truthout--2020-07-02--Police Unions Are Racist Power Brokers in Opposition to Movement for Black Lives

The scene is all too frequent — a Black person is slain or wantonly brutalized on camera by police officers , most often white , and in response , a white police union leader steps to the microphone and unequivocally defends the actions , no matter how indefensible they are .
A police chief or mayor , under pressure from the community , attempts to invoke modest reforms in response , and the union wields the power of its contract to defeat the measures .
Progressive-leaning prosecutors are mercilessly attacked and judges plied with union contributions to support “ law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with lawyers , at union expense , when they are administratively charged or criminally prosecuted .
When a department , pursuant to a consent decree or community pressure , implements de-escalation and peer intervention training , the union provides alternative “ warrior mentality ” training free of charge .
The union leaps to the defense of a cop who sends a defenseless 75-year-old peace activist to the hospital in critical condition .
Several police union leaders are notorious “ repeater beaters ” with long records of shootings , beatings and other misconduct .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to intimidate cops who break the code of silence and bravely testify about police torture and murder .
Union leaders rally for Trump , while he encourages their violence .
And the list goes on .
Police unions are not the origin of racist police violence , which is inherent in the institution of policing .
That violence would not disappear if corrupt union leaders were removed .
However , police unions operate as racist power brokers , aiding and abetting the worst of policing ’ s manifestations , including police-perpetrated murders .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ history and how they function , if we are to understand what we ’ re up against in this pivotal moment .
Bob Kroll , the president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis seems like he was sent straight from central casting — a “ repeater beater ” cop who has accumulated 30 citizen complaints and has previously been suspended and demoted by the Minneapolis Police Department ( MPD ) .
He has sported a white supremacist badge on his biker jacket , was named in a 2007 racial discrimination lawsuit against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers who alleged he called then U.S. congressman Keith Ellison , who is Black and Muslim , a “ terrorist , ” and has been sued several times for use of excessive force .
He appeared at one of Trump ’ s rallies and has publicly supported him .
In a letter to the rank and file a week after the killing of George Floyd , Kroll vowed to fight the firing of the four officers criminally charged in Floyd ’ s murder , made no mention of Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but rather highlighted Floyd ’ s “ violent criminal history.
” He called the protests a “ terrorist movement , ” and criticized political leaders ’ response as “ despicable behavior , ” saying police officers were being made “ scapegoats.
” Yet Kroll does not appear to be winning this battle .
More than one thousand demonstrators gathered at Federation headquarters calling for Kroll ’ s resignation .
Fourteen MPD officers , saying that they represented the vast majority of the Minneapolis police force , signed an open letter to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Derek Chauvin , ” and “ stand ready to listen and embrace the calls for change , reform and rebuilding.
” Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak supported the 14 officers , the Minnesota AFL-CIO called for Kroll to immediately resign , and MPD Police Chief Medaria Arradondo proposed circumventing the police contract to implement the sweeping reforms passed by the Minneapolis City Council .
Meanwhile , a veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council had voted to abolish the MPD .
In Louisville , the police , using a no-knock warrant , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the door to Breonna Taylor ’ s apartment .
After her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired a shot at the unknown intruders , they shot Taylor , who was unarmed , eight times , killing her .
They then charged Walker , who had called 911 to ask for help when he heard intruders breaking into the apartment , with attempted murder .
When Jessica Green , a Black Louisville councilwoman and chair of the council ’ s public safety committee , called Walker a “ hero ” for defending Taylor , Louisville Fraternal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ryan Nichols called on Green to apologize and was quoted as saying : “ To say that I was disgusted and appalled by that statement is a dramatic understatement.
” It is “ a slap in the face ” to police everywhere and “ can not be tolerated by city leaders.
” Green responded , “ what I said yesterday is that I believe that Kenneth Walker was a hero because he acted to defend himself and [ his ] significant other due to threats unknown .
I stand by that statement.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the back and killed by two white police officers in an incident that started when Brooks was questioned by the officers because he had fallen asleep in his car .
The entire incident was recorded on video .
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called the killing a “ murder.
” The chief of police resigned .
The shooter , Garrett Rolfe , was fired and Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. promised criminal charges .
All too predictably , Vince Champion , the Southeast Regional Director of the International Brotherhood of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rolfe premature , saying , “ there was no investigation into what happened .
His due process was violated.
” New York ’ s Police Union Has Long Terrorized the City In 1966 the NYPD ’ s Police Benevolent Association ( PBA ) began a decades long campaign against efforts to establish a civilian review board after powerful community protests against police violence compelled Mayor John Lindsay to call for establishment of such a board .
As 5,000 off-duty cops rallied against the proposal at City Hall , the president of the PBA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tired of giving in to minority groups , with their whims and their gripes and shouting .
Any review board with civilians on it is detrimental to the operations of the police department.
” After the PBA mounted a powerful publicity campaign in opposition to the proposal , it was voted down at the polls In 1975 , the PBA ordered a rampage through the city ’ s Black and Puerto Rican communities , with thousands of off-duty cops waving their guns , banging on trash cans , and blowing whistles for several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restraining order .
Ten years later , after Mayor Ed Koch revived the issue of civilian review in the wake of a white cop killing Eleanor Bumpurs , an elderly and mentally ill Black woman , the PBA again condemned the idea , staged a work slowdown in response to the attempted prosecution of the officer , and pressured Koch into reinstating the officer even though he had been criminally charged .
In 1992 , when Mayor David Dinkins sought to institute civilian review , the PBA organized another City Hall rally in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbered 10,000 officers , with PBA members hurtling barricades , jumping on cars , blocking the Brooklyn Bridge and kicking a reporter .
Some of the PBA cops carried signs showing Dinkins with a bushy Afro haircut and swollen lips , with racist slogans , including ones that ridiculed him as a “ washroom attendant.
” In 1994 , the independent Mollen Commission found that corruption within the NYPD “ is characterized by brutality , theft , abuse of authority and active police criminality.
” Senior NYPD officials and prosecutors agreed with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protected corrupt police officers by helping them evade accountability .
In 1997 , an NYPD officer sexually assaulted Abner Louima in a precinct station bathroom by violently shoving a broken broomstick into his rectum .
His attacker and three of his police accomplices were charged with criminal civil rights offenses .
Evidence at trial revealed that a PBA official had chaired an early meeting with the implicated officers , one of whom was a PBA delegate , at which they fabricated a false story designed to exonerate one of the conspirators .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PBA continued to defend the officers , and to advocate for them , using their fabricated version of events — with PBA leader Patrick Lynch claiming that “ people with a political agenda have fanned the flames of this incident , ” leading to an “ innocent man .
.
.
being punished beyond belief.
” In August of 2014 , after the medical examiner determined that Eric Garner ’ s death at the hands of NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo was a homicide by means of a chokehold , Lynch declared that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and further claimed that it was “ not a chokehold .
“ He condemned Mayor Bill de Blasio for not “ support [ ing ] New York City police officers unequivocally , ” and later praised the grand jury ’ s decision not to charge Pantaleo .
He accused Garner of resisting arrest , and praised Pantaleo as “ literally an Eagle Scout , ” a “ model ” cop , and a “ mature , mature ” officer .
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the uprisings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the helm of the PBA , complained in an official PBA statement that “ in a knee-jerk reaction to the mob in the street , state legislators have passed a raft of bills that will have a chilling effect on law enforcement .
And city elected officials are being led down an even more extreme path , under the vague ‘ Defund the police ’ slogan.
” In conclusion Lynch urged that the city and state “ [ reject ] the rhetoric that demonizes police officers and tries to separate us from our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down the frenzied response to protests in which lawmakers are passing bills first and reading them later.
” In 2009 the Chicago FOP held a reunion during which it attempted to rewrite history about the wanton police brutality at the 1968 Democratic National Convention .
In a false narrative that mirrors current police statements about today ’ s protestors , the FOP declared that “ the time has come that the Chicago Police be honored and recognized for their contributions to maintaining law and order — and for taking a stand against Anarchy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marxist street thugs and public order was a thin blue line of dedicated , tough Chicago police officers.
” In 1990 , the Chicago City Council passed a resolution that declared December 4 “ Fred Hampton Day.
