This wanton and unprovoked assault by Buffalo cops is another in the litany of abusive and criminal behavior by law enforcement in the two weeks since the police murder of George Floyd.

What makes this particularly more odious is that none of the Buffalo cops in the phalanx which conducted the assault stopped to offer assistance. Predictably the cops are standing in unison behind their criminal comrades and maintain the accused were just doing their duty.

 

That’s what all these lawbreaking cops claim as a defense.

Buffalo News 6.6.2020

Two Buffalo Police officers were arraigned Saturday on felony assault charges, accused of shoving and injuring a 75-year-old peace protester Thursday night outside City Hall during one of dozens of protests that have roiled cities across the nation since the death May 25 of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis officer.

The Buffalo officers, part of a contingent in tactical gear ordered to clear Niagara Square after a citywide curfew started, are accused of taking steps that led Martin Gugino to fall backward, striking his head on the sidewalk.

Video taken by a WBFO reporter has been seen on Twitter more than 77 million times.

Officer Aaron Torgalski, who can be seen on the video pushing Gugino before he fell, was charged with felony second-degree assault, as was Robert McCabe, who can be seen about to kneel toward Gugino after the fall before being moved along by a supervisor.

Both officers pleaded not guilty to the charges as part of back-to-back procedures that took place over five minutes online about 11 a.m. before City Judge Craig D. Hannah.

Erie County Assistant District Attorney John P. Feroleto, chief of the Felony Trials Bureau, did not ask for bail, saying that both officers are longtime county residents without criminal records.

First McCabe, then Torgalski, appeared via Skype for the arraignment. Both were represented by attorney Joseph M. LaTona.

McCabe, 32, a U.S. Army veteran, wore a mask during his arraignment, which lasted about two minutes.

Torgalski, 39, remained out of range of the Skype camera, save for a few wisps of curly black hair.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood suspended both officers without pay after the Thursday night incident and ordered an internal investigation.

“These last few weeks have obviously been a very challenging time,” Lockwood said in a statement Saturday, “not only for our city and community but for our entire region as we grapple with some very critical issues.

“My officers have been through, and continue to work through, one of the most difficult times in our history. I stand by the men and women of the Buffalo Police Department. I’m proud of how they have handled the vast majority of the situations and encounters that they have faced. I hope and pray that we can all work and grow together as we move forward in the City of Buffalo.”

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn also launched an investigation amid calls by New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and others to do so.

On Friday, all 57 fellow members of the Buffalo Police Department Emergency Response Team team resigned from the unit. Several of its members, along with others from the department ranks, gathered outside Buffalo City Court on Saturday morning in a show of support for Torgalski and McCabe.

Flynn explained after the arraignment that the two officers were charged with felony assault because Gugino, who suffered a head injury in the incident, is older than 65 and the two officers are more than 10 years younger.

Gugino remained in serious but stable condition Saturday at Erie County Medical Center, according to a hospital spokesman.

Officers should have gripped, handcuffed and arrested Gugino if they thought he was committing a crime, Flynn said.

“They’re not trained to shove a 75-year-old man with a baton and knock him to the ground,” he said.

In a statement released Saturday evening, Mayor Byron W. Brown said: “As I have repeatedly said, my administration believes in due process for the officers. I also continue to pray for the full recovery for the injured person. …

“My administration believes this is an opportunity for the Buffalo Police Department to reform and further progress into the Community Police Officer Model that Commissioner Lockwood has been steadfastly implementing.

“I have directed the commissioner to further engage the community, as I do the same, so that we can collaboratively and expeditiously realize our shared vision of a police department in which every officer is truly a community police officer.”

Police Benevolent Association Attorney Thomas H. Burton, who represents Buffalo police in use of force cases including this one, said the case should not be tried outside the legal process.

“As you know, the officers pleaded not guilty, and this case will be tried in a court of law,” Burton said. “It will not be tried in press conferences and shallow internet references.”

