On Jan. 28, roughly 500 workers,
parents, children and activists historically marched on the streets of Downey,
CA. ANSWER LA organized the anti-police brutality march and rally along
with the friends and family of Michael Nida, who was unjustly murdered by a Downey
Police officer.
Nida had committed no crime, but was
stopped on the evening of Oct. 22, 2011 by Downey officers while walking across
the street. He allegedly ‘fit the description’ of a suspect who had
apparently robbed an ATM an hour earlier. In this case, fitting the description
is just a euphemism for being a young Latino man as racist police profiling is
as commonplace in Downey as any police department throughout the country.
Minutes later, the unarmed Nida was shot multiple times in the back with a semi-automatic
machine gun as he ran for his life.
Since October, Nida’s family and
friends have been running a fierce justice campaign with the continuous support
of the ANSWER Coalition and the Campaign to Stop Police Violence. The
march and rally was the culmination of their recent efforts to draw attention
to the injustices of the system and its disregard for the senseless death of
Michael Nida. The demonstration removed the fear of dozens of victims in the
Downey area who came forward and are helping to broaden the anti-police
brutality movement in the local community.
The over three-mile march began on
the corner of Paramount Boulevard and Imperial Highway where Nida was gunned
down, passing through the town’s commercial center and ending at the Downey
Police headquarters and City Hall. Police attempted to intimidate
protesters onto the sidewalk, but the mass of people spilled out onto the
streets immediately after the march began and held the streets the entire time
without a permit. Powerful chants of “no more killing, no more lies,
shooting Mikey was a crime!” resonated throughout the center of town while
onlookers cheered and honked their car horns in support.
As the crowd congregated at the
doors of City Hall, a closing rally was held with speakers from ANSWER
Coalition, Campaign to Stop Police Violence, Students Fight Back, March
Forward!, PSL and members of Nida’s family.
Nida’s mother Jean Thaxton called
the action an inspiring success, stating “It makes me feel like we can really
make a change if we just stand together strong.” She was overwhelmed by
the amount of people who showed up from all around southern California to show
their support.
The family’s attorney Brian
Claypool, who fights on many police brutality cases, said “Sometimes I feel
alone out there, [but] when I attend events like this it empowers me and gives
me hope that the community cares and that by partnering with ANSWER Coalition
that we can truly make a world of difference.”
ANSWER Coalition and the PSL will
continue to fight police brutality across the country and demand justice for
Michael Nida. The epidemic of violence must be stopped, racist murdering
cops should be thrown in jail and every community can and should win some form
of control over the police.
