On Dec. 26, around 50 members of the community gathered in front of the downtown Sacramento headquarters of the Fraternal Order of Police and Sheriffs’ Association and held a vigil to mourn for those unable to celebrate the holidays because they were murdered by racist law enforcement.
The diverse crowd held candles and images of victims of police brutality as they made known their concern over the continued targeting of young people of color in Sacramento and throughout the nation. The abuses and criminal nature of the most notorious police forces in the country like the LAPD and NYPD are well known, but often overlooked is the depth of corruption and racism found in medium sized cities like Sacramento.
Changing demographics due in large part to gentrification, the legacy of segregationist housing policies of the past, and a nearly all-white police force all make Sacramento a city that is forced to address the issue of police brutality. This pressure has had to come straight from the people who have stood up, began to organize themselves and demanded a change to this system. With a growing population of just under 500,000 people and a population as diverse as any in the United States, Sacramento offers a glimpse into the future of what many cities around the nation may be facing in the future
In Sacramento, the people are forced to deal with aggressive city police who make few attempts to hide their racist attitudes. Their systematic and constant racial profiling and harassment of youth is often accompanied by the use of racial slurs and other means of dehumanization. The Sheriff’s Department is no better as people constantly complain of poor treatment in the streets as well as in the county jail they are responsible for administrating.
The chief of police has overseen the employment of disproportionate force against peaceful protesters including the use of riot gear and mounted cops. When questioning these heavy-handed tactics, demonstrators were told it was for their own protection. There is clearly a disregard for basic principles of free speech. Not to be outdone, current Sheriff Scott Jones has made clear his opposition to basic human rights for the undocumented community by refusing to implement the Trust Act and continuing his cooperation with ICE. Continuing the policy of deportations has forced these communities to live in fear and is another example of the terror imposed by the state to silence voices of the oppressed.
As residents of the state capital, the people of Sacramento have a unique opportunity within California as they are able to more easily talk to their so-called representatives. This ability is held up by the corporate media as an example of democracy. What they fail to mention is the network of lobbyists representing the interests of millionaires and billionaires who work to maintain a system that oppresses working-class people. Lobbyists who fund the campaigns of Congress members are the representatives of the elite 1 percent whose sole desire is to maximize profits.
The FOP and the Sheriffs Association both lobby the state and federal legislatures to get laws passed that continue the current system of police terror and mass incarceration. The purpose of this is to ensure that people do not come together and organize. Their opposition to Proposition 47 (which redefines a number of felonies as misdemeanors) is a recent example of their disregard for the well-being of working class communities. They would rather see people in jail than working towards change and an end to white supremacy.
Particularly outrageous has been the creation and preservation of the Police Officers’ Bill of Rights. This “bill of rights” provides the police with rights that ordinary citizens do not have and allows them to go unpunished after breaking the laws they are supposed to uphold. The document includes 18 rights afforded to the police alone. One such right (the 18th) is the guarantee of a court reward of $25,000 if one of their rights is denied. Meanwhile they violate the rights of citizens on a daily basis, and the victims are overwhelmingly left without even an acknowledgement of guilt.
The people of Sacramento demand the abolishment of the Police Officers’ Bill of Rights. Cops’ lives are not worth more than our lives! Killer cops belong behind bars and not patrolling our streets.