” On December 4 , 1969 , Hampton , the charismatic young chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party , was slain in his bed by Chicago police in what , by that time , had been documented and widely accepted as a politically motivated assassination .
FOP President John Dineen launched a campaign to repeal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Panther Party and slandered Hampton , who was considered to be a martyr by many Chicagoans .
Again in 2006 , after the City Council unanimously voted to rename the block where Hampton was murdered “ Chairman Fred Hampton Way , ” FOP President Mark Donahue lobbied for its rescission , while publicly voicing his membership ’ s “ outrage ” and “ disbelief ” at the decision .
In the early 1990s , the FOP began its campaign of defending Jon Burge , the notorious Chicago police torturer , and his crew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence of systemic police torture of Black men by Burge and his cadre of enforcers compelled the city to initiate proceedings before the Chicago Police Board in order to fire Burge and two of his cohorts for the electric shock torture of Andrew Wilson , the FOP financed the officers ’ defense , and mounted a vicious attack on Burge ’ s victims and their lawyers who had brought much of the damning evidence to light .
The FOP also organized a fundraiser at a local union hall where Burge was lionized by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Burge was fired by the police board in 1993 , FOP boss Dineen called the decision a “ travesty of justice , ” and the FOP announced that it intended to enter a float honoring Burge in the annual South Side Irish Parade — a parade in which mayor Richard M. Daley and other prominent politicians regularly marched .
Public outrage and cries of racism forced the FOP to withdraw the float .
In 2008 , after Burge was indicted for lying under oath about torture , the FOP board pushed through a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal defense .
Defending its decision , FOP President Mark Donahue asserted that Burge , despite being accused in more than 100 documented cases of racist torture , had been unfairly tarnished by allegations from criminals , and that politicians and lawyers for Burge ’ s victims had “ caused Jon Burge to be the ‘ poster child ’ of alleged police torture in this city for an entire generation.
” Donahue vowed that the FOP “ will stand with the police officer every time.
” In 2010 , Burge was convicted of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentenced to federal prison .
Nonetheless , the police pension board , in a split vote , ruled that he could continue to receive his pension despite his felony conviction .
The FOP defended the ruling on appeal , and the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the ruling .
When Burge died in 2018 , former FOP president Dean Angelo defended him , telling the Chicago Tribune “ Jon Burge put a lot of bad guys in prison that belonged … in prison .
People picked a career apart that was considered for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a very effective career .
I don ’ t know that Jon Burge got a fair shake based on the years and years of service that he gave the city.
” The FOP also championed the cause and financed the defense of Chicago Police Department ( CPD ) officer Jason Van Dyke , who shot Laquan McDonald 16 times and was later convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery .
Recently elected FOP president John Catanzara , like Kroll , has a long record of disciplinary offenses and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ false report .
In 2017 , he posted on his Facebook page “ STAND FOR THE ANTHEM .
I LOVE THE AMERICAN FLAG .
I SUPPORT MY PRESIDENT AND THE 2ND AMENDMENT.
” After protestors asked Chicago cops to take a knee in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives , Catanzara declared , “ If you kneel , you will be brought up on charges and thrown out of the [ FOP ] Lodge.
” After he publicly defended a phalanx of CPD officers who invaded Congressman Bobby Rush ’ s Chicago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coffee and popcorn and lounging on couches while nearby stores were burning in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder , Rush likened Chicago ’ s FOP to the Ku Klux Klan , saying that they were “ like kissing , hugging and law-breaking cousins .
The number one cause that prevents police accountability , that promotes police corruption , that protects police lawlessness , is a culprit called the Fraternal Order of Police .
They ’ re the organized guardians of continuous police lawlessness , of police murder and police brutality.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ is the most rabid , racist body of criminal lawlessness by police in the land .
It stands shoulder to shoulder with the Ku Klux Klan then and the Ku Klux Klan now.
” The police murders of Breonna Taylor , George Floyd and most recently , Rayshard Brooks , have thrust the media spotlight on police unions , bringing to public consciousness what those who have fought against police violence have known for more than 50 years — that police unions , often standing to the right of the police department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willful enablers of police violence and the culture of silence and cover-up , champion false narratives about policing , and wield enormous power when it comes to law enforcement and criminal justice .
Some commentators on the left have understandably cautioned against placing too much emphasis on police unions as a primary culprit for racist police violence , partly due to the fear that the right will utilize the attack to further its campaign to destroy the union movement , and because it shifts the discussion from the fundamental role of the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an occupying force in communities of color and as frontline guardians of capitalist interests .
Nonetheless , it is important to understand the racist history of police unions , both over time and in the harsh light of today , in order to effectively combat their reactionary resistance to change , while continuing the fight for Black lives and against the violence of policing .

The scene is all too frequent — a Black person is slain or wantonly brutalized on camera by police officers, most often white, and in response, a white police union leader steps to the microphone and unequivocally defends the actions, no matter how indefensible they are. A police chief or mayor, under pressure from the community, attempts to invoke modest reforms in response, and the union wields the power of its contract to defeat the measures. Progressive-leaning prosecutors are mercilessly attacked and judges plied with union contributions to support “law and order.” Killer cops are supplied with lawyers, at union expense, when they are administratively charged or criminally prosecuted. When a department, pursuant to a consent decree or community pressure, implements de-escalation and peer intervention training, the union provides alternative “warrior mentality” training free of charge. The union leaps to the defense of a cop who sends a defenseless 75-year-old peace activist to the hospital in critical condition. Several police union leaders are notorious “repeater beaters” with long records of shootings, beatings and other misconduct. Cops in their union garb pack courtrooms to intimidate cops who break the code of silence and bravely testify about police torture and murder. Union leaders rally for Trump, while he encourages their violence. And the list goes on.
Police unions are not the origin of racist police violence, which is inherent in the institution of policing. That violence would not disappear if corrupt union leaders were removed. However, police unions operate as racist power brokers, aiding and abetting the worst of policing’s manifestations, including police-perpetrated murders. It’s important to understand their history and how they function, if we are to understand what we’re up against in this pivotal moment.
Union Leadership Defends Murder in Minneapolis
Bob Kroll, the president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis seems like he was sent straight from central casting — a “repeater beater” cop who has accumulated 30 citizen complaints and has previously been suspended and demoted by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). He has sported a white supremacist badge on his biker jacket, was named in a 2007 racial discrimination lawsuit against the police department filed by five Black officers who alleged he called then U.S. congressman Keith Ellison, who is Black and Muslim, a “terrorist,” and has been sued several times for use of excessive force. He appeared at one of Trump’s rallies and has publicly supported him. In a letter to the rank and file a week after the killing of George Floyd, Kroll vowed to fight the firing of the four officers criminally charged in Floyd’s murder, made no mention of Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, but rather highlighted Floyd’s “violent criminal history.” He called the protests a “terrorist movement,” and criticized political leaders’ response as “despicable behavior,” saying police officers were being made “scapegoats.”
Yet Kroll does not appear to be winning this battle. More than one thousand demonstrators gathered at Federation headquarters calling for Kroll’s resignation. Fourteen MPD officers, saying that they represented the vast majority of the Minneapolis police force, signed an open letter to the city saying, “We wholeheartedly condemn Derek Chauvin,” and “stand ready to listen and embrace the calls for change, reform and rebuilding.” Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak supported the 14 officers, the Minnesota AFL-CIO called for Kroll to immediately resign, and MPD Police Chief Medaria Arradondo proposed circumventing the police contract to implement the sweeping reforms passed by the Minneapolis City Council. Meanwhile, a veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council had voted to abolish the MPD.
Unions Dismiss Police Killings in Louisville and Atlanta
In Louisville, the police, using a no-knock warrant, and without announcing their office, broke down the door to Breonna Taylor’s apartment. After her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired a shot at the unknown intruders, they shot Taylor, who was unarmed, eight times, killing her. They then charged Walker, who had called 911 to ask for help when he heard intruders breaking into the apartment, with attempted murder.
When Jessica Green, a Black Louisville councilwoman and chair of the council’s public safety committee, called Walker a “hero” for defending Taylor, Louisville Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Ryan Nichols called on Green to apologize and was quoted as saying: “To say that I was disgusted and appalled by that statement is a dramatic understatement.” It is “a slap in the face” to police everywhere and “cannot be tolerated by city leaders.” Green responded, “what I said yesterday is that I believe that Kenneth Walker was a hero because he acted to defend himself and [his] significant other due to threats unknown. I stand by that statement.”
