Albuquerque
security forces use tear gas on raging protesters after fatal police
shooting
RT,
31
March, 2014
Albuquerque
police have violently cracked down on protesters, using tear gas and
arresting several demonstrators, after over nine hours of unrest.
Hundreds expressed their anger over last week's police shooting that
saw a homeless man killed.
At
the beginning of the rally, protesters asked police to take
responsibility for their actions.
“The
police serve us, they do not kill us,” one protester told the local
KRQE media outlet.
However,
another activist stressed that the rally wasn’t about hating
police, rather about standing up for injustice, as he spoke through a
microphone to others in the crowd.
Protesters
initially gathered around noon on Sunday and marched towards the
local police headquarters shouting, “We want justice.”
Several
people were dressed up for the rally, with their faces painted and
posters in their hands. They were shouting, “Hey hey, ho ho, killer
cops have got to go.”
At
some point the protest turned violent, as some activists
spray-painted property and took down a street sign, and police in
riot gear began using tear gas after a stand-off between security
forces and demonstrators.
The
protesters are outraged over the fatal shooting of a 38-year-old
homeless man, who was caught illegally camping in the Sandi
foothills.
James
Boyd, thought to be schizophrenic, was shot by the Albuquerque
security forces just over two weeks ago after he became engaged in an
hours-long standoff with officers.
A
week after the incident, a video emerged online showing a cop opening
fire on Boyd while his back was turned to the police.
Coverage of the original shooting
Coverage of the original shooting
This sort of thing is now very common here, numbering now in the thousands of unjustified shootings by cops. Of course, the courts always rule in favor of the cops despite video evidence and eye-witness reports. Cops in America are now the enemy of the people. Any encounter with a cop can be deadly.
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