On Dec. 23, a grand jury ruled that two white Rockford, Ill., police officers were completely justified in shooting an unarmed Black man late last August.
On Aug. 24, in a blatant show of racist terror, Officers Oda Poole and Stan North shot and killed Mark Anthony Barmore in a daycare center located inside the Kingdom Authority Church. The two cops gunned down Barmore in front of both children and church members.
One of the officers had already been involved in four shootings in the past five years, two of which resulted in death. (WIFR Dec. 24, 2009)
The cops claimed that Barmore had run from them because the officers wanted to question him over a dispute he had with his girlfriend. According to Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato, Barmore attacked the police officers and was shot while trying to take Officer Poole’s gun.
Witnesses from Kingdom Authority Church have a much different account of what happened. Sheila Brown, the pastor’s wife, who runs the daycare center, and her daughter, Marissa, witnessed the incident. Both said that there was no fight over the weapon, and Barmore had in fact surrendered to the officers with his hands over his head before the cops gunned him down. He was shot three times.
Other witnesses to the killing include the children who attend the daycare center. A lawyer representing the church says that the children who saw the police shoot Barmore have been significantly traumatized and are experiencing emotional distress. ”Children are having problems at school, behavioral issues, one of the children has lost hair related to this incident.” Witnesses are saying that “the officers had the opportunity to get the children out of the room and get them out of harms way and they didn’t. …” (WREX Dec. 23, 2009)
Thousands of community members have taken to the streets against the racist killing. The NAACP and Rainbow Push Coalition have repudiated the court’s decision and are demanding a federal investigation into the murder.
The grand jury was held in secrecy and was not open to the public. With the help of an investigation by the Illinois state police, it cleared the officers of any responsibility for the brutal murder without listening to one second of the Browns’ eyewitness account.
The county is saying that the Browns had refused to either testify for the grand jury or talk to police investigators. But none of that is true.
The Brown’s lawyer has told reporters that the Browns were subpoenaed to appear on Sept. 11 to testify. “Yet, immediately upon receiving the subpoenas, the attorneys were informed that no grand jury would be impaneled to investigate this matter at that time, and that witnesses need not appear.” (Rockford Register Star Dec. 24, 2009) The Browns were again subpoenaed immediately before the trial when they were unable to attend.
The murder of Mark Anthony Barmore and this betrayal of justice are blatant examples of the institutionalized racism and anti-worker policies of the capitalist state and the criminal justice system. Obeying only the wishes of their capitalist masters, the police murder Black and Latino youth in the streets all over the United States while defending tooth and nail the rights of capital and private property. These killer cops must pay for their crimes and this system of racist state-sponsored terror must be eliminated.
On Dec. 23, a grand jury ruled that two white Rockford, Ill., police officers were completely justified in shooting an unarmed Black man late last August.
On Aug. 24, in a blatant show of racist terror, Officers Oda Poole and Stan North shot and killed Mark Anthony Barmore in a daycare center located inside the Kingdom Authority Church. The two cops gunned down Barmore in front of both children and church members.
One of the officers had already been involved in four shootings in the past five years, two of which resulted in death. (WIFR Dec. 24, 2009)
The cops claimed that Barmore had run from them because the officers wanted to question him over a dispute he had with his girlfriend. According to Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato, Barmore attacked the police officers and was shot while trying to take Officer Poole’s gun.
Witnesses from Kingdom Authority Church have a much different account of what happened. Sheila Brown, the pastor’s wife, who runs the daycare center, and her daughter, Marissa, witnessed the incident. Both said that there was no fight over the weapon, and Barmore had in fact surrendered to the officers with his hands over his head before the cops gunned him down. He was shot three times.
Other witnesses to the killing include the children who attend the daycare center. A lawyer representing the church says that the children who saw the police shoot Barmore have been significantly traumatized and are experiencing emotional distress. ”Children are having problems at school, behavioral issues, one of the children has lost hair related to this incident.” Witnesses are saying that “the officers had the opportunity to get the children out of the room and get them out of harms way and they didn’t. …” (WREX Dec. 23, 2009)
Thousands of community members have taken to the streets against the racist killing. The NAACP and Rainbow Push Coalition have repudiated the court’s decision and are demanding a federal investigation into the murder.
The grand jury was held in secrecy and was not open to the public. With the help of an investigation by the Illinois state police, it cleared the officers of any responsibility for the brutal murder without listening to one second of the Browns’ eyewitness account.
The county is saying that the Browns had refused to either testify for the grand jury or talk to police investigators. But none of that is true.
The Brown’s lawyer has told reporters that the Browns were subpoenaed to appear on Sept. 11 to testify. “Yet, immediately upon receiving the subpoenas, the attorneys were informed that no grand jury would be impaneled to investigate this matter at that time, and that witnesses need not appear.” (Rockford Register Star Dec. 24, 2009) The Browns were again subpoenaed immediately before the trial when they were unable to attend.
The murder of Mark Anthony Barmore and this betrayal of justice are blatant examples of the institutionalized racism and anti-worker policies of the capitalist state and the criminal justice system. Obeying only the wishes of their capitalist masters, the police murder Black and Latino youth in the streets all over the United States while defending tooth and nail the rights of capital and private property. These killer cops must pay for their crimes and this system of racist state-sponsored terror must be eliminated.