In Atlanta, Rayshard Brooks was shot in the back and killed by two white police officers in an incident that started when Brooks was questioned by the officers because he had fallen asleep in his car. The entire incident was recorded on video. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called the killing a “murder.” The chief of police resigned. The shooter, Garrett Rolfe, was fired and Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. promised criminal charges.
All too predictably, Vince Champion, the Southeast Regional Director of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, called the firing of Rolfe premature, saying, “there was no investigation into what happened. His due process was violated.”
New York’s Police Union Has Long Terrorized the City
In 1966 the NYPD’s Police Benevolent Association (PBA) began a decades long campaign against efforts to establish a civilian review board after powerful community protests against police violence compelled Mayor John Lindsay to call for establishment of such a board. As 5,000 off-duty cops rallied against the proposal at City Hall, the president of the PBA lamented, “I am sick and tired of giving in to minority groups, with their whims and their gripes and shouting. Any review board with civilians on it is detrimental to the operations of the police department.” After the PBA mounted a powerful publicity campaign in opposition to the proposal, it was voted down at the polls
In 1975, the PBA ordered a rampage through the city’s Black and Puerto Rican communities, with thousands of off-duty cops waving their guns, banging on trash cans, and blowing whistles for several nights until Mayor Abe Beame obtained a restraining order.
Ten years later, after Mayor Ed Koch revived the issue of civilian review in the wake of a white cop killing Eleanor Bumpurs, an elderly and mentally ill Black woman, the PBA again condemned the idea, staged a work slowdown in response to the attempted prosecution of the officer, and pressured Koch into reinstating the officer even though he had been criminally charged.
In 1992, when Mayor David Dinkins sought to institute civilian review, the PBA organized another City Hall rally in opposition. This time, the crowd numbered 10,000 officers, with PBA members hurtling barricades, jumping on cars, blocking the Brooklyn Bridge and kicking a reporter. Some of the PBA cops carried signs showing Dinkins with a bushy Afro haircut and swollen lips, with racist slogans, including ones that ridiculed him as a “washroom attendant.”
In 1994, the independent Mollen Commission found that corruption within the NYPD “is characterized by brutality, theft, abuse of authority and active police criminality.” Senior NYPD officials and prosecutors agreed with the commission’s conclusion that the PBA protected corrupt police officers by helping them evade accountability.
In 1997, an NYPD officer sexually assaulted Abner Louima in a precinct station bathroom by violently shoving a broken broomstick into his rectum. His attacker and three of his police accomplices were charged with criminal civil rights offenses. Evidence at trial revealed that a PBA official had chaired an early meeting with the implicated officers, one of whom was a PBA delegate, at which they fabricated a false story designed to exonerate one of the conspirators. Even after the officers were convicted, the PBA continued to defend the officers, and to advocate for them, using their fabricated version of events — with PBA leader Patrick Lynch claiming that “people with a political agenda have fanned the flames of this incident,” leading to an “innocent man . . . being punished beyond belief.”
In August of 2014, after the medical examiner determined that Eric Garner’s death at the hands of NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo was a homicide by means of a chokehold, Lynch declared that the examiner’s finding was “mistaken” and further claimed that it was “not a chokehold. “He condemned Mayor Bill de Blasio for not “support[ing] New York City police officers unequivocally,” and later praised the grand jury’s decision not to charge Pantaleo. He accused Garner of resisting arrest, and praised Pantaleo as “literally an Eagle Scout,” a “model” cop, and a “mature, mature” officer.
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the uprisings that followed, Lynch, still at the helm of the PBA, complained in an official PBA statement that “in a knee-jerk reaction to the mob in the street, state legislators have passed a raft of bills that will have a chilling effect on law enforcement. And city elected officials are being led down an even more extreme path, under the vague ‘Defund the police’ slogan.” In conclusion Lynch urged that the city and state “[reject] the rhetoric that demonizes police officers and tries to separate us from our communities,” and to “slow down the frenzied response to protests in which lawmakers are passing bills first and reading them later.”
Chicago Police Union Defended Torturers
In 2009 the Chicago FOP held a reunion during which it attempted to rewrite history about the wanton police brutality at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. In a false narrative that mirrors current police statements about today’s protestors, the FOP declared that “the time has come that the Chicago Police be honored and recognized for their contributions to maintaining law and order — and for taking a stand against Anarchy. The only thing that stood between Marxist street thugs and public order was a thin blue line of dedicated, tough Chicago police officers.”
In 1990, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution that declared December 4 “Fred Hampton Day.” On December 4, 1969, Hampton, the charismatic young chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, was slain in his bed by Chicago police in what, by that time, had been documented and widely accepted as a politically motivated assassination. FOP President John Dineen launched a campaign to repeal the resolution, publicly belittled the Black Panther Party and slandered Hampton, who was considered to be a martyr by many Chicagoans. Again in 2006, after the City Council unanimously voted to rename the block where Hampton was murdered “Chairman Fred Hampton Way,” FOP President Mark Donahue lobbied for its rescission, while publicly voicing his membership’s “outrage” and “disbelief” at the decision.
In the early 1990s, the FOP began its campaign of defending Jon Burge, the notorious Chicago police torturer, and his crew of racist co-conspirators. When the emerging evidence of systemic police torture of Black men by Burge and his cadre of enforcers compelled the city to initiate proceedings before the Chicago Police Board in order to fire Burge and two of his cohorts for the electric shock torture of Andrew Wilson, the FOP financed the officers’ defense, and mounted a vicious attack on Burge’s victims and their lawyers who had brought much of the damning evidence to light. The FOP also organized a fundraiser at a local union hall where Burge was lionized by thousands of cops and prosecutors.
After Burge was fired by the police board in 1993, FOP boss Dineen called the decision a “travesty of justice,” and the FOP announced that it intended to enter a float honoring Burge in the annual South Side Irish Parade — a parade in which mayor Richard M. Daley and other prominent politicians regularly marched. Public outrage and cries of racism forced the FOP to withdraw the float.
In 2008, after Burge was indicted for lying under oath about torture, the FOP board pushed through a resolution to pay for Burge’s criminal defense. Defending its decision, FOP President Mark Donahue asserted that Burge, despite being accused in more than 100 documented cases of racist torture, had been unfairly tarnished by allegations from criminals, and that politicians and lawyers for Burge’s victims had “caused Jon Burge to be the ‘poster child’ of alleged police torture in this city for an entire generation.” Donahue vowed that the FOP “will stand with the police officer every time.”
In 2010, Burge was convicted of three felonies and, in 2011, sentenced to federal prison. Nonetheless, the police pension board, in a split vote, ruled that he could continue to receive his pension despite his felony conviction. The FOP defended the ruling on appeal, and the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the ruling. When Burge died in 2018, former FOP president Dean Angelo defended him, telling the Chicago Tribune “Jon Burge put a lot of bad guys in prison that belonged … in prison. People picked a career apart that was considered for a long time to be an honorable career and a very effective career. I don’t know that Jon Burge got a fair shake based on the years and years of service that he gave the city.”
The FOP also championed the cause and financed the defense of Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot Laquan McDonald 16 times and was later convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery.
Recently elected FOP president John Catanzara, like Kroll, has a long record of disciplinary offenses and is presently serving a suspension for writing a false report. In 2017, he posted on his Facebook page “STAND FOR THE ANTHEM. I LOVE THE AMERICAN FLAG. I SUPPORT MY PRESIDENT AND THE 2ND AMENDMENT.” After protestors asked Chicago cops to take a knee in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives, Catanzara declared, “If you kneel, you will be brought up on charges and thrown out of the [FOP] Lodge.” After he publicly defended a phalanx of CPD officers who invaded Congressman Bobby Rush’s Chicago office and were caught on video expropriating coffee and popcorn and lounging on couches while nearby stores were burning in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, Rush likened Chicago’s FOP to the Ku Klux Klan, saying that they were “like kissing, hugging and law-breaking cousins. The number one cause that prevents police accountability, that promotes police corruption, that protects police lawlessness, is a culprit called the Fraternal Order of Police. They’re the organized guardians of continuous police lawlessness, of police murder and police brutality.”
