Survivors of LBPD brutality speak out!
Throughout the testimonies heard at the rally, it was
apparent that although poor and working Black and Latino communities are the
most repressed, there was a clear pattern of police beating, harassing and even killing workers
of all nationalities.
Anthony Lopez, a Long Beach resident in his 70s spoke out
about a recent physical abuse incident he experienced with the LBPD. His
testimony was living proof that no one escapes police terror and brutality, no
matter what age, gender or nationality.
A former Long Beach resident, D’Ann Stefano, told the crowd outside LBPD
headquarters, “The LBPD tased my daughter in the throat to ‘make an example out
of her’ because she asked them to leave her living room after they had finished
harassing her at my home for throwing a party.”
Another Long Beach resident and LGBT activist, Leonard
Baric, explained that there is a “systemic homophobic element to police
repression in Long Beach” and that he was subjected to police harassment simply
for trying to use a portable toilet in a public park.
Cherise Rogers, an African American woman who lives in Los Angeles,
said: “One cop pulled me over, asked me to get out of the car. They didn’t
ask for license or registration. He put me on the ground and got on my back and
called for back up because he said I was ‘resisting arrest’.” She
continued to describe how she was beaten and battered by multiple police
officers from multiple agencies without mercy, while being given no reason for
being detained.
The killing of Douglas Zerby brought people from Long Beach
into the streets on Feb. 12 to demand justice and denounce the Long Beach
Police Department. Hundreds gathered at Bixby Park in Long Beach in
anticipation of the rally and march. These included dozens of victims of police
brutality who spoke out at the event.
Men, women and children alike carried signs that read
“Stop LBPD Killer Cops” and “Jail All Killer Cops”. One person even
carried a homemade sign that read, “I fear the Police. In Long Beach, I’ll take
my chances with gang members.”
There was a mutual recognition throughout the diverse crowd
that it is long over due to expose the LBPD for what they truly are: the biggest
and most violent organized gang in Long Beach.
Two months ago, LBPD responded to what they thought was a
man with a gun. Without even announcing themselves, despite observing Doug for
fifteen minutes, the LBPD officers shot Zerby 10 times in cold blood. Had there
been an attempt made to make sure he had a gun, the situation would have not
have resulted in the death of an innocent man who left behind a family and a
community in shock.
What is more appalling is that the LBPD refuses to this day
to release the names of the officers involved nor an autopsy report. Doug’s
father, Mark Zerby, reminded the crowd of these facts at the rally prior to the
march.
Anger at the LBPD and other police permeated the rally as
the family, members of the community, and activists united together to demand
an end to police brutality. Pam Amici, Doug’s mother, informed the crowd about
the reverberating impact of Doug’s killing by telling the crowd, “The day my
son was killed, my father went into severe depression and he died six weeks
later. So the cops killed two people that day. He could not believe that his
grandson had been murdered by the Long Beach Police.”
The rally and march called by the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now
to Stop War and End Racism) kicked off with members of the Party for Socialism
and Liberation and student organizers with Students Fight Back giving statements regarding the incident and
building a fight back movement.
Stevie Merino, 2010 PSL candidate for Mayor of Long Beach,
said, “Money should not be going to more cops on the streets who aren’t viewed
as those who serve and protect but are actually instilling fear amongst our
community members and youth and wherever you are in the country. The uniforms
might change, but the violent and brutal treatment is the same.”
Also speaking at the rally were members of the community and
other supporting groups that joined in solidarity, including Sherman Mitchell
from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a representative of the
Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant, and Naida Tushnet of the Long Beach Area
Peace Network.
Citing various peoples’ movements, Sherman Mitchell said, “I
can understand why they’re marching in Egypt, I can understand why they marched
in Selma, Alabama, and today I can understand why you’re marching in Long
Beach—you have to stop it—it has to stop!” As the rally came to a close, the
crowd had grown to several hundred and organizers lead the marchers to take the
streets, shutting down heavily trafficked areas of downtown Long Beach.
Demonstrators were met with overwhelming support from the
local businesses and residential communities as many joined the passing march
of about 300 people. The march remained strong until it reached its
destination, the LBPD headquarters, where protesters and community members
rallied, telling story after story of police abuse in Long Beach and elsewhere.
Opening the ending rally on behalf of the ANSWER Coalition,
Ian Thompson said, “It doesn’t matter if you are Black, if you are Latino, if
you are Asian, Arab, Native American, or white—everyone is suffering this
brutal police violence, especially in Long Beach, and we have to stop it.”
The PSL will continue to march for justice and demand the
incarceration of all killer cops. Just like any worker would be tried for
killing somebody, so should the officers responsible for Doug Zerby’s death. We
demand an independent and transparent investigation into Zerby’s killing, and
call on all people to join us in this ongoing struggle against police brutality
and killings. No justice, No Peace!
