Jacksonville fights for police accountability

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via fightbacknews.org

Jacksonville, FL - On June 20, Devonte Shipman, a young African American in Jacksonville, was stopped and harassed by police officers for simply walking across the street. Claiming to have seen him illegally cross the street, Officer J.S Bolen of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) harassed and badgered Shipman, even threatening him with jail time. Shipman recorded the encounter with his cellphone, a clip that went viral and made national and international news.
Currently, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) is calling for its supporters as well as supporters of the national movement against police crimes to call in to the JSO to demand Sheriff Mike Williams terminate Officer Bolen for his blatant racial profiling and badgering of Shipman. Supporters say that #WalkingWhileBlack is not a crime.
On that day, Shipman got two tickets. One of the tickets was for jaywalking and the other for having a suspended license, although Shipman wasn’t even operating a motor vehicle.
“If I was Caucasian, would he have been so quick to jump out the car and say I’m going to jail?” Shipman asked. According to leaders in the JCAC, the answer to Shipman’s question is pretty clear.
“Without a doubt Devonte was profiled and stopped because he’s Black and JSO is very much racist police force,” said Joshua Parks, an activist with the JCAC. “We have been putting pressure on JSO since last week to fire this officer and we won’t stop until we get some real accountability.”
Just yesterday, Shipman received word from JSO that his ticket involving the suspended license was dropped because it was “made in error,” clearly a move done by JSO, bowing down due to widespread public condemnation and grassroots pressure. But the JCAC has vowed to not stop until there is real police accountability in Jacksonville.
“We are calling for community control of the police, a civilian police accountability council with the power to stop widespread police abuses by police officers like what happened with Devonte Shipman and countless others,” said Michael Sampson, with the Community Action Committee. “The current cornerstone of African American national oppression is police violence, which is why we need a real mass movement in the city against police crimes to address it in a real way.”
The Community Action Committee believes that the people should have the power over the police force, not the other way around. The CAC was recently created by grassroots activists to build a movement against police crimes as well as other issues that face the black and marginalized communities.
They are asking supporters to call into JSO at 904-630-0500 and demand Officer Bolen be fired, and also to demand an end to their practices of racial profiling by police.


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via fightbacknews.org

Jacksonville, FL - Around 30 community members gathered in Bruce Park, in Jacksonville, to speak out against police crimes, for community control of the police, and a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council (JPAC).
Members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) gathered with supporters in the Bruce Park area of Arlington, a working-class African American neighborhood on the Southside of Jacksonville. Just weeks ago, Devonte Shipman was harassed and profiled by Officer J.S Bolen, which sparked national outrage and a grassroots efforts around demanding Officer Bolen be fired for his actions – which took place just down the street from where folks gathered at Bruce Park.
Community members shared their different experiences of dealing with police violence. Members of the crowd spoke about why it's necessary to build a mass movement against police crimes and why community control of the police is necessary.
The crowd chanted, "No justice, no peace, people power over the police," as well as, "What do we want? JPAC, when do we want it? Now!"
JCAC organizer Connell Crooms talked about his experiences with being attacked by Jacksonville police officers at a protest against Trump's intervention in Syria on April 7.
Devonte Shipman reflected on his experiences with JSO just a few weeks ago and how happy he was with how supportive the community has been to him.
"It's a blessing, because this movement is gonna lead farther then just tickets being dropped; it's gonna lead to JPAC," said Shipman. "It's gonna take time but we'll get there."