Cuomo, during his daily coronavirus briefing on Saturday, praised the way Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and other leaders in the region have reacted to the matter.

He said he saw the video of the incident, that he thinks there was “criminal liability” in the way the officers treated Gugino and that Flynn was right to file charges against Torgalski and McCabe.

“What we saw was horrendous and disgusting; I believe illegal,” the governor said. “So if there’s something else that I didn’t see, or what I saw was not correct, then tell me. Otherwise, do justice. And that’s what the mayor did and that’s what the DA did. Good for them.”

In response to questions, Cuomo also acknowledged the difficulty officers face in the line of duty, including during protests like the ones that have become common during the last two weeks.

“All of these are difficult situations,” he said, “and I understand that this situation is superheated, it is controversial, people are frightened, people are polarized. There is no path that is going to make everybody happy. … Police have to do their jobs, but they don’t have the right to abuse, to hurt, to use unnecessary force, and (if they do) they’re going to be held accountable.”

https://buffalonews.com/2020/06/06/buffalo-officers-charged-with-shoving-protester/

 

The Mayor of DC, in a permanent show of support for people of color, has renamed 16th Street NW between H and K streets, “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”

The street renaming sends an ongoing message to Trump.

Channel 4 – Washington, DC 6.5.2020

The city of Washington, D.C., is echoing a call for justice by naming a road and painting an unmissable message on a street that leads to the White House: Black lives matter.

A section of 16th Street in front of the White House is now called Black Lives Matter Plaza, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Friday. Earlier, the road was painted with huge yellow letters spelling out the name of the movement.

“We want to call attention today to making sure our nation is more fair and more just and that black lives and that black humanity matter in our nation,” Bowser said.

The justifiable outrage being expressed by citizens of Vallejo will likely not generate the  protest which has been the focus of world wide attention following the murder of George Lloyd.  It should.

The police slaying of 22 year old Sean Monterrosa, while kneeling on the ground, is criminal. Another act of police violence.  

Feature photo:  Sean Monterrosa with his dog Gucci.

San Francisco Chronicle 6.4.2020

Less than an hour before he was fatally shot by a Vallejo police officer, 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa texted his older sister with a request.

“Can you help me out by signing this petition?” he asked.

The next message, sent just before midnight Monday, was a link demanding justice for George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man killed a week earlier by a Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Monterrosa’s sister “loved” the texts and responded a minute later: “Just did it.”

Sean Monterrosa’s sisters Michelle and Ashley

The simple exchange between siblings has now taken on greater significance, as Monterrosa became the second person in the Bay Area to lose his life amid historic protests and clashes with police, as communities across the nation demanded justice in Floyd’s killing and an end to police brutality against people of color. An Oakland security guard was gunned down in the region’s first killing May 29.

The circumstances surrounding Monterrosa’s death have fanned the flames of the local movement: The young man was kneeling and had no weapons in his hands early Tuesday morning when a Vallejo officer opened fire through the windshield of a police cruiser and killed him.

Monterrosa’s family and friends are now launching their own quest for justice, saying the lifelong San Franciscan was “murdered” by police. He was shot at the scene of an alleged looting at a Walgreens, where police said he was a suspect.

“My brother was kneeling and surrendering, yet you shot my brother from your vehicle through your windshield,” Michelle Monterrosa said of the officer, an 18-year veteran of the Vallejo Police department whose identity has not been released. “How much more cowardly can you be?”

 He was kneeling outside a Walgreens and not carrying a firearm when an officer opened fire  sending five bullets through his own windshield. Monterrosa, of San Francisco died after the shooting at around 12:30 a.m.

Tuesday, but police did not tell the public the man was killed  or disclose the circumstances of the shooting  until Wednesday at a news conference outside City Hall, a day after calling in 50 troops from the National Guard to help control protests and rioting sparked by the Minnesota police

Over the last 10 days, tens of thousands of people throughout the Bay Area have taken to the streets in protest and hundreds have been arrested or cited on suspicion of looting or breaking curfew, as overwhelmed police forces struggled to keep pace. On Tuesday, Vallejo officials announced they were calling in help from the National Guard.

