BY BILL SHERMAN
MINNEAPOLIS - Some 150 people participated in a December 18 speakout against police brutality at Zion Baptist Church in the Black community here, sponsored by People for Justice for Lawrence Miles and Andre Madison.

Lawrence Miles Jr., a 15-year-old, was shot in the back by police last August. He is now being charged with two counts of "terroristic threats." The boy was unarmed and running through a parking lot when he was shot. Lawrence Miles Sr. described how he went to the aid of his son. "The police lied. They said `calm down, we only shot him in the leg.' Then they tried to get me to go with them to the police station to make a statement while my son lay bleeding in the street," he said.

At first the police claimed that they shot Miles in self- defense as he pointed a pellet gun at them. This lie was exposed when medical authorities confirmed that he was shot in the back. The youth's father described how witnesses are being intimidated by police. One witness who tried to come forward was arrested for disorderly conduct. The cops have offered Miles a deal if he pleads guilty and attends a gun program. At a December 15 hearing Miles pleaded not guilty.

"We will accept no deals," Miles Sr. told the Militant. A trial has been set for February 11.

Earlier in the day on December 18, supporters packed a courtroom where Madison was sentenced to three years in prison for second-degree assault and three other charges. These actions were part of a series of protests against police injustice that have included a broadly sponsored downtown rally and mobilizations at court hearings.

"Your presence in the courtroom made a difference," said Carlotta Madison. "My brother said that without your support he would have probably been sentenced to six years [which the prosecution was seeking]," she said. Speaking to the Militant later she added, "I was very angered and discouraged by the verdict and sentence, but we have to keep fighting." Andre Madison is planning an appeal.

Madison was the victim of a police drug raid. On Nov. 6, 1996, the police battered down his doors and began shooting wildly, pumping more than 500 rounds into the apartment. Madison was shot in the neck and arm. One cop was shot by police fire. No drugs were in the apartment. Joe Margulies, Madison's attorney, told the community meeting that an original police report said that Madison's gun was found in the kitchen. The cops later changed their story - saying it was in the back room with Madison -in order to fit the frame-up assertion that he pointed it at the cops and justify their massive use of firepower. Carlotta Madison told the community speakout that one of the police who helped convict her brother was a Black cop whom her brother thought he could trust.

Spike Moss, a Black community leader, testified at the sentencing hearing about police terror in conducting more than 5,000 drug raids, damaging homes without any apology or repair. Often no drugs are found, he said. The judge, Andrew Danielson, cut off Moss before he completed his testimony.

Other victims of police abuse spoke at the community meeting. One man described how he spent six and a half years in jail on a frame-up charge. "They beat me and made me sign a confession," he told the crowd.

Greetings were read from Pete Shell of the Campus Coalition for Peace and Justice, which has been organizing around the Gammage fight in Pittsburgh. The speak-out participants sent greetings back to Pittsburgh that read in part, "[We] salute the dedication and perseverance of activists who have been fighting for over two years to win justice for Jonny Gammage. We know from your fight and others that police brutality is not just a problem in Minneapolis, but is a problem throughout the United States. We pledge to join the fight against police brutality by organizing to build a movement demanding that the charges against Lawrence Miles be dropped and the police who shot him be prosecuted."

"We are part of the worldwide resistance to injustice," said Chris Nisan, a leader of the protest actions. He spoke about plans for a march against police injustice scheduled for January 19. Hundreds of leaflets advertising the march were taken to be distributed, and more than $200 was raised to continue the fight.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home