The Chicago FOP, Rush continued, “is the most rabid, racist body of criminal lawlessness by police in the land. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the Ku Klux Klan then and the Ku Klux Klan now.”
Willful Enabler of Police Violence
The police murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and most recently, Rayshard Brooks, have thrust the media spotlight on police unions, bringing to public consciousness what those who have fought against police violence have known for more than 50 years — that police unions, often standing to the right of the police department itself, are unabashedly racist, are willful enablers of police violence and the culture of silence and cover-up, champion false narratives about policing, and wield enormous power when it comes to law enforcement and criminal justice. Some commentators on the left have understandably cautioned against placing too much emphasis on police unions as a primary culprit for racist police violence, partly due to the fear that the right will utilize the attack to further its campaign to destroy the union movement, and because it shifts the discussion from the fundamental role of the police as agents of repression who operate as an occupying force in communities of color and as frontline guardians of capitalist interests. Nonetheless, it is important to understand the racist history of police unions, both over time and in the harsh light of today, in order to effectively combat their reactionary resistance to change, while continuing the fight for Black lives and against the violence of policing.
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truthout--2020-07-02--Housing Activists Unite to Fight Mass Evictions and Defund Police

As COVID-19 ’ s second wave bears down , nearly half of all states ’ eviction moratoria have already expired or are set to expire in the next two months .
A federal moratorium that bans evictions of people in rentals backed by the government expires July 25 .
To make matters worse , the CARES Act ’ s supplemental boost to unemployment insurance ends July 31 .
The country is already in the beginning stages of a massive eviction crisis as housing courts nationwide reopen .
As many as 28 million renters could lose their homes in the coming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate by as much as 40 to 45 percent by the end of the year .
The wave will hit low-income Black and Brown people , who are twice as likely to rent as white people , the hardest .
According to an Urban Institute survey in which half of adult renters reported having trouble paying rent or bills from late March to mid-April , Black and Brown renters were most likely to report reduced spending on food , depleted savings or increased credit card debt .
According to the latest census data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having little or no confidence they could make their next rent payment .
Last week , the U.S. Labor Department reported more than 1.5 million Americans filed new state unemployment claims , bringing the national total of claims to more than 44 million since mid-March .
Rising Black and Brown unemployment coupled with mass evictions could spark renewed uprisings in the streets amid a national reckoning over racial justice following the police-perpetrated killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
Even before the pandemic , the U.S. was facing affordable housing , eviction and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
In 2019 , about 568,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night , with Black people making up 40 percent of those experiencing homelessness despite being 13 percent of the U.S. population .
While Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently introduced legislation that would extend and expand federal eviction protections for nonpayment of rent for one year , Congress is not expected to begin negotiating a new economic relief package until after July 4 .
Meanwhile , the $ 3 trillion HEROES Act stimulus package , which also includes a nationwide eviction moratorium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Without federal rental assistance and an extension of renter protections , the coming eviction wave could send the nation ’ s already dire homelessness numbers skyrocketing , overwhelming already overburdened shelters and emergency rooms .
This is the reality that housing rights activists across the nation are bracing for , and they say they won ’ t let it unfold without a fight .
While calling for rent and debt cancellation for millions of tenants impacted by the pandemic , many activists are also tying their housing demands to the national movement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face off with city marshals , constables and cops forcibly evicting renters .
Dominique Walker , an activist with Moms 4 Housing , a collective of unhoused and housing insecure mothers in Oakland , California , told Truthout that the collective ’ s organizing pressure has been key in city leaders ’ decision to extend Oakland ’ s eviction moratorium to August 31 .
Nonetheless , several of the mothers say their housing is still in danger : They won ’ t be able to pay their owed rent when the city ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s moratorium , she says , will have severe , disproportionate impacts on Black and Brown renters , as gentrification and tech wealth has accelerated a housing affordability crisis that was already among the nation ’ s most dire before the COVID-19 crisis : The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland is $ 2,300 .
When the moratorium lifts , many tenants could owe $ 10,000 or more in back rent .
Many simply won ’ t be able to pay , and could wind up on Oakland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an unhoused population that has already jumped by 47 percent in the past two years .
After struggling to keep her family housed while working two jobs , Walker and three other working mothers reclaimed a vacant , investor-owned house on the 2900 block of Magnolia Street last November to call attention to the city ’ s “ displacement machine.
” The Alameda County Sheriff ’ s Office evicted the moms and their children in a high-profile , militarized raid in early January .
Sherriff ’ s deputies decked in riot gear and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ armored tank and a specialized robot .
The eviction ultimately cost the county $ 40,000 — well beyond the cost of simply housing the families — a point the moms are now zeroing in on ahead of a looming eviction wave .
Walker tells Truthout that in addition to calling for full rent relief , the moms are targeting the Alameda County Sheriff ’ s Office for funding cuts .
They want that money reinvested in organizations that provide housing and a jobs training program focused on providing mothers with the necessary skills @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 40.88 an hour — the minimum wage required to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland .
The January eviction “ was a very violent display and was meant to cause terror in folks who are standing up for their human rights , ” Walker says .
“ This is the police state that we live in , where they will spend tens of thousands just to make you get out of a speculative-owned property rather than help you get permanently housed and fix the issue .
It was unreal.
” Walker says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions this week targeting the Alameda County Board of Supervisors budget .
The January eviction “ looked like a war scene out of a movie , ” she says .
“ There still hasn ’ t been an explanation of why they came with that much force for mothers and babies , so we still want to hold them accountable for that while redirecting some of those funds to get mothers and babies off of the streets.
” On the East Coast , New York ’ s City Council voted this week to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s housing agency while also allocating an additional $ 8.6 million to city housing programs .
The council also cut $ 1 billion from the New York Police Department ’ s ( NYPD ) budget , canceling the planned hiring of about 1,160 officers .
Both housing and police accountability activists , many of whom have protested at City Hall since last Tuesday , argue the budget doesn ’ t go far enough to address the twin crises of police violence and mass evictions , and say the council used accounting tricks to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funding of school policing over to the Department of Education .
Hundreds of renters also rallied last week outside newly opened housing courts in at least five city boroughs and in upstate New York to call for debt and rent cancellation and to protest the end of Gov .
Andrew Cuomo ’ s eviction moratorium , which expired June 20 .
So far Governor Cuomo has resisted extending the moratorium , siding with landlords he says must continue to pay property taxes , utility bills and mortgages .
Housing advocates fear up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the coming days , and that thousands of cases that were already in progress but were paused in March will resume .
A separate state order shielding tenants directly affected by the pandemic is set to expire in late August and could result in an explosion in the number of eviction cases , transforming the coming wave into a tsunami .
At least 19 legal services organizations , including The Legal Aid Society and The Right to Counsel NYC Coalition , oppose the state ’ s reopening of housing courts , arguing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disaster for renters but could also expose legal aid workers to COVID-19 .
Sixty-nine housing advocacy organizations recently penned an open letter to Governor Cuomo demanding a universal eviction moratorium for all renters in New York State for the duration of the pandemic .
The New York-based coalition of tenants and housing activists , Housing Justice For All , is calling for the extension of the New York moratorium for the remainder of the year as well as rent , mortgage and utility payment cancellation .
The group has helped coordinate the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a century , with at least 400 families in buildings each containing over 1,500 rental units withholding rent in May .
Housing Justice For All Campaign Coordinator Cea Weaver tells Truthout that the group is supporting efforts to confront police violence in the city and is calling for the firing of all city marshals , responsible for serving eviction papers .
The coalition ’ s actions outside housing courts and Mayor Bill de Blasio ’ s office have heavily emphasized the role of police in evictions .
The coalition has also organized several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial justice .
This week , coalition organizers are training tenants and activists in both direct action and legal tactics for eviction defense in anticipation of hundreds of renters being forced out of their homes .
“ Police violence is an extension , the most brutal expression , of the ways police exist to protect private property interests and not people , and that ’ s very much a part of what we are pushing and framing in this moment , ” Weaver told Truthout .
