------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the June 23, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
NEW YORK: PROTESTS CONTINUE AGAINST POLICE KILLINGS
By Richard Wales New York
Since the year started, New York City police have killed a number of unarmed civilians not engaged in any criminal activity. All were people of color. The two most recent killings were within a week of each other; police murders in this city, like runs in a baseball game, seem to come in bunches.
Alberta Spruill and Ousmane Zongo were killed on the 16th and 22nd of May, respectively. Spruill was in her apartment getting ready to go to work when a narcotics SWAT team broke down her door and burst in, exploding concussion grenades. Their "mistake"had the wrong apartment-- cost this 57-year-old city worker her life from a heart attack.
Zongo was gunned down at his place of work--a warehouse where he repaired cultural objects imported from Africa.
Both had no particular reason to fear that their lives would be taken by people who were supposedly paid to protect them. Spruill was buried on May 24 after services at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church that she attended. Zongo's body will be flown back to his homeland, Burkina Faso.
As usual, there are promises of investigations into these deaths. Will the usual pattern of coverup take place? Will the district attorney's office find no reason to bring even the slightest criminal charges against the offending officers and/or their bosses? Will the police commissioner or mayor, a couple of months down the road, declare that nobody was at fault? They will want to let everybody off if they feel they can get away with it. To do this they have to quiet public outrage and they have a lot of practice in this.
However, there have been a number of rallies, marches and press conferences to protest these killings. One demonstration protesting Spruill's killing was followed by a cook-out. During the civil rights struggles in the south, fish fries were often where communities got together to discuss plans of action to further their struggle for equal rights. Harlem community groups are meeting to discuss further actions.
All gains made by our class throughout history have been won through struggle. It will only be through struggle that we remove killer cops from our streets. The system will not voluntarily become fair. To paraphrase Mumia Abu-Jamal, the courts are only user friendly for the rich. We have to stay outraged until the murderers are punished. We have to also be optimistic, because when the people realize their strength, the people will win.
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