In interviews with The Chronicle, Sean Monterrosa’s family and friends offered a glimpse into the young life that was cut short in a similar manner to Floyd’s, which has been denounced on all sides.

Sean Monterrosa grew up in Bernal Heights and attended Aptos Middle School before graduating from Independence High School in San Francisco.

He was the child of Argentine immigrants and the middle of three siblings, each spaced two years apart. But sisters Michelle and Ashley agree they all felt more like triplets — if you shaved the girls’ heads they’d all be indistinguishable, they said.

Their father was a surgeon in Argentina, but it was nearly impossible for him to go back to school and learn how to be a doctor again in the U.S., especially with their first child on the way. So, for the past 24 years, Neftali Monterrosa has worked at Anchor Oyster bar in the Castro neighborhood, where the Monterrosas were welcomed into the community.

Sean Monterrosa with the family dog, Gucci. Monterrosa was fatally shot by Vallejo police on Tuesday as he was kneeling outside a Walgreens and not carrying a firearm when an officer opened fire.

Photo: Monterrosa family

As a teen, Sean Monterrosa loved drawing, skateboarding and boxing, and he talked about building generational wealth. From an early age, he set his sights on a lofty goals. “He always told my mom, ‘I want to buy you a house,’” Michelle Monterrosa said.

 

By the time he was 13 or 14 — still unable to legally work — he became set on helping provide for the family, and created his own off-the-books gig. He would troll local nightclubs, like Monarch in the South of Market neighborhood, selling hot dogs to tipsy patrons.

“He’d always laugh and say, ‘They’d give me $100 bills as tips thinking they were a dollar,’” Ashley Monterrosa recalled. But he was too honest, she said, and would try to give the money back. Most of the time customers let the cute kid keep the money.

“They must have seen the light in my brother,” Ashley Monterrosa said. “Even though they’re out having a good time, they’re like, ‘Let’s provide for this kid.”

In high school, Sean Monterrosa was “an athlete that wanted to be a ladies man,” said Rafael Resendiz, his best friend.

“He used to love reading, and he was always trying to get me to read,” Resendiz said.

At a news conference Wednesday, Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams described Sean Monterrosa as a potential looting suspect whom officers believed was carrying a firearm. Williams listed a criminal history that included charges of shoplifting, assault with deadly weapons, shooting into an inhabited dwelling and attempted murder.

Williams said Monterrosa appeared to be running toward a suspect vehicle just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when he suddenly dropped to his knees and brought his hands above his waist, revealing what an officer mistook for the butt of a firearm.

The officer, who was in a vehicle, unloaded five shots through his own windshield, striking Monterrosa once. The object the officer saw tucked into Monterrosa’s sweatshirt pocket was actually a 15-inch hammer, Williams said.

Resendiz and the Monterrosa sisters pushed back on this image of their brother.

Ashley and Michelle Monterrosa said Sean Monterrosa was never convicted of a crime, and that he was currently facing charges for shooting a firearm into the air on New Year’s Eve three years ago.

“It’s not fair the way the Vallejo PD had presented their case to the whole public — they gave a false narrative,” Michelle said.

Between 2015 and 2017, Monterrosa participated in the Lifeworks program at Horizons Unlimited, which aims to help youth develop career and job skills.

Nancy Abdul-Shakur, the program director, said she saw the program change him.

“I saw him bloom from a young man who didn’t really communicate well to a young man who really wanted to learn,” she said.

He became a voracious reader and developed into a mentor who wanted to help other kids develop a love of learning.

“He was a natural born leader,” Abdul-Shakur said. “He was very compassionate, kind and thoughtful. He was always concerned about not getting other people upset.”