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[ckaihatsu]

via fightbacknews.org

Jacksonville, FL - Almost two dozen members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) spoke at the city council meeting July 25 in favor of police accountability.
The newly launched JCAC is fighting for a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council (JPAC) designed to provide real community control of a currently out of control law enforcement agency. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) has committed numerous offenses against working-class Black people over the past few years. These police crimes include the murder of the unarmed Vernell Bing Jr. last year and the murder of unarmed Selwyn Hall earlier this year.
More recently, JSO made national headlines when Devonte Shipman and another Black man were stopped by JSO officer J. S. Bolen for crossing the street. Bolen harassed and racially profiled Shipman, asking him about weapons and drugs, but he knew his rights. Shipman was issued two tickets by the corrupt officer, one for jaywalking and another for driving with a suspended license, even though he was clearly walking and not driving. Due to public pressure, JSO dropped the suspended license ticket.
It's clear that Jacksonville, like many other cities in the U.S., needs a mechanism for police accountability. The JCAC vowed to continue fighting for community control of the police as a step forward in the fight against racism and national oppression.
JCAC organizer Joshua Parks said, "We need JPAC because historically, the police have never been held accountable to Black, brown and poor communities. The only way to gain accountability is to empower our communities to gain control over the institutions that they pay for with taxes and affect their lives."


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via fightbacknews.org

Jacksonville, FL - In Jacksonville, Florida, the first Wednesday of every month is a time for art and community celebration. The city’s monthly Artwalk is a hub for artists, activists, families and residents to gather and share plans for the future of Jacksonville. While there are multiple campaigns currently taking place in the city, there are two that have gathered a mass following in just about a month since launching - the Jacksonville Community Action Committee(JCAC) and their push for police accountability, and TakeEmDownJax, the movement to remove Confederate statues and rename schools, streets, and parks honoring such figures.
Activists and local artists began setting up in downtown Jacksonville at about 4 p.m., August 2, despite inclement weather. JCAC and TakeEmDown shared the same street, both causes petitioning and handing out literature. One project that engaged with the JCAC was a news station had a project where in which they encouraged people to fill out a sign that read, “I Love Jacksonville because,” followed by a brief explanation of their answer. Local activist David Schneider seized the opportunity to spread the word about the movement in Jacksonville by responding with “I Love Jacksonville because of activism and the people’s movement,” and encouraged people watching to get involved. Alongside TakeEmDown and JCAC, there were also tables for sex education and feminism. The street acquired the name ‘Activist Alley’ for the night.
JCAC asked that people understand the necessity for police accountability through community control of the police. TakeEmDown provided a historical reference point regarding the racism that still affects the relationship between institutions of authority and the people in Jacksonville, as well as the rest of the Deep South. It was a fluid exchange of knowledge that, when guided carefully enough, could arm the people with the tools necessary to understand the depth of each issue.
Though there was overwhelming support for both campaigns. “Over 100 signatures,” JCAC leadership member Michael Sampson II reported, and there was a standing room only turnout for the TakeEmDown press event. There was also strong opposition.
The exact affiliation of the reactionary opposition was unclear. However, it was quite evident how they felt about the issues being presented by the activists. Sara Mahmoud, a local activist for Palestinian liberation as well as leadership member of the JCAC, and her younger sister, the youngest member of the JCAC, faced intense harassment for being Palestinian. “I had folks looking at my Queer Palestinian Empowerment Network (QPEN) pin and start calling me a ‘Palestinian PLO terrorist’ and ‘Palestinian whore,’” she recounted. The police were of no help to her and her sister, rather, when they approached her sister, they threatened to arrest the 14-year-old activist.
“I know these people [the opposition] are crazy, but we [organizers] can’t let that kind of stuff just happen to people and then say ‘well, he’s just crazy’- it deflects the severity of the situation. We will need to work on that,” said Mahmoud.
Around the time of the TakeEmDown press event, at 7 p.m., a group of about 20 counter-protesters waving confederate flags, Stars and Bars with a Thin Blue Line, and CSA flags marched down activist alley, protected by the police, chanting “USA! USA!”
Maria Garcia, local activist with Coalition for Consent and TakeEmDown leadership member believes the opposition helped illustrate why activist movements in Jacksonville are so dire. “Although we had opposition, mostly middle-aged white ‘patriots’ trying to disrupt the press conference before and during the actual event, we were successful in getting our point across and engaging the public. I think they helped illustrate why Jax needs to ‘take em down’ perfectly. So, thanks, racist creeps!”


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