A strong, united gathering of nearly 100 people held a candle light vigil on Dec. 15 in front of a new mural designed
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Family and friends turned the spot of the murder into a shrine with candles and messages of love and anger. The City of Oakland repeatedly tore them down. It was only after family and friends launched a struggle that the city approved the permanent mural to be created.
King Jr., a 20-year-old African American, was murdered by Gonzalez being badly beaten, tazered numerous times and then shot twice in the back. Witnesses report that before Gonzalez called an ambulance, he dragged King Jr., stood on his back and handcuffed him.
Outraged and devastated, family, friends, neighbors and supporters have built a determined grassroots movement to demand that Gonzalez be removed from the Oakland police force. The North Oakland community is also demanding that sweeping changes be made to prevent this from happening again, bringing into question the entire code of conduct of the Oakland Police Department.
Faced with this community outcry, early public justifications for this vicious murder by a cop with a record of deadly brutality have crumbled and an investigation of the murder continues. Officer Gonzalez has a long history of harassment and brutality as an Oakland cop, which includes the murder of at least one other African American young man, and the shooting of a 17-year-old.
At the unveiling of the mural, King Jr.’s father and mother thanked those attending for their continued support and solidarity. Others spoke out against police violence, including the Rev. Donald Sanders, whose 15-year-old son Laronte Studesville also was shot by Oakland police; Mesha Monge Irazzary, whose son Idriss Stelley was murdered by the San Francisco police; political activist and family friend Keith Shanklin, and Chris Banks of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).
