Demonstrators gather in City Heights Nov. 25 in the wake of a Missouri grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer who fatally shot a black teenager. | Video Credit: Brian Myers
By Brian Myers
Following a Missouri grand jury announcement not to file criminal charges against white Missouri police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, San Diego residents rallied in City Heights Tuesday and Wednesday to express their outrage at what they are calling an epidemic of state violence against people of color.
Young community volunteers Alea and Farah attended the Tuesday rally in support of changing what they believe to be a prejudiced justice system that led to the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 9.
“I’m a black person and the message that I’m getting everyday is that my life does not matter. The life of my brothers and family members, none of our lives matter. And I just think it’s really important that we come out and that we stand up for justice,” Farah said.
Demonstrators gathered both nights at the Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, dubbed the “Michael Brown Memorial Park” Tuesday. Demonstrators draped a banner with Brown’s name over a sign commemorating Jeremy Henwood, who was shot and killed while on duty in 2011.
Officers and supporters of the police department called the gesture offensive and reclaimed the sign Nov. 26 with flowers and American flags.
Flags and flowers adorn a sign honoring slain mid-city police officer Jeremy Henwood Nov. 26, 2014. | Photo Credit: Megan Burks
With chants of, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and, “No justice, no peace, no killer police,” protesters circled the mid-city police substation across from the park before heading north on Fairmount Avenue and west on University Avenue. On Tuesday, some marchers briefly shut down Interstate 15 before marching to downtown. Marchers Wednesday circled through North Park before returning to City Heights.
The demonstrations were largely peaceful, though police made six arrests Tuesday because individuals were throwing plastic water bottles and rocks at officers, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.
“The majority of them were very cooperative with us, but it ran the entire gamut from protesters that were very much grateful that we were there, thanking us that we were there and helping to facilitate their First Amendment right,” Zimmerman said on KPBS Midday Edition Wednesday. “But it also ran the other gamut, with protesters that were throwing rock sand bottles and spitting on our officers and circling our vehicles, and were very hostile toward our officers.”
Marchers turn west onto University Avenue from Fairmount Avenue on Nov. 26, 2014. | Photo Credit: Megan Burks
A California Highway Patrol officer blocks access to Interstate 15 Nov. 26, 2014. | Photo Credit: Megan Burks
Before Wednesday’s march, United Against Police Terror – San Diego organizer Cathy Mendonca reminded demonstrators to remain peaceful. Organizers brought first aid supplies and coordinated volunteers who could provide care if anyone was hurt. Police in riot gear kept their distance, shutting down streets and blocking freeway on and off ramps as the crowd marched through mid-city neighborhoods with signs.
Tina Willis’s sign read, “Black lives matter.” She’s a mother of two teenagers.
“Almost every day, every week, we’re seeing a child, black or brown color, being slain or killed,” Willis said. “I would just like more transparency within the police departments, within law enforcement.”
The San Diego Police Department has been working to improve its relationship with minority communities this year after data showed black and Latino drivers are subject to more traffic stops than other racial and ethnic groups. They also are more likely than white residents to be searched without a resulting arrest.
This year the department changed its policies so officers are less likely to ask everyone they stop whether they’re on probation and less likely to sit those they detain on the curb — practices considered especially offensive in the black community. It’s also rolled out police body cameras in the city’s most diverse neighborhoods, including City Heights.
Though the demonstrations were meant to show solidarity with marchers in Ferguson, Mendonca said San Diego demonstrators also wanted to continue the dialogue about local police practices.
“We want to have community meetings regarding police accountability in City Heights. This is only the beginning. We mobilize to make a change,” Mendonca said.
United Against Police Terror and Activist San Diego have scheduled meetings for the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month starting in December at the Activist Center on Wightman Street and Van Dyke Avenue in City Heights.
Mid-city police hold “problem-solving” meetings the first Wednesday of every month. Residents are invited to discuss issues of crime and how police patrol in their neighborhood.
Megan Burks contributed to this report.
[Correction: The original version of this story stated Tina Willis has two teenage boys. She has a son and daughter.]