The coalition is not trying to replicate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affiliated groups , but instead , center anti-police brutality messaging in its housing work because the issues are interconnected .
Housing rights activists in New York highlight the NYPD ’ s 1984 murder of Eleanor Bumpurs , a 67-year-old Black woman , in her Bronx public housing apartment during her scheduled eviction .
Advocates also point to more recent cases of Black people killed in their own homes , such as Botham Jean in Dallas , Texas , and Breonna Taylor in Louisville , Kentucky .
“ We need to prevent people from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but in reality , we want a much earlier intervention , ” Weaver says .
Ultimately though , she says , direct action and legal tactics aren ’ t a transformative solution .
“ We need to be able to use principles of eviction defense to heighten the political urgency to pass a real ‘ cancel rent ’ program .
We can ’ t permanently block marshals from coming to get people through direct action alone.
” A “ real cancel rent ” program means a policy that would automatically forgive all rent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 pandemic that would apply universally to all homeowners and renters .
Beyond pandemic-related protections and rent cancellation , Weaver says there must be a broader expansion of tenants ’ rights in the private housing market , an end to homelessness , and investments in public and decommodified housing .
She is heartened by recent primary victories of progressive Democratic challengers Jamaal Bowman , Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres , who ran strongly on affordable housing platforms .
Bowman , who ran on a national homes guarantee , joined housing justice organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a national eviction blockade as part the rent cancellation movement and “ We Strike Together ” campaign .
Housing advocates with City Life/Vida Urbana in Boston have organized eviction blockades in defense of renters since the 1970s , according to the organization ’ s executive director , Lisa Owens .
Now , she says , the group is working to bring renters into a series of online trainings that encourage tenants to form associations while guiding them through a series of escalating direct-action tactics .
The group is also pushing two state bills @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stability for renters and lift a ban on rent control .
“ We believe in escalating direct action tactics based on the level of consciousness that gets developed when you ’ re beginning to figure out how to fight your case , ” Owens says .
At least one of the group ’ s staffers have been directly involved in organizing efforts to redirect 10 percent of the Boston Police Department budget to community needs and services , including affordable housing .
Last week Boston ’ s city council passed a city budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police department ’ s overtime pay , but Owens says police accountability and housing activists have since worked together more closely as a result of efforts to defund the department .
A report released Sunday based on three years of housing court data collected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers and City Life/Vida Urbana found that 70 percent of market-rate eviction filings in Boston occur in neighborhoods of color — and most starkly in Black neighborhoods — even though only about half of rental housing is in these neighborhoods .
The pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boston before the state issued an eviction moratorium in April ; 78 percent of the suspended cases were in communities of color .
Annie Gordon is one Black tenant at risk of eviction once the state ’ s moratorium lifts .
She is the tenant association leader at the “ SoMa Apartments at the T , ” a Boston apartment complex she ’ s lived in for 44 years .
The complex had already priced her out when it raised rents in 2018 .
Then the pandemic struck , laying off a family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Gordon told Truthout tenants in her building are committed to defending one another from city marshals attempting evictions , if it comes to that , by using nonviolent , physical blockade tactics .
She supports the city ’ s cuts to the police department ’ s overtime pay , saying that funding affordable housing is “ much more important ” than paying cops overtime .
The association is working to negotiate with the building ’ s management company to work out “ a little more reasonable ” rent increase than what was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received a response from the company as of yet , Gordon says .
“ Myself , as well as other tenants here , we didn ’ t even realize we had rights or that we could speak up when it comes to our housing .
We didn ’ t know that .
We just automatically assumed landlords have all the rights , ” Gordon says .
City marshals and constables forcibly evicting renters in Black communities only adds to the stress and anxiety these communities face while struggling to survive the nation ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I just don ’ t feel that police evicting people is a way to ‘ protect and serve .
’ ”

As COVID-19’s second wave bears down, nearly half of all states’ eviction moratoria have already expired or are set to expire in the next two months. A federal moratorium that bans evictions of people in rentals backed by the government expires July 25. To make matters worse, the CARES Act’s supplemental boost to unemployment insurance ends July 31.
The country is already in the beginning stages of a massive eviction crisis as housing courts nationwide reopen. As many as 28 million renters could lose their homes in the coming eviction wave, boosting the national homeless rate by as much as 40 to 45 percent by the end of the year.
The wave will hit low-income Black and Brown people, who are twice as likely to rent as white people, the hardest. According to an Urban Institute survey in which half of adult renters reported having trouble paying rent or bills from late March to mid-April, Black and Brown renters were most likely to report reduced spending on food, depleted savings or increased credit card debt. According to the latest census data, 44 percent of Black tenants reported having little or no confidence they could make their next rent payment.
Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported more than 1.5 million Americans filed new state unemployment claims, bringing the national total of claims to more than 44 million since mid-March. Rising Black and Brown unemployment coupled with mass evictions could spark renewed uprisings in the streets amid a national reckoning over racial justice following the police-perpetrated killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Even before the pandemic, the U.S. was facing affordable housing, eviction and homelessness crises disproportionately impacting Black and Brown people. In 2019, about 568,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night, with Black people making up 40 percent of those experiencing homelessness despite being 13 percent of the U.S. population.
While Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently introduced legislation that would extend and expand federal eviction protections for nonpayment of rent for one year, Congress is not expected to begin negotiating a new economic relief package until after July 4. Meanwhile, the $3 trillion HEROES Act stimulus package, which also includes a nationwide eviction moratorium, continues to languish in the Senate.
Without federal rental assistance and an extension of renter protections, the coming eviction wave could send the nation’s already dire homelessness numbers skyrocketing, overwhelming already overburdened shelters and emergency rooms.
This is the reality that housing rights activists across the nation are bracing for, and they say they won’t let it unfold without a fight. While calling for rent and debt cancellation for millions of tenants impacted by the pandemic, many activists are also tying their housing demands to the national movement to defund police as some prepare to face off with city marshals, constables and cops forcibly evicting renters.
Militarized Evictions in Oakland
Dominique Walker, an activist with Moms 4 Housing, a collective of unhoused and housing insecure mothers in Oakland, California, told Truthout that the collective’s organizing pressure has been key in city leaders’ decision to extend Oakland’s eviction moratorium to August 31. Nonetheless, several of the mothers say their housing is still in danger: They won’t be able to pay their owed rent when the city’s moratorium expires.
“This is the police state that we live in, where they will spend tens of thousands just to make you get out of a speculative-owned property rather than help you get permanently housed.”
The end of the city’s moratorium, she says, will have severe, disproportionate impacts on Black and Brown renters, as gentrification and tech wealth has accelerated a housing affordability crisis that was already among the nation’s most dire before the COVID-19 crisis: The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland is $2,300.
When the moratorium lifts, many tenants could owe $10,000 or more in back rent. Many simply won’t be able to pay, and could wind up on Oakland’s streets, where they join an unhoused population that has already jumped by 47 percent in the past two years.
After struggling to keep her family housed while working two jobs, Walker and three other working mothers reclaimed a vacant, investor-owned house on the 2900 block of Magnolia Street last November to call attention to the city’s “displacement machine.”
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office evicted the moms and their children in a high-profile, militarized raid in early January. Sherriff’s deputies decked in riot gear and armed with AR-15s showed up with an armored tank and a specialized robot. The eviction ultimately cost the county $40,000 — well beyond the cost of simply housing the families — a point the moms are now zeroing in on ahead of a looming eviction wave.
Walker tells Truthout that in addition to calling for full rent relief, the moms are targeting the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office for funding cuts. They want that money reinvested in organizations that provide housing and a jobs training program focused on providing mothers with the necessary skills to land jobs that make at least $40.88 an hour — the minimum wage required to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland.
“There still hasn’t been an explanation of why they came with that much force for mothers and babies.”
The January eviction “was a very violent display and was meant to cause terror in folks who are standing up for their human rights,” Walker says. “This is the police state that we live in, where they will spend tens of thousands just to make you get out of a speculative-owned property rather than help you get permanently housed and fix the issue. It was unreal.”
Walker says the group is still working to plan actions this week targeting the Alameda County Board of Supervisors budget.
The January eviction “looked like a war scene out of a movie,” she says. “There still hasn’t been an explanation of why they came with that much force for mothers and babies, so we still want to hold them accountable for that while redirecting some of those funds to get mothers and babies off of the streets.”