Abdul-Shakur last saw Sean Monterrosa about two years ago, during one of his occasional visits to give a hug, and say hello and thanks. She learned of his death Tuesday from other Horizon alumni. She wants him to be remembered as a leader and friend.

“It’s important to focus on who he was and not focused on tactics of the police to criminalize him,” Abdul-Shakur said. “We will continue to uplift his image.”

In the past few years, Sean Monterrosa had worked as a security guard and more recently as a carpenter. He loved learning, creating and doing things with his hands, the sisters said.

“He’s been arrested a few times wrongfully, (and) because of the way he looks he’s been stereotyped,” Ashley said. “He has tattoos, he dresses a certain type of way — they would always try and stop him.”

The sisters said they had no idea what their brother was doing early Tuesday morning in Vallejo. In the middle of the night, they received a hysterical call from his girlfriend who said she was talking to him when she heard gunfire.

All three siblings share location data on their phones, so the sisters set out to try and find him in the middle of the night. Sean Monterrosa’s last location pinged at 1050 Redwood St. in Vallejo — the address of the Walgreens where he was shot.

Police and hospital staffers refused to provide any answers, and it wasn’t until the following morning when the sisters began calling mortuaries and their worst fears were realized.

The family is now represented by civil rights attorney John Burris, who attended Wednesday’s press conference and called the circumstances of the police shooting “disturbing.”

“He hadn’t done anything to threaten the officer or anyone else,” Burris said, stressing that Sean Monterrosa was on his knees when he was shot. “Even if it had been a gun, he did not try to pull it out. There was no basis to shoot him. He overreacted.”

Sean Monterrosa was scheduled to start a new carpentry job Friday. He was planning to buy his mom that house, and with his skills he could fix it up, his sisters said. He wanted to take classes, build generational wealth and give back to his family.

“One thing my brother would always say is: knowledge is power,” Ashley said. “So, we always have to pursue the (best) education that we can, get our parents the American dream, and give them everything they deserve.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/My-brother-was-kneeling-and-surrendering-15318383.php#photo-19505568

 

 

The cops are still shooting people of color.

Never mind the protests and demonstrations world wide since the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis a week ago.

American cops are trained to shoot first and ask questions later. Sadly, the latest victim of police violence in Vallejo, California is dead.  He can’t answer any questions.

Only his family and friends are left to mourn his demise.

San Francisco Chronicle 6.3.2020

The man fatally shot by Vallejo police as the city erupted in chaos Tuesday was kneeling outside a Walgreens and not carrying a firearm at the time an officer opened fire — sending five bullets through his own windshield.

Sean Monterrosa, 22, of San Francisco died after the shooting at around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday but police did not tell the public the man was killed — or disclose the circumstances of the officer-involved shooting — until Wednesday at a news conference outside City Hall, a day after calling in 50 troops from the National Guard to help control protests and rioting sparked by the Minnesota police killing of George Floyd.

In a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams said the officer believed he saw the butt of a handgun poking out near Monterrosa’s waist, and opened fire “due to this perceived threat.”

“Investigations later revealed that the weapon was a long, 15-inch hammer, tucked into the pocket of a sweatshirt,” Williams said.

The shooting is now under investigation by the Vallejo police and the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. The officer, an 18-year veteran of the force, has been placed on administrative leave.

The early Tuesday morning shooting occurred as protests, lootings and civil unrest erupted across the country.

The chaos continued in Vallejo into Tuesday evening. City officials said about 100 people and nearly 40 vehicles “surrounded” the Police Department and rocks and bottles were thrown at officers.

The death of Monterrosa, a Latino man, is almost certain to fan the flames of an already outraged community, after activists here say for years they have run up against a police department that has disproportionately targeted people of color and rarely held accountable for their actions.

“My brother was murdered out here by a cop too — they got no justice,” said Alicia Saddler, who is the sister of Angel Ramos, and who attended the press conference. “Now this man was on his knees? Unarmed? A hammer is not a weapon.”

