Sacramento residents united in solidarity with communities around the United States for the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and Criminalization of a Generation. This October 22 Sacramentans paid their respects for Andy Lopez, a 13-year-old boy who was shot seven times by Sheriff’s deputy, Erick Gelhaus. Gelhaus claimed to have mistaken Lopez’s air gun for an assault rifle and fired within seconds of reaching the scene.
Two years later, and still no justice has been served for the Lopez family. Instead, Gelhaus has not faced any criminal charges and is
still patrolling the streets of Santa Rosa. The Sonoma County District Attorney announced Gelhaus “did not violate any internal
policies and procedures and will not face discipline, other than the suspension he already faced while the investigation was pending.”
Andy Lopez’s murder is not an isolated event; it is a trend occurring in the United States. Based on “Police Killings in Sonoma County” put together by the Sonoma County Free Press, some 56 people have been murdered by Santa Rosa Police since 2000 (the list ends with Andy Lopez).
As the 16th year of solidarity nationwide passed, Sacramento residents honored the lives lost at the hands of police. The group gathered outside Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office on I street. The action called for an open independent study on Santa Rosa police brutality against communities of color. The action was opened with local Danzantes, who taught about the importance of continued resistance and the genocide of Indigenous communities since the encounter of 1492. The action included an altar with the pictures of Andy Lopez, Michael Brown, Devin Guilford, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Jessie Hernandez, Freddie Grey, Oscar Grant, and Antonio Zambrano-Montes. Danzantes offered their dance to show solidarity with families who continue to mourn the lives of their loved ones who have not received justice. Speakers gathered to discuss the importance of unity and tying in many struggles against the imperialist nation.
Berry Atticus spoke to the crowd and encouraged everyone to continue fighting to end police brutality, “I ask every single one of you, when you look in the mirror, ask yourself, why are you really here? Are you here just to lead a rally cry or do you really believe we must end police terror? Do you really believe we must end police brutality? Do you really believe we must end police murder? You must ask yourself that, because when you ask yourself that and you say, ‘yes I am!’ You will have the fight in you, you will be strong, you will be resilient, you will have the energy to keep walking, marching, fighting, yelling, screaming, and kicking. And making them feel uncomfortable. Not by standing here looking as if we are defeated. We are not the defeated! We are those who are going to win! We are those who will stand for justice, we will overcome! We will defeat police. We will challenge our government. We will stand up!”
Jennifer Morales spoke of the importance of building a movement. “In the state of California, over 100 people have been murdered by police in this year alone. Let that sink in, 100 lives lost, brutally lost, mothers crying, fathers burying their children, sisters and brothers saying goodbye. I come from a culture where we build altars, and we dignify our dead and we say ‘you know what I’ll see you in our next life, you are never gone from me, your energy is here.’ Our energy is here tonight. The fact that you are here, standing here, spending time with our lost loved ones, you are resisting! And that is what it takes to build change, to build a movement.”
The event tied in militarization of police and the importance of global solidarity against the capitalist empire. “The unrelenting violence of the police against civilians in the U.S. has reached the level of an international human rights crisis. And the long history of police violence against the Black community in the U.S. has reached genocidal proportions. So when officers and politicians begin using scare tactics to disarm the militancy of a growing movement, we have to remember that this tactic is one that they’ve rehearsed throughout U.S. history to subdue people’s struggles,” said Johanna Fernandez, professor at Baruch College of the City University of New York.
Community building was the driving force of Sacramento’s solidarity event. People from all walks of life gathered to show solidarity for everyone’s personal struggle. Police brutality connects everyone who lives under a ruling class where laws must be obeyed or you are criminalized. There is no proper way of tracking how many people are killed by police because the United States does not properly log the number of people killed. The limited amount of information available does show that Black men are disproportionately impacted by the amount of lethal force used by police.
In times where genocide is occurring at the hands of police, unity is crucial. The action concluded with a message of resistance, unity and urgency for mobilization not just in Sacramento but also at a global scale. Organizers also thanked all those who continue to resist capitalist ideologies by standing in unity in demanding police accountability.
