BROOKLYN, June 17 — “Murderers! Murderers! Murderers!” This chant rang out on Friday evening, June 15, from all corners of Church Ave and East 38 Street as we demonstrated against the racist police killing of a twenty-three year old black woman Shantel Davis the night before. She was shot by “bad boy” detective Philip Atkins. Shantel was unarmed. Atkins’s “bad boy” nickname comes from his reputation in this mainly black working-class neighborhood as a drug-pushing fascist who harassed, beat up, threatened, lied and arrested residents, especially youth.
Several workers who’ve been threatened by Atkins shared their stories with PLP. One 45-year-old worker reported being stopped, and when he protested, Atkins shoved a gun into his mouth. A mother told of her son being stopped and frisked. When he objected, Atkins asked “Do you know where Kings County hospital is?” The young man said “yes.” Atkins pointed his gun at his groin area and said, “Do you want to go there?”
Even the capitalist media revealed that he had six civil suits pending against him. Two of those lawsuits have already been resolved by the NYPD paying the victims damages.
Community residents who had been present at the killing told how the cops had sealed off the area. They seized the cell phones of the witnesses and took the video feeds from several local businesses’ cameras. The mass media cooperated with the cops and immediately attacked Shantel’s behavior and her reputation. But her neighbours knew better: this was a racist and sexist cold-blooded murder. The killer cop was black, but all cops are blue and serve only as a tool of protecting the bosses’ laws.This sexist murder reflects the violence capitalism breeds against women. We truly cannot get any justice under this system. Many women took the lead in speaking up against these racist cops.
Workers, Youth Prove their Power
This Friday was for the workers, students, and young people to prove their power. Progressive Labor Party was an integral part of this rally. Over 250 CHALLENGEs were sold. Speakers on bullhorns added to fuel the existing anger of residents. At our peak, over 100 protesters were present, transforming what would’ve been a passive vigil into a rally displaying the potential of workers’ rage. Workers read about the murder of Ramarley Graham who was killed by the kkkops in the Bronx. Young people spoke of their experiences. Everyone stressed the need to organize and fight back. PL’ers also spoke about the need for a communist world.
A church “leader” got on the bullhorn, announcing that cops are not bad. Hoping to pacify us, he told the crowd to wait for an investigation. It didn’t work. Several young leaders began chanting, “Racist cops you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” The residents eagerly took up the chant, with clenched fists. We were angry, determined and fearless. We marched to the unmarked cop car parked in front of an NYPD van across the street. About thirty workers surrounded the cop car and chanted “Murder!” at the two sergeants inside.
Driving the KKKops Off
After their initial shock, the sergeants came out of the car followed by several community affairs cops. One of those cops began harassing one of our friends. We surrounded the cop, chanted in his face, and drove him off. Eventually one sergeant got to him and told him to back off.
We were back the next day, Saturday, June 16. Our new friends were there, as were many more people. A group of “community leaders” and politicians were also there, negotiating with the cops. They tried to cancel our planned march to the precinct. We should’ve made a plan for residents and PL’ers to speak up sooner. But speak up we did and much more.
The politicians push the idea that Atkins is a bad apple and that there are good cops. But brutal cops like Atkins can do what they do only because other cops help him and at best, stay silent. The bosses’ role for the cops is to instill fear in workers so they remain passive in the face of capitalism’s attacks through budget cuts in hospitals and schools, or racist immigration policies.
Women Take the Lead
Led by PL’ers and new friends, we marched to the precinct, more than a 100 strong. Workers joined us along the way. The protesters were angry and determined. People spoke of their experiences both with killer Atkins and with many other cops. CHALLENGEs were used and people signed up for a Ramarley Graham and Anti-Stop-and-Frisk protest (see page 3). A woman said her son was arrested the day before and she was prevented from seeing him. We chanted at the cops and she was allowed to go see her son. One young woman was especially brave as she crossed the cop barricades and flaunted her big poster sign in the cops’ faces. Such women’s leadership is admirable and needed in all struggles.
A young man related his experience with bad boy Atkins. He was arrested and spent four days in jail while Atkins lied to his mother. With help from a lawyer, he was released — only to find Atkins waiting for him outside his house. Atkins followed and harassed the young man. A neighbor confronted this vicious cop. Atkins yelled at the woman, who then told him to get off her property. He told her this young man sold crack cocaine (which was an outright lie). She told him “So what?!” Atkins backed off.
‘We Say Shoot Back!’
From the kkkop station, we marched back to the neighborhood and this time we took the streets! People from cars were honking and cheering. As we chanted, “They say give back, we say fight back” some women changed it to “They say give back, we say shoot back.” Our morale was sky high. So was working-class anger. Back at the scene of the killing, we took over the intersection with a four-corner circle, stopping traffic, raising awareness. We later had a barbeque, with more planned action ahead. What a day!
We returned today to unite this struggle with the march in Manhattan against the racist kkkops, against this racist system and we marched for a communist world (see page 3). Under communism, workers have power everywhere, not just for a little while in the streets. We strive for a world without racism, sexism, and nationalism. These last few days we’ve taken a few steps in a lifetime struggle. When prepared, even on short notice, communists can achieve great things. Unite with PLP for a world without kkkillings of our class!