For Ramos, whose 21-year-old brother died after a police responded to a fight at a home, Monterrosa’s death was chillingly familiar.

“He should be here. He should be alive,” she said. “This cop needs to be arrested and taken to jail, period.”

The incidents leading up to Monterrosa’s shooting began late Monday evening, when police began responding to reports of a looting at a Walgreens on Broadway and Redwood streets, Williams said at the press conference.

Looters initially fled the scene, but about 12:15 a.m. looters had returned and were attempting to break into the east side of the building, Williams said. The responding unit reported seeing 10 to 12 potential looters in the parking lot, and police additionally turned their attention to a young man dressed in black, who appeared to be armed in front of the building, Williams said.

As a police vehicle drove into the parking lot, at least one officer reported potential looters inside two vehicles, a black sedan and a silver truck.

Williams said officers in a second responding unit saw a single male dressed in black standing on the east side of Walgreens, “holding what appeared to be a weapon.”

“This individual appeared to be running toward the black sedan but suddenly stopped, taking a kneeling position, and placing his hands above his waist, revealing what appeared to be the butt of a handgun,” Williams said.

The officer in the second unit opened fire and Monterrosa was struck once.

The black sedan rammed into one of the police vehicles, Williams said, which caused the airbag to be deployed.

The two suspect vehicle fled the scene, prompting a chase into Contra Costa County, where the driver of the silver truck was apprehended, Williams said.

One officer was injured in the incident when the airbag was deployed, Williams said.

Civil rights attorney John Burris, who is representing Monterrosa’s family, said he was “troubled” by the shooting.

“Notwithstanding what he’s accused of doing, you don’t kill people because they’re looters,” he said.

Burris said he’s awaiting more information on the case, including police body camera footage of the incident.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Attorney-identifies-SF-resident-fatally-shot-by-15315301.php#photo-19499002

This is reassuring.

Now, everyone must get out in 154 days, November 3, and rid the world of this dangerous buffoon.

Slate 6.1.2020

We have a lot of things to worry about in the next eight months. This isn’t one of them.

The fear is spreading that if President Donald Trump loses the election this November, he’ll refuse to leave office. Bill Maher has been warning of this specter on his HBO show, Real Time, since late last year. This past weekend, New York Times columnist Roger Cohen called Trump’s compliance with the election results “the most critical question for American democracy” and wrote that the “chances are growing” that Trump would not concede if Joe Biden won. Biden himself has raised the possibility on a few occasions.

If Trump could get away with refusing to leave the Oval Office, in order “to extend his autocratic power,” as Cohen put it, he probably would. But he wouldn’t get away with it; those around him would almost certainly advise him against it, if he asked; therefore my guess is, he won’t try. Then again, in recent years many things have happened that I would have bet against. Let’s say the nightmare happens. Here is why it won’t last long.

If Trump could get away with refusing to leave the Oval Office, in order “to extend his autocratic power,” as Cohen put it, he probably would. But he wouldn’t get away with it; those around him would almost certainly advise him against it, if he asked; therefore my guess is, he won’t try. Then again, in recent years many things have happened that I would have bet against. Let’s say the nightmare happens. Here is why it won’t last long.

Here is what would happen next.

On the dot of noon, the nuclear codes, which currently allow Trump to order and authenticate a nuclear attack, expire. The officer who has been following him around everywhere with the “football”—which, contrary to popular belief, is not a button or a palm print but rather a book filled with various launch codes—leaves. If Trump and whatever lackeys stay with him prevent the officer from leaving, another officer, holding a backup football, would join Biden at the inauguration ceremony.

By the same token, the entire U.S. military establishment will pivot away from ex-President Trump and salute President Biden. The principle of civilian control is hammered into American officers from the time they’re cadets—and the 20^th Amendment of the Constitution states, “The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20^th day of January”—no ifs, ands, or buts.

