Liberation conducted this interview with Shannon Bell, the
owner/operator of Bell Trucking Company, who was brutalized by the
Long Beach Police Department in 2009 at his home in the Belmont Shore
neighborhood.
Liberation: First, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Shannon Bell: My name is Shannon Bell and I’m 37 years old. I
was born June 8, 1973, and I grew up in Wilmington, Calif., just a
couple miles away from Long Beach. I’m an owner/operator who used
to be contracted to do work hauling loads in and out of the Long
Beach port. I have two kids; a 16-year-old son and a five-year-old
daughter.
Liberation: What were your thoughts of the police when you
were growing up?
SB: The earliest memory I have of the cops was them arresting my
uncle. Growing up, before I had gotten the good job that I have now,
I was involved in gangs and I remember seeing how crooked the police
were because frequently they would rob people of their money or beat
people in the street. When I changed my life around, I thought that I
wouldn’t ever encounter any of that type of stuff anymore.
Liberation: How then did you feel about the police
immediately before the incident, after you had become successful as a
truck driver?
SB: My father-in-law was an LAPD sergeant. I embraced him
personally and I had let go of my past. I was assured by my ex-wife
that I was a business owner and the police were no longer out to get
me. I felt good. I didn’t worry too much about the police.
Liberation: Have you ever had an incident with the Long
Beach Police Department prior to the attack in January of 2009?
SB: Yes. Once I went to get some cans of corn and I was going back
home when I was pulled over by an undercover. The cop acted as though
I was a criminal immediately. He told me to get my ID out and I
informed him that I was in a bucket seat and couldn’t reach my
wallet and that I had to get out to give him the ID. The cop pulled
me out of the car and told me to “Sit on the curb.”
I replied, “If I was a white guy would you be putting me on the
curb?” Then the cop responded, “Do you want to go to jail?”
Luckily, my neighbors had witnessed what was happening and notified
my ex-wife who was only about a block away in our house. The cop ran
my ID and started talking to me about my past, implying that I was a
criminal. That is when my ex-wife walked up and explained that I
lived around the corner, and the officer wrote the ticket after
searching my car.
Liberation: Can you please tell us what happened on the day
of the incident?
SB: It was January 4, 2009, and me and my now ex-wife were arguing
loudly with each other. A next-door neighbor heard us yelling at one
another and thought something more was happening so she called the
police. The next thing I remember is a loud pounding on the door, and
we both knew it was the police. When I opened the door, I opened it
to a sea of police officers, several of whom already had their tasers
drawn.
I was told to come out with my hands up, and I complied. I was
told to get on the ground by one of the officers, and I asked, “What
for?” Then an officer who was hidden behind my opened door stepped
out and threw me down the porch steps onto my car, which was parked
in the driveway. When I was against the car, I was told repeatedly
that I was resisting after they shot me with a taser in the chest and
began poking me with another prod-like taser.
They continued beating me as I fell forward down the front of the
lawn into some garden planters and trees. They were screaming at me
to put my hands behind my back as they tased me a couple more times
but I couldn’t and I was pinned up against a tree and couldn’t
roll over. Then they dragged me by the ankles into the street gutter
and cuffed me. I asked, “Officer, why was I tased?”
The officer responded, “Shut up” and tased me again while in
handcuffs in the gutter. My ex-wife caught this portion on tape with
her cell phone. They arrested me for “obstructing justice” but
never filed any charges. The officers came to the hospital and one of
them told me, “We didn’t know what to do because you’re a big
Black guy and we didn’t know you were nice.”
Liberation: Have you had any other problems with LBPD since
the incident?
SB: Yes. I was harassed at one of my court appearances for a
ticket by one of the officers who had participated in the jumping. I
also got pulled over in north Long Beach on the way to a club with a
friend who had just been released on parole. We were pulled over
right in front of the club.
The same thing happened, I told the cop I couldn’t reach my ID
and I had to get out and give it to them. They checked me and my
friend’s records. I was told to “Sit on the curb” again but I
refused because the ground was wet from it being a very rainy night
and they cuffed me and threw me in the back. The officers then tore
my car to pieces searching for nothing. The case was dropped when the
cops refused to show up in court.
Liberation: What do you think about the LBPD now?
SB: I’d say the majority of LBPD officers are rotten to the
bone. They are not good people. When I’m walking around downtown
Long Beach and I see cops moving toward me, I leave. I would say I’m
definitely avoiding the LBPD now.
Liberation: What would you say to other victims of police
violence here in Long Beach or anywhere else for that matter?
SB: It’s important to not just accept it. Somebody has to stand
up for it to change. This has been happening for a long time. I’ve
lived in the area for nearly 20 years and have always heard about
LBPD violence. I’ve heard about them tasing, shooting, beating
unarmed people minding their own business just because they may have
said something the officer didn’t like. I don’t understand why
the City Council or the mayor aren’t doing anything about it. They
must not understand how the police unleash force on our communities
all the time.
Liberation: How do you feel to be a part of the ANSWER
Coalition [Act Now to Stop War and End Racism] and Party for
Socialism and Liberation’s city-wide movement to end police
violence?
SB: I am honored to be working on the campaign. It feels great to
be a part of it. When I was a kid and even when I was in the streets,
I always followed what my grandmother told me: “Right is right and
wrong is wrong.” I’ve paid for crimes I didn’t even commit in
this injustice system. I’m hoping that LBPD will pay for their
crimes. The community doesn’t deserve what they’re doing to us.