Targeting Cops and Marshals in NYC
On the East Coast, New York’s City Council voted this week to cut $457 million from city’s housing agency while also allocating an additional $8.6 million to city housing programs. The council also cut $1 billion from the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) budget, canceling the planned hiring of about 1,160 officers.
Both housing and police accountability activists, many of whom have protested at City Hall since last Tuesday, argue the budget doesn’t go far enough to address the twin crises of police violence and mass evictions, and say the council used accounting tricks to move money around, such as shifting funding of school policing over to the Department of Education.
Hundreds of renters also rallied last week outside newly opened housing courts in at least five city boroughs and in upstate New York to call for debt and rent cancellation and to protest the end of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s eviction moratorium, which expired June 20.
So far Governor Cuomo has resisted extending the moratorium, siding with landlords he says must continue to pay property taxes, utility bills and mortgages. Housing advocates fear up to 50,000 new eviction cases could be filed in the coming days, and that thousands of cases that were already in progress but were paused in March will resume.
A separate state order shielding tenants directly affected by the pandemic is set to expire in late August and could result in an explosion in the number of eviction cases, transforming the coming wave into a tsunami.
“Police violence is an extension, the most brutal expression, of the ways police exist to protect private property interests and not people.”
At least 19 legal services organizations, including The Legal Aid Society and The Right to Counsel NYC Coalition, oppose the state’s reopening of housing courts, arguing that continuing eviction proceedings not only spells disaster for renters but could also expose legal aid workers to COVID-19. Sixty-nine housing advocacy organizations recently penned an open letter to Governor Cuomo demanding a universal eviction moratorium for all renters in New York State for the duration of the pandemic.
The New York-based coalition of tenants and housing activists, Housing Justice For All, is calling for the extension of the New York moratorium for the remainder of the year as well as rent, mortgage and utility payment cancellation. The group has helped coordinate the city’s largest rent strike in nearly a century, with at least 400 families in buildings each containing over 1,500 rental units withholding rent in May.
Housing Justice For All Campaign Coordinator Cea Weaver tells Truthout that the group is supporting efforts to confront police violence in the city and is calling for the firing of all city marshals, responsible for serving eviction papers. The coalition’s actions outside housing courts and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office have heavily emphasized the role of police in evictions.
The coalition has also organized several teach-ins on the intersection between housing and racial justice. This week, coalition organizers are training tenants and activists in both direct action and legal tactics for eviction defense in anticipation of hundreds of renters being forced out of their homes.
“Police violence is an extension, the most brutal expression, of the ways police exist to protect private property interests and not people, and that’s very much a part of what we are pushing and framing in this moment,” Weaver told Truthout. The coalition is not trying to replicate the work already being done by its affiliated groups, but instead, center anti-police brutality messaging in its housing work because the issues are interconnected.
Housing rights activists in New York highlight the NYPD’s 1984 murder of Eleanor Bumpurs, a 67-year-old Black woman, in her Bronx public housing apartment during her scheduled eviction. Advocates also point to more recent cases of Black people killed in their own homes, such as Botham Jean in Dallas, Texas, and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We need to prevent people from being evicted when the marshals come, but in reality, we want a much earlier intervention,” Weaver says. Ultimately though, she says, direct action and legal tactics aren’t a transformative solution. “We need to be able to use principles of eviction defense to heighten the political urgency to pass a real ‘cancel rent’ program. We can’t permanently block marshals from coming to get people through direct action alone.”
“We need to be able to use principles of eviction defense to heighten the political urgency to pass a real ‘cancel rent’ program.”
A “real cancel rent” program means a policy that would automatically forgive all rent, mortgage and utility payments accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic that would apply universally to all homeowners and renters. Beyond pandemic-related protections and rent cancellation, Weaver says there must be a broader expansion of tenants’ rights in the private housing market, an end to homelessness, and investments in public and decommodified housing.
She is heartened by recent primary victories of progressive Democratic challengers Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres, who ran strongly on affordable housing platforms. Bowman, who ran on a national homes guarantee, joined housing justice organizations and tenant leaders this week in supporting a national eviction blockade as part the rent cancellation movement and “We Strike Together” campaign.
New Data in Boston
Housing advocates with City Life/Vida Urbana in Boston have organized eviction blockades in defense of renters since the 1970s, according to the organization’s executive director, Lisa Owens. Now, she says, the group is working to bring renters into a series of online trainings that encourage tenants to form associations while guiding them through a series of escalating direct-action tactics. The group is also pushing two state bills that would provide a year of housing stability for renters and lift a ban on rent control.
“We believe in escalating direct action tactics based on the level of consciousness that gets developed when you’re beginning to figure out how to fight your case,” Owens says.
At least one of the group’s staffers have been directly involved in organizing efforts to redirect 10 percent of the Boston Police Department budget to community needs and services, including affordable housing. Last week Boston’s city council passed a city budget that only contained small cuts to the police department’s overtime pay, but Owens says police accountability and housing activists have since worked together more closely as a result of efforts to defund the department.
“I just don’t feel that police evicting people is a way to ‘protect and serve.’”
A report released Sunday based on three years of housing court data collected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers and City Life/Vida Urbana found that 70 percent of market-rate eviction filings in Boston occur in neighborhoods of color — and most starkly in Black neighborhoods — even though only about half of rental housing is in these neighborhoods. The pandemic produced a spike in eviction filings in Boston before the state issued an eviction moratorium in April; 78 percent of the suspended cases were in communities of color.
Annie Gordon is one Black tenant at risk of eviction once the state’s moratorium lifts. She is the tenant association leader at the “SoMa Apartments at the T,” a Boston apartment complex she’s lived in for 44 years. The complex had already priced her out when it raised rents in 2018. Then the pandemic struck, laying off a family member Gordon relied on for financial help.
“We didn’t even realize we had rights or that we could speak up when it comes to our housing.
Gordon told Truthout tenants in her building are committed to defending one another from city marshals attempting evictions, if it comes to that, by using nonviolent, physical blockade tactics. She supports the city’s cuts to the police department’s overtime pay, saying that funding affordable housing is “much more important” than paying cops overtime.
The association is working to negotiate with the building’s management company to work out “a little more reasonable” rent increase than what was initially asked. They haven’t received a response from the company as of yet, Gordon says.
“Myself, as well as other tenants here, we didn’t even realize we had rights or that we could speak up when it comes to our housing. We didn’t know that. We just automatically assumed landlords have all the rights,” Gordon says.
City marshals and constables forcibly evicting renters in Black communities only adds to the stress and anxiety these communities face while struggling to survive the nation’s multiple crises, she says. “I just don’t feel that police evicting people is a way to ‘protect and serve.’”
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truthout--2020-07-03--Protesters Attacked by Police Are Suing to Vindicate Their Constitutional Rights

Protesters demonstrating against white supremacy and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd ’ s public lynching have been met with illegal repression by law enforcement .
Police have utilized toxic chemical and sonic weapons , dangerous projectiles , intrusive surveillance , physical violence and “ kettling ” to trap demonstrators after dispersal orders are given .
In a study conducted by the University of Chicago Law School ’ s International Human Rights Clinic , researchers found not one police department in the 20 largest U.S. cities in compliance with minimum human rights standards governing use of lethal force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by police “ state-sanctioned violence.
” Victims of police abuse are filing litigation , and at least one judge has put a halt to some of the most egregious misconduct .
On May 30 , Tina Crnko was marching at the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles rally when police shot her in the ribcage and bicep with kinetic impact projectiles ( KIPs ) , also known as “ rubber bullets.
” KIPs can result in serious organ damage and even death , particularly when shot at the head , neck or torso .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court , Central District of California by the National Lawyers Guild , Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Community Action Network .
Crnko was hit on her forehead above the eye .
She bled profusely and experienced temporary hearing loss and extreme pain .
Three weeks later , she still suffered nerve damage .
Another plaintiff in the Los Angeles lawsuit , Alicia Barrera-Trujillo , participated in a peaceful protest on June 1 .
When she tried to leave a little before 5 pm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kettled ” — surrounded by police to prevent anyone from leaving .
Police then fired rubber bullets into the group .
