.
Eyewitnesses who spoke to WW disputed the press accounts
that said Geme had a knife in his hand. They had seen only a
short wooden bat.
One woman, on her way to pick up her kids from school, was
right behind Geme when he was shot- so close that his blood
splattered on her face and she could smell the gunpowder. She
reported that he did not move towards the cops or even speak
before they fired on him.
Another eyewitness, who says more than eight bullets were
fired, watched the police comb for shells in a grassy area
nearby. A medical examiner's autopsy found that shots hit Geme
in the left forearm and left leg; the left buttock, the left
side of his lower back and the left side of his body. Another
young Black man said the police had deliberately kept medical
workers from treating Geme, only allowing them to approach once
he was dead.
Not isolated incidents
Before the tragedy of Sept. 11, the NYPD and the mayor, Rudy
Giuliani, had been on the defensive over a legacy of violence
and terror, especially against communities of color. Amadou
Diallo had been shot 41 times, supposedly because his wallet
was mistaken for a gun. Abner Louima had been raped with a
plunger in a police station.
These cases of police brutality brought about the resurgence
of a militant, multi-national movement across the city. But
after 9/11, with the so-called war on terrorism and the bombing
of Afghanistan, a new wave of right-wing, reactionary fervor
has turned racial profiling into patriotism and Giuliani and
the cops into heroes, who save lives instead of take them.
Now the killing of Louis Geme once again exposes the real
role of the police: to serve the interests of the rich and
terrorize the communities of the poor and oppressed. While the
new city administration and media try to bury the truth behind
Louis Geme's death, community and police brutality activists
have begun their own inquiries.
Michelle Quintus contributed to the research for
this article.
Reprinted from the Jan. 31, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
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