If Trump orders the military to do anything, they will refuse his order. If any officers obey his order—say, to circle the White House to keep him in power—they would certainly be tried and convicted on charges of mutiny and sedition, and they would know this before taking the leap.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service will abandon Trump, as they do every president whose term is up, except for a small detail assigned to protect him and his family for the rest of their lives.

Overseas, foreign leaders will cut off relations with the U.S. ambassadors in their capitals and await instructions from Biden or his acting secretary of state.

Meanwhile, Biden’s acting attorney general will have drawn up arrest warrants for Donald J. Trump and anyone who remains at his side on charges—at minimum—of criminal trespassing. If Trump calls on the armed forces or militias or the nation’s sheriffs to come defend him, he might also be charged with incitement or insurrection.

If any of Trump’s aides or Cabinet officers continue to take his orders, they too could face criminal charges and, in any case, would have a hard time finding respectable employment after the pretend monarch is taken away in handcuffs.

If armed militiamen and sheriffs rally to the White House and they refuse to let U.S. marshals through the gates, a small contingent of Secret Service or the National Guard could be called up to enforce the law. If that doesn’t work, a few M1 tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue should make the would-be rebels flee. It would be terrible if the standoff came to this, but Commander in Chief Biden would have this option available, if necessary.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/trump-election-refusal-leave.html

 

June 2, 2020

I spoke with a gardener at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park.  He told me both Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass will not be happening in 2020.

The reason he gave me is, “Groups don’t want to perform.”

Both concerts normally draw tens of  thousands of vistors to  quiet Park fixtures. 

Authorities close access to these sites for several weeks.  Fitness followers are forced to seek their exercise at alternative places, often clogged with traffic. This summer the bicycle track and the jogging track will remain open for exercise. 

A solitary sentinel to the people’s outrage against police brutality will reign over all, instead.

Feature Photo:  Political street art emblazoned on the gardener’s building overlooking the bicycle track.

Text:  Liz and Lee Heidhues

Photos:  Lee Heidhues

People are taking to the streets by any means necessary to protest the police murder of George Floyd a week ago.

The Guardian 6.1.2020

Noble hadn’t planned to ride her horse, Dapper Dan, into the center of Friday evening’s protests in the city of Oakland. “It wasn’t a very planned thing,” the 25 year-old Bay Area native told the Guardian. “I was just pissed, sitting at home and seeing the video of George Floyd. I felt helpless and thought to myself: ‘I’m just another protester if I go down there alone, but no one can ignore a black woman sitting on top of a horse.’”

As night fell in Oakland, people ransacked retail stores such as Target, broke into car dealerships and set multiple fires. These incidents – and images of burning buildings and broken windows across the US – have become defining images of this most recent round of protests.

 Brianna Noble rides Dapper Dan through downtown Oakland on Friday. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

Noble says that this focus on destruction was another motivator for her to bring her horse Dapper Dan into downtown Oakland.

“I know that what makes headlines is breaking windows and people smashing things,” Noble said. “So I thought: ‘Let’s go out and give the media something to look at that is positive and change the narrative.’”

Noble, who trains feral and wild horses, also works to change narratives in the equestrian world which, in California, is majority white and has a high financial barrier to entry. She hopes that, in addition to contributing to the movement against police brutality toward black and brown people, to become the first black woman to do horse jumping in the Olympics and bring low-income kids into the horse community.

“I don’t want to be known for just walking down Broadway one time,” Noble said. “I want to make a lasting impact in my community for black and brown people.

“When you’re black it doesn’t matter how loud you scream or how deep your words are, nobody would listen,” she continued. “So to now have found this amazing pedestal – my horse Dapper Dan to sit upon – and not have to say a word is amazing.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/01/george-floyd-protester-oakland-horse

 

The Minnesota Attorney General will  bring a different perspective to the prosecution in the police murder of George Floyd. To date only one charge has been filed in the horrific crime which has resulted in worldwide street demonstrations.

