Community protests police killings

On Saturday, Aug. 23, a noontime community protest against police brutality took place on the corner of Ashby Ave. and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Berkeley, Calif.

Community members hold a protest against police brutality, Berkeley, Calif., Aug. 23.

The action was in solidarity with the family of slain grandmother Anita Gay and other victims of wanton killings at the hands of the Berkeley and Oakland police forces. The event was organized by the Justice for Anita! Justice for All! Coalition which includes Gay’s family, Copwatch, Critical Resistance, the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and unaffiliated neighbors and community members. Calls for justice were chanted and many protesters—including all four of Gay’s sisters—spoke out against the racist, class nature of both local and national police practices.

Gay was gunned down on her own front porch by Berkeley police officer Rashawn Cummings in February after the family called the police for assistance in a domestic dispute. Cummings’ punishment for this brutal killing amounts to little more than a wrist slap. Every officer who committed a killing this year in Berkeley and Oakland has not only remained free, but has retained uncompromised employment status as well.

The demonstration was covered by several television and radio stations and was widely supported by vendors at the Ashby Flea Market, several of whom asked for stacks of flyers for their tables. The event was followed by a picnic in the park across from the Berkeley Police station where protest participants came to talk more about both the Anita Gay case and the epidemic of police shootings plaguing Berkeley and Oakland.