Barrera-Trujillo alleges that an officer sprayed an aerosol agent at a woman with a small child who was crying .
Both the woman and child exhibited pain from the spray .
Katharine Miller was on the ground kneeling at a June 1 protest when a Philadelphia police officer pepper sprayed her in the face and then pulled down the goggles on the woman next to her and sprayed her too .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pepper spray grenades , and impact projectiles such as sponge rounds , baton rounds , and rubber bullets — should never be shot at close range or aimed at the head , as serious injury or death is possible , ” according to Amnesty International .
On May 31 , Minneapolis police and Minnesota National Guards shot projectiles at people standing peacefully on their front porches , a report by Amnesty International concluded .
Before they started firing , the forces yelled , “ Light them up.
” They were apparently retaliating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smartphones to videotape the forces .
The report documented 125 incidents of police violence against protesters in 40 states and Washington , D.C. , from May 26 to June 5 , committed by state and local police departments , National Guard troops and security personnel from federal agencies .
The abuses , recorded in 500 videos , include beatings , misuse of pepper spray and tear gas , and inappropriate , even indiscriminate , firing of rubber bullets and sponge grenades or sponge-tipped bullets .
“ These human rights violations by US police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proportionate nor necessary to achieve a legitimate law enforcement objective — are particularly egregious as they have occurred at demonstrations denouncing just such police behavior , ” the Amnesty report noted .
Even when a minority of protesters committed unlawful acts , “ security forces have routinely used disproportionate and indiscriminate force against entire demonstrations — without distinguishing , as legally required , between peaceful protesters and individuals committing unlawful acts , ” the report found .
The most striking thing about the documented incidents , aside from the severity of the abuses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the problem of police violence , ” with violations occurring in both large cities and small towns all over the country Violations of Protesters ’ First , Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights On June 5 , U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the Denver Police Department from using “ chemical weapons or projectiles of any kind against persons engaging in peaceful protests or demonstrations.
” Police can not use KIPs to target the head , back or pelvis , or shoot KIPs indiscriminately into a crowd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tear gas and pepper spray , can only be used after a dispersal order is given with adequate time for compliance and officers must allow safe egress ( no kettling ) .
Judge Jackson found a strong likelihood that Denver police violated the Fourth Amendment by using excessive force and the First Amendment right to free speech .
Plaintiffs claimed that police aimed at their heads and groins , which caused broken facial bones and ruptured testicles .
The complaint also alleges that police used “ pepper spray , pepper balls , rubber @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gas to punish plaintiffs for demonstrating against police brutality.
” The judge found that “ irreparable harm ” would result if the plaintiffs were not granted immediate relief because the protests are ongoing , and the use of excessive force would have a chilling effect on the plaintiffs ’ exercise of their freedom of speech .
“ I recognize the importance of shielding and uplifting this ongoing , nationwide movement .
As such , I find that irreparable harm would occur were I to deny this relief , ” Judge Jackson wrote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ is a small price to pay for constitutional rights — especially the constitutional right of the public to speak against widespread injustice.
” He added , The first amended complaint in the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles lawsuit says that from May 29 to June 3 , the Los Angeles Police Department ( LAPD ) arrested approximately 3,000 people .
The police chief admitted that well over 92 percent of the individuals arrested were engaged in peaceful protest .
Plaintiffs allege that police misconduct resulted in the violation of their First @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They charge that the LAPD used “ indiscriminate and unreasonable force against thousands of protesters ” and used unreasonable and excessive force by hitting “ at least close to a thousand protesters with batons and/or ‘ rubbers bullets.
’ ” Plaintiffs attest to being restrained with tight handcuffs , denied bathroom access and access to food or water , and provided insufficient ventilation during transport , making them vulnerable to COVID-19 .
On June 1 , President Trump and Attorney General William Barr ordered the use of chemical weapons against peaceful protesters in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to facilitate Trump ’ s photo-op holding a Bible in front of St. John ’ s Episcopal Church .
Police used tear gas , flash-bang shells , smoke canisters , pepper balls and/or rubber bullets to disperse the crowd .
The ACLU of District of Columbia , Washington Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs , and Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sued Trump and Barr on behalf of Black Lives Matter DC and other protesters .
They allege violation of the protesters ’ First and Fourth Amendment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assembly , petition for redress of grievances , freedom of speech , freedom of the press and freedom from unreasonable seizures .
When the plaintiffs litigate these lawsuits , they will be met with the qualified immunity defense .
It shields officers from liability unless : 1 . )
They violated the Fourth Amendment by using excessive force ; and 2 . )
they should have known they were violating “ clearly established ” law .
Even in the most egregious cases , it is often difficult to prove the second prong if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police conduct illegal .
On June 15 , the Supreme Court declined to review eight cases that would have given them the opportunity to reconsider the qualified immunity defense .
Emma Andersson and the ACLU are handling one of those cases .
“ Requiring government actors to be careful before treading on someone ’ s constitutional rights is the only reasonable approach if you truly value those rights and want to ensure that they thrive rather than wither over time , ” Andersson , a senior staff attorney at the ACLU , told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has become an increasingly high bar , it has become tougher for victims of government misconduct to vindicate their rights in court.
” Indeed , as the Supreme Court noted in 1986 , “ qualified immunity provides ample protection to all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.
” Since the Black Lives Matter uprisings began , qualified immunity has become a hot-button issue .
Colorado made history on June 19 by banning the qualified immunity defense .
Congress is considering proposals that could abolish or water down the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and Ayanna Pressley ( D-Massachusetts ) introduced the Ending Qualified Immunity Act in the House of Representatives on June 4 .
It provides there will be no qualified immunity defense if an officer claimed he or she was acting in good faith , or reasonably believed that his or her conduct was lawful at the time it was committed .
It also specifies there is no defense even if the law was not clearly established at the time of the officer ’ s conduct .
Senators Ed Markey ( D-Massachusetts ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Warren ( D-Massachusetts ) introduced the Senate ’ s companion bill to the House ’ s Ending Qualified Immunity Act on July 1 .
“ If we want to change the culture of police violence against Black and Brown Americans , ” Markey said , “ then we need to start holding accountable the officers who abuse their positions of trust and responsibility in our communities .
That means once-and-for-all abolishing the dangerous judicial doctrine known as qualified immunity.
” “ At a time when unprecedented numbers of people are demanding an end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impunity , we have got to finally abolish ‘ qualified immunity , ' ” Sanders declared .
“ This is not a radical idea : Police officers must be held fully accountable for abuses they commit—no one is above the law .
If we are serious about real police reform , the Senate has got to pass our Ending Qualified Immunity Act.
” “ For too long , ” Warren stated , “ qualified immunity has shielded police officers who have engaged in unconstitutional and appalling conduct from being held accountable in court—it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doctrine .
I ’ m proud to join my colleagues in cosponsoring this bill and putting forward reforms to help end the systemic racism that plagues policing in America.
” On June 24 , Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana introduced the Reforming Qualified Immunity Act , which would allow the qualified immunity defense only when the officer ’ s conduct had previously been “ specifically authorized or required by ” a federal or state statute or regulation , or if a court had found it to be consistent “ with the Constitution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Republicans will agree to reform , no less abolish , the qualified immunity defense .
It falls to the people to demand its abolition .

Victims of police abuse are filing litigation and at least one judge has halted some of the most egregious misconduct.
Part of the Series Human Rights and Global Wrongs
Protesters demonstrating against white supremacy and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s public lynching have been met with illegal repression by law enforcement. Police have utilized toxic chemical and sonic weapons, dangerous projectiles, intrusive surveillance, physical violence and “kettling” to trap demonstrators after dispersal orders are given.
In a study conducted by the University of Chicago Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic, researchers found not one police department in the 20 largest U.S. cities in compliance with minimum human rights standards governing use of lethal force. They called the use of force by police “state-sanctioned violence.”
Victims of police abuse are filing litigation, and at least one judge has put a halt to some of the most egregious misconduct.
Widespread, Egregious Police Abuse of Protesters
On May 30, Tina Crnko was marching at the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles rally when police shot her in the ribcage and bicep with kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), also known as “rubber bullets.” KIPs can result in serious organ damage and even death, particularly when shot at the head, neck or torso.