Keith Ellison has solid progressive credentials, backing of the political establishment, support from people of color and an endorsement from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The AG, a former Congressman, former Deputy Chair of the Democrat party and a Muslim, will undoubtedly be in the political crosshairs of Trump, Fox News and the MAGA gang.

Interestingly, the former head of the Minneapolis NAACP is not happy with the appointment. This stance seems to be an exception to the praise being given to the Minnesota Governor for making this decision.

Minneapolis Star Tribune 5.31.2020

Political life as we know it is spiraling out of control. Berlin, in particular, is no stranger to vigorous street protest. In 1968 demonstrators took to the streets of Berlin to protest America’s imperialist involvement in Vietnam.

Now the entire planet is taking to the streets in a rage fueled outburst of anti-racism following the police murder of George Lloyd a week ago.

The American White House is under siege as Trump cowers in the basement while Washington is aflame. This is not going to have a happy ending.

Photo above:  Artwork by ‘EME Freethinker’ at Mauerpark – Berlin

Deutsche Welle 5.31.2020

Thousands of people also marched past the US Embassy in the German capital, Berlin, on Saturday to protest the killing of Floyd and speak out against systemic racism.

Outcry over the killing of George Floyd has gone international, with people taking to the streets Berlin and London to show solidarity with US protesters. In Germany, soccer stars wore t-shirts and knelt in support.

Thousands of people took to the streets of the German and British capitals on Sunday to show support for protests in the United States over the killing of a black man by a white police officer.

The death of George Floyd sparked international outrage after a video circulated of him gasping for breath while a white police officer knelt on his neck in the city of Minneapolis.

In Berlin, several hundred protesters turned out for the second day in a row, staging a rally outside the US Embassy. Demonstrators held up signs reading: “Stop killing us” and “Justice for George Floyd.” (photo below:  Brandenburg Gate adjacent to the American Embassy)

Read more: Opinion: America must wake up to the reality of racism

In Berlin’s famous Mauerpark, where street artists can paint sections of the former Berlin wall, a memorial to Flynn has now appeared. (see top photo)

Bundesliga stars taking a stand

The kneeling protests in London and during Bundesliga games are a reference to the style of peaceful protest used by Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback. 

Kaepernick and others on NFL teams would kneel during the US national anthem to protest against police brutality and racism amid the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Soccer stars in Germany’s Bundesliga also joined in on the protests on Sunday.

Borussia Dortmund player Jadon Sancho lifted his jersey after scoring a goal to reveal a T-shirt reading: “Justice for George Floyd.” He received a yellow card for the move.

Earlier, forward Marcus Thuram took a knee on the pitch after scoring during Borussia Monchengladbach’s win over Union Berlin. After scoring in the first half, Thuram dropped his knee to the ground and bowed his head, waiting several seconds before getting up again.

“He made a sign against racism, one we all completely support of course. I believe that everyone fully supports it, that everyone has the same thoughts he does,” Monchengladbach coach Marco Rose said.

Read more: Athletes deserve full freedom of expression

Kneeling in London

In London, thousands of people turned out in solidarity with US demonstrators, carrying signs reading: “No justice, no peace.”

The protesters knelt in Trafalgar Square before marching past the Houses of Parliament and stopping outside the US Embassy in London.

The Metropolitan police said they arrested five people outside the embassy — two for assault on police, the others for violating coronavirus lockdown guidelines.

https://www.dw.com/en/anti-racism-protests-spread-to-berlin-and-london/a-53643710

 

 

5.31.2020 Every Picture Tells a Story – Ongoing Series

The protest against the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis is not limited to the urban streets of San Francisco.

The revulsion sweeping the country can be found in the artwork  “Stop Police Terror” on Kennedy Drive in world famous Golden Gate Park, normally a sanctuary from the turmoil of contemporary America.

Text by Liz Heidhues

Photos – Lee Heidhues