Police violence seems out of control: What does it mean?

Latest

CARTOON/ANDY WILLIS

 
On March 12, police killed Decynthia Clements, 34, after an hour-long standoff with Elgin, IL police on Interstate 90. Those protesting her death said police had no reason to kill Clements, who weighed only 90 pounds and was allegedly armed only with a knife. On March 18, Sacramento, CA, police killed Stephon Clark, 22, in the backyard of his home. Police said they thought he had a gun. He had a cell phone. Both victims were Black. As we go to print, people in both communities are in the streets, expressing their outrage and demanding justice.
According to mappingpoliceviolence.org, 1,147 people were killed by police in the United States in 2017. Most killings began with police responding to suspected non-violent offenses or cases where no crime was reported. Eighty-nine people were killed after police stopped them for a traffic violation. People of color are disproportionately affected by police violence; Blacks, for example, were 25% of those killed by police in 2017, though they are only 13% of the population. Forty-eight percent of the people killed by police last year were white. The U.S. population is 63% white.
In 2014, the Tampa Bay Times asked all of the nearly 400 police agencies in Florida for reports any time an officer shot someone between 2009 and 2014. The Times reported that Florida police shot at least 827 people, 434 of them fatally, during the six-year period.
Those shot included:
A 2-year-old boy in his mother’s car at a Wendy’s
A 17-year-old boy with Down syndrome who took his mom’s minivan for a low-speed joyride
A 60-year-old man fetching cigarettes from a car in his driveway
An autistic 18-year-old who threw four lava rocks at an officer
A man shoplifting a can of Bud Light from a gas station
Not all of these people died from their wounds.
Whether they have controlled slaves, broken strikes, or contained the poor, the police have always been an instrument of the powerful few against the workers under capitalism. But today, police violence seems to be getting worse, and it appears no one is safe. This is because technology is eliminating our jobs permanently. This has created a section of us who have no stake in a society run by and for billionaires. We are a threat to their rule and they are creating a police state to contain us.
A new society is emerging out of our ongoing struggles to defend ourselves. It will either be a society that serves the corporations, protects their billions and keeps the people in poverty under a violent police state, or it will be a society where the abundance high technology is producing belongs to the people and there will be no need to police anyone. Which way it goes is up to us.

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

‘I Am a Political Prisoner’ Says Jailed Immigrant Rights Activist

In this interview with Democracy Now, Journalist Maria Hinojosa describes her recent interview in an ICE detention center in Colorado with jailed immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra.

War No More – Veterans Reflect on the Meaning of Memorial Day

Veterans for Peace say wars will not end, – and nuclear war will not be averted – unless there is a sea-change in the thinking of the U.S. people and our political leaders.

Harvard University Stands Up to Illegal Federal Government Actions

Read letter by Harvard President Alan M. Garner, about the University's stance on the Federal government's illegal actions to force Harvard to give up the school's academic independence and academic freedom.

Trump’s Big Cruel, Deadly Policy Bill is a Healthcare Heist

Outrage is rising against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that would give massive tax breaks to the rich while slashing Medicaid, nutrition, and clean energy. Some say 14 million people could lose health coverage.

Is FREE Electricity in our Future?

Electricity should be a right, free to all.  Yet, for-profit energy companies set prices to maximize profits to shareholders, even when users can’t afford the prices and suffer shutoffs.

More from the People's Tribune