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Young Black people are out in the streets of #Pittsburgh today. I'm creating a thread to show some of the recent reasons they see it necessary to defund all 130 or so police departments in Allegheny County and abolish the police.
Antwon Rose II was 17 years old when East Pittsburgh cop Michael Rosfeld shot him in the back 3 times as he ran away and murdered him on video. Rosfeld was the first person in PA history to be given an unsecured bond on a homicide charge. He was found not guilty.
Since Antwon's murder 2 summers ago, Omari Thompson (31), Romir Talley (24), Elijah Brewer (25) and more have been killed by police in and around #Pittsburgh.
In 2018, Mark Daniels was chased through the neighborhood by #Pittsburgh police who shot him and let him bleed out for 20 min until he died on a back porch. They found a gun in a bush a week later and said it was his. No one charged.
In 2018, Christopher Thompkins called the police because someone had broken into his house. The #Pittsburgh police came and shot him through the front door of his home. The union president went to the scene to advise the cops on what to do next. No one charged.
In 2016, Bruce Kelley Jr was hunted down by about a dozen Wilkinsburg and #Pittsburgh police in broad day light in the middle of a neighborhood. They shot Bruce in the back of his head and left him on the sidewalk for hours. No one charged.
In 2013, 1 year old baby Marcus was killed in East Hills. Seven years later, baby Marcus' mother found out (on social media) that the person who did it had already confessed to the #Pittsburgh police years before.
In 2012, Leon Ford was wrongfully pulled over and shot by #Pittsburgh police. He woke up paralyzed and handcuffed to a hospital bed. He fought the charges they put on him for years. The city (w/support from the Black elite) prolonged his settlement for years.
In 2009, Jordan Miles was wrongfully arrested and beaten by #Pittsburgh police a day after his 18th birthday while walking to his grandmother’s house. They charged Jordan with assault and litigated his case for 6 years.
This is just a small fraction of the violence that cops have inflicted upon Black people in and around #Pittsburgh in the last decade.
This list doesn't include hot-spot policing, the deadly exchange, surveillance programs, routine harassment, predictive policing, conditions of the jail, and a host of other violent acts supported and perpetuated by the cops.
I didn't mention officers were not charged because I believe that to be a path towards justice, but to highlight the rage that people have because of inaction. Sending cops to jail/prison only legitimizes the system that we should be working to abolish.
