Vol. 72/No. 23      June 9, 2008

His uncle, Roketi Su’e, a 46-year old Samoan man, was killed by Long Beach police May 17 as he was leaving a neighbor’s birthday party. He was unarmed.

Numerous witnesses in this Samoan and Black working-class neighborhood in Long Beach, a city near Los Angeles, tell how they watched in horror as the cops assaulted Su’e, who had terminal cancer and weighed 120 pounds. Cops Tasered him, knocked him to the ground, kicked him, and finally shot him several times as he lay on his stomach.

“After the second kick, he didn’t move, “said Llyssa Pagota, who organized the party. “When a friend who is a nurse wanted to give him first aid, the cops threatened her,” she said.

The police and media have portrayed Su’e as a violent suspect whom the cops were unable to control. The officers claim they shot Su’e because they feared for their lives.

After the shooting, 40 neighbors, friends, and relatives protested the police killing. Several now face charges.

“I was actually just standing there in the middle of the group. The officers said ‘Get back’ as they rushed the crowd,” said Cranston Howard, a Teamsters member, who lives at the end of the block. “I was hit with a flashlight and thrown to the ground. At the county hospital they sewed up my leg, which was wide open, and then sent me to jail. They charged me with resisting arrest and obstructing justice. I didn’t do anything.”

“My son, Michael Robinson, and his girlfriend, Saquanna Scott, are charged with making a ‘terroristic threat’ against a police officer,” said Patricia Mathis. “Saquanna was filming it on her cell phone, which the police destroyed. Later that night, the police came back for them. They have been in jail since May 17.”

“What kind of charges are these?” asked Mathis. “Documenting police brutality is not a crime.”

Arlene Rubinstein is the Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Congress in the 37th Congressional District.
 
 
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