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| Militant/Rachele Fruit |
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THOMASTON, Ga. — Some 50 people attended a march and rally here Oct. 18, the latest in a several-month fight to force the police department to fire officer Phillip Tobin, whose brutality against working people has been documented in dozens of complaints.
“Some say the Thomaston Improvement Association has gone away,” said Rhondalynn Traylor, above center, the group’s president, addressing a rally on the steps of the R. E. Lee government building Oct. 18. “But I’m here to tell you that we’re here to stay — for Thomaston, for Ferguson, for Savannah and everywhere where our rights are being violated.” On June 11 a camera caught Tobin using a taser on 28-year-old Kelcey Rockemore when Rockemore had his hands up. The incident was the last straw that sparked protests by working people in this town 75 miles south of Atlanta and led to the formation of the Thomaston Improvement Association. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is examining the charges against Tobin, now on paid leave from the police department. “From Ferguson to Thomaston: An Injustice to One is an Injustice to All,” read the flyer used to build the demonstration. During the rally a message was delivered by speaker-phone from Penny Nelson, mother of Charles Smith, who was killed by cops in Savannah Sept. 27. “Don’t give up!” Nelson said, to cheers from protesters. “We have to stand up for each other and for our rights, or they will keep doing it.” |
| — SUSAN LAMONT |