Community demands investigation
Police let shooter of Black couple walk
By Larry Hales
Aurora, Colo.
On the afternoon of Nov. 18, nearly two dozen members of
this city's Black community protested in front of the Aurora
Municipal Building. They were calling attention to the recent
shooting of a Black couple, Aaron Davis and Benita
Coleman-Davis. Aaron Davis died at the scene. Benita
Coleman-Davis remains in critical condition.
The shooting happened at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 in front of a
Blockbuster video store. The couple was returning home from a
wedding shower and stopped to rent movies. Glen Eichstedt, a
white man, pulled up beside them. As they exited their
vehicles, one car door reportedly dinged the other, and an
argument ensued.
Witnesses say Benita Coleman-Davis placed herself between
the arguing men. Eichstedt threw a punch at Davis, and then
shoved Coleman-Davis, who fell down. The two men exchanged
blows and, in the course of the fight, Davis found a pipe-like
object and hit Eichstedt, who at 6'3" towered over Davis's 5'6"
height.
Eichstedt stumbled and began walking away. When Davis walked
toward him, Eichstedt pulled out a handgun and shot him and
Coleman-Davis, who was still on the ground.
The community, friends and family of the Davises are
outraged that Eichstedt was allowed to walk away from the scene
of the shooting. He was not charged with any crime---even
though he was still holding the gun when police arrived.
Eichstedt handed police the gun and answered a few
questions. He was never handcuffed and was allowed to
leave.
The cops, relying solely on Eichstedt's version of the
events, immediately ruled the shooting was in "self-defense,"
even though a witness said Eichstedt had stood over Davis,
yelling at him. Witness Eda Ordonez, who was questioned by
police for four hours, was told by them to say nothing.
The shooter is the owner of a "blue bar"-- an establishment
frequented by police.
The treatment of Eichstedt is markedly different from the
treatment people of color receive from the Aurora Police
Department. The police in this city have a history of being
abusive.
Just two months ago, police shot a Black youth who ran from
them after the cops broke down the door of his friend's
apartment.
In neighboring Denver, police have killed four people of
color in the last three years. Two of them were disabled Black
men. Earlier this year, a Latino man was shot while holding a
soda can.
As the details of this incident come out and more witnesses
testify to Aaron Davis defending himself and his partner, it
becomes increasingly obvious that police are planning to allow
Eichstedt to get away with murder.
However, the family and community aren't sitting still. They
are demanding action, saying that Eichstedt must at least be
detained, questioned further and made to post bail while a real
investigation is conducted.
Reprinted from the Dec. 9, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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