Editor’s note: Excerpts below are from the FB page of the youth-led, anti-police brutality group, Detroit Will Breathe. See their full statement at: https://www.facebook.com/detroitwillbreathe/
“Today, Detroit Will Breathe and individual plaintiffs accepted a historic offer of judgment by the City of Detroit that includes over $1 million … the federal court will rule that the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police Department (DPD) violated the constitutional rights of protestors during the George Floyd uprising of 2020.
“[T]his judgment is a victory for the movement. At the start of our lawsuit, we obtained an unprecedented temporary restraining or- der against DPD…[that] prohibited DPD from beating, choking, pepper-spraying, and tear-gassing protestors and was converted into an injunction that lasted over two years. We also defeated the City’s multiple attempts to bring a baseless and retaliatory countersuit against us …
“While the movement should use every tool at its disposal … this law-suit confirms … that mass struggle in the streets is ultimately needed to win us justice …
“We do not seek to make a friendlier… less violent police force; rather, we demand the abolition of the institution itself and the transfer of those public resources into programs that will improve the lives of our community — housing, mental health care, education, and clean water…
“We rose up in 2020 to defend Black and Brown lives, yet capitalism and its enforcers, the police, continue to kill and maim people like Porter Burkers, Patrick Lyoya, Theo Gray, Hakim Littleton, Priscilla Slater, and Ma’khia Bryant …
While we don’t see the daily marches, … strikes have rippled across the country and student walkouts are a regular occurrence. The militancy of these new actions is a spark that can light a fire. We encourage everyone to join the fight in any way they can.
“See y’all in the streets.”
Editor’s note: Please see this video of the Day of the Dead altar to remember people who have been killed by Detroit police. This Day of the Dead, a sacred day when the dead are remembered, was held at the General Baker Institute in Detroit. Click on the image or visit https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=836096504399301
