This weekend marks the National Anti-Police Brutality Day. From Cleveland to Oakland, people fighting for police accountability will be out in the streets to demand reform and accountability. The national day of action comes a week after a police shooting of a college student named Danroy Henry in Boston last Sunday.
This has been a landmark year for police accountability efforts. This summer ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for killing 22-year-old Oscar Grant. The verdict was a disappointment to Grant’s family, who insist that the shooting was not an accident. But convictions of any kind in police shootings are rare. In New Orleans the famously corrupt New Orleans Police Department is undergoing systemic overhauls; the federal government is now involved in overseeing reform of the force. More than a dozen police officers have been indicted in federal court for shootings and cover-ups that occurred in the days after Hurricane Katrina.
Despite these efforts, 2010 has also been a tough year for communities and families all over the country who have mourned the loss of loved ones killed by police officers. We remember four people whose tragic, violent deaths made national headlines this year and sparked protests. Every death became a spark that ignited a community’s renewed calls for accountability, a fight that continues long after families lay their loved ones to rest....to continue reading go to colorlines.com
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