Crnko is a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California by the National Lawyers Guild, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Community Action Network. Crnko was also hit on her forehead above the eye. She bled profusely and experienced temporary hearing loss and extreme pain. Three weeks later, she still suffered nerve damage.
Another plaintiff in the Los Angeles lawsuit, Alicia Barrera-Trujillo, participated in a peaceful protest on June 1. When she tried to leave a little before 5 pm, she and other protesters were “kettled” — surrounded by police to prevent anyone from leaving. Police then fired rubber bullets into the group. Barrera-Trujillo alleges that an officer sprayed an aerosol agent at a woman with a small child who was crying. Both the woman and child exhibited pain from the spray.
Katharine Miller was on the ground kneeling at a June 1 protest when a Philadelphia police officer pepper sprayed her in the face and then pulled down the goggles on the woman next to her and sprayed her too.
Researchers found not one police department in the 20 largest U.S. cities in compliance with minimum human rights standards.
“Less-lethal weapons — such as tear gas and pepper spray grenades, and impact projectiles such as sponge rounds, baton rounds, and rubber bullets — should never be shot at close range or aimed at the head, as serious injury or death is possible,” according to Amnesty International.
On May 31, Minneapolis police and Minnesota National Guards shot projectiles at people standing peacefully on their front porches, a report by Amnesty International concluded. Before they started firing, the forces yelled, “Light them up.” They were apparently retaliating against people outside after curfew using their smartphones to videotape the forces.
The report documented 125 incidents of police violence against protesters in 40 states and Washington, D.C., from May 26 to June 5, committed by state and local police departments, National Guard troops and security personnel from federal agencies. The abuses, recorded in 500 videos, include beatings, misuse of pepper spray and tear gas, and inappropriate, even indiscriminate, firing of rubber bullets and sponge grenades or sponge-tipped bullets.
“These human rights violations by US police against peaceful protesters — which were neither proportionate nor necessary to achieve a legitimate law enforcement objective — are particularly egregious as they have occurred at demonstrations denouncing just such police behavior,” the Amnesty report noted.
Even when a minority of protesters committed unlawful acts, “security forces have routinely used disproportionate and indiscriminate force against entire demonstrations — without distinguishing, as legally required, between peaceful protesters and individuals committing unlawful acts,” the report found.
The most striking thing about the documented incidents, aside from the severity of the abuses, is “the national scale of the problem of police violence,” with violations occurring in both large cities and small towns all over the country
Violations of Protesters’ First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights
On June 5, U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the Denver Police Department from using “chemical weapons or projectiles of any kind against persons engaging in peaceful protests or demonstrations.” Police cannot use KIPs to target the head, back or pelvis, or shoot KIPs indiscriminately into a crowd. Chemical agents or irritants, including tear gas and pepper spray, can only be used after a dispersal order is given with adequate time for compliance and officers must allow safe egress (no kettling).
Judge Jackson found a strong likelihood that Denver police violated the Fourth Amendment by using excessive force and the First Amendment right to free speech. Plaintiffs claimed that police aimed at their heads and groins, which caused broken facial bones and ruptured testicles. The complaint also alleges that police used “pepper spray, pepper balls, rubber bullets, flashbang grenades, and tear gas to punish plaintiffs for demonstrating against police brutality.”
These human rights violations by US police against peaceful protesters are particularly egregious as they have occurred at demonstrations denouncing just such police behavior.
The judge found that “irreparable harm” would result if the plaintiffs were not granted immediate relief because the protests are ongoing, and the use of excessive force would have a chilling effect on the plaintiffs’ exercise of their freedom of speech. “I recognize the importance of shielding and uplifting this ongoing, nationwide movement. As such, I find that irreparable harm would occur were I to deny this relief,” Judge Jackson wrote.
Property damage, according to the judge, “is a small price to pay for constitutional rights — especially the constitutional right of the public to speak against widespread injustice.” He added,
If a store’s windows must be broken to prevent a protestor’s facial bones from being broken or eye being permanently damaged, that is more than a fair trade. If a building must be graffiti-ed to prevent the suppression of free speech, that is a fair trade. The threat to physical safety and free speech outweighs the threat to property.
The first amended complaint in the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles lawsuit says that from May 29 to June 3, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested approximately 3,000 people. The police chief admitted that well over 92 percent of the individuals arrested were engaged in peaceful protest.
Plaintiffs allege that police misconduct resulted in the violation of their First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. They charge that the LAPD used “indiscriminate and unreasonable force against thousands of protesters” and used unreasonable and excessive force by hitting “at least close to a thousand protesters with batons and/or ‘rubbers bullets.’” Plaintiffs attest to being restrained with tight handcuffs, denied bathroom access and access to food or water, and provided insufficient ventilation during transport, making them vulnerable to COVID-19.
On June 1, President Trump and Attorney General William Barr ordered the use of chemical weapons against peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., to facilitate Trump’s photo-op holding a Bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. Police used tear gas, flash-bang shells, smoke canisters, pepper balls and/or rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
The ACLU of District of Columbia, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sued Trump and Barr on behalf of Black Lives Matter DC and other protesters. They allege violation of the protesters’ First and Fourth Amendment rights, including the rights of peaceful assembly, petition for redress of grievances, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom from unreasonable seizures.
Qualified Immunity Excuses Police Abuse
When the plaintiffs litigate these lawsuits, they will be met with the qualified immunity defense. It shields officers from liability unless: 1.) They violated the Fourth Amendment by using excessive force; and 2.) they should have known they were violating “clearly established” law. Even in the most egregious cases, it is often difficult to prove the second prong if there is no prior case finding similar police conduct illegal.
On June 15, the Supreme Court declined to review eight cases that would have given them the opportunity to reconsider the qualified immunity defense.
Emma Andersson and the ACLU are handling one of those cases. “Requiring government actors to be careful before treading on someone’s constitutional rights is the only reasonable approach if you truly value those rights and want to ensure that they thrive rather than wither over time,” Andersson, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU, told CBS News. “As qualified immunity has become an increasingly high bar, it has become tougher for victims of government misconduct to vindicate their rights in court.”
Property damage, according to the judge, “is a small price to pay for constitutional rights — especially the constitutional right of the public to speak against widespread injustice.”
Indeed, as the Supreme Court noted in 1986, “qualified immunity provides ample protection to all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.”
Since the Black Lives Matter uprisings began, qualified immunity has become a hot-button issue. Colorado made history on June 19 by banning the qualified immunity defense. Congress is considering proposals that could abolish or water down the defense.
Representatives Justin Amash (D-Michigan) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) introduced the Ending Qualified Immunity Act in the House of Representatives on June 4. It provides there will be no qualified immunity defense if an officer claimed he or she was acting in good faith, or reasonably believed that his or her conduct was lawful at the time it was committed. It also specifies there is no defense even if the law was not clearly established at the time of the officer’s conduct.
Senators Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) introduced the Senate’s companion bill to the House’s Ending Qualified Immunity Act on July 1.
“If we want to change the culture of police violence against Black and Brown Americans,” Markey said, “then we need to start holding accountable the officers who abuse their positions of trust and responsibility in our communities. That means once-and-for-all abolishing the dangerous judicial doctrine known as qualified immunity.”
“At a time when unprecedented numbers of people are demanding an end to police murder, brutality, and impunity, we have got to finally abolish ‘qualified immunity,'” Sanders declared. “This is not a radical idea: Police officers must be held fully accountable for abuses they commit—no one is above the law. If we are serious about real police reform, the Senate has got to pass our Ending Qualified Immunity Act.”
“For too long,” Warren stated, “qualified immunity has shielded police officers who have engaged in unconstitutional and appalling conduct from being held accountable in court—it’s past time to end this doctrine. I’m proud to join my colleagues in cosponsoring this bill and putting forward reforms to help end the systemic racism that plagues policing in America.”
On June 24, Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana introduced the Reforming Qualified Immunity Act, which would allow the qualified immunity defense only when the officer’s conduct had previously been “specifically authorized or required by” a federal or state statute or regulation, or if a court had found it to be consistent “with the Constitution or Federal laws.”
It is unlikely that Republicans will agree to reform, no less abolish, the qualified immunity defense. It falls to the people to demand its abolition.
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