Cops to Kill 1,000th Human in the Week of October 30

The American police state grows remoter
and remoter from scrutiny. Few dare ask
questions as the death-by-cop numbers
pile up. Even silent protest is vilified
by the highest office in the land as
NFL players object to police violence.
America is now a virtual free-fire zone
for police, by police who lie and kill
with impunity.

Madison, Wisconsin—There are certainties in America.

January-February will be cold in Wisconsin.

And by the end of this week, November 4 on Saturday, police will have killed the 1,000th human being in 2017.

In Black River Falls, Wisconsin in Jackson County this weekend, a Sheriff's deputy bagged the 984th police victim.

Press reports note no facts explaining why one Jackson County Sheriff deputy found it necessary to kill a human being in west-central Wisconsin. Update: Sheriff's department stonewalls community.

No outrage by local officials. No howls of 'what the fuck is the matter with police, and with us, the by-standers?'

No explanation is required in this perverse and anti-human reality of American society, and certainly no explanation is demanded by local Wisconsin media.

No cop in Jackson County will voice protest.

The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) will conduct an investigation of the Jackson County killer cop, and the DCI will clear the deputy of any wrongdoing.

Some things you can still count on.
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Consider the spectacular police execution of Philando Castile in neighboring Minnesota in 2016.

In reaction to this caught-on-video killing the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild suggested statutory protection for citizens from killer cops. By the way, one police officer, Detective Angela Kamoske of the Madison, Wisconsin Police Department, objected to the Castile execution.

No such protections have been adopted to this date in Minnesota. And certainly no such protections will be adopted in Wisconsin.

Here are some suggestions from the National Lawyers Guild - Minnesota Chapter.

The National Lawyers Guild - Minnesota Chapter unconditionally condemns in the strongest possible terms the murder of Philando Castile by St. Anthony Village police officer Jeronimo Yanez. The NLG expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to Mr. Castile’s family and loved ones.

It is a tremendous outrage that the repeated unjustifiable police killings, especially of African American males, have become such common knowledge yet continue unabated. While no one deserves to die at the hands of law enforcement, there is no pretext for police to attempt to rationalize the murder of Mr. Castile because he had so clearly done nothing wrong, was an exemplary citizen, and the horrendous death and police indifference to the effects of their actions was so painfully captured on cell phone video.

The NLG demands that government leaders end their pattern of enforcing the continued deadly status quo by failing to take any concrete action to hold police accountable or enact any meaningful reforms. The salience of this latest atrocity must spur immediate action to hold the responsible police officer accountable and initiate systemic change to end the serial police killings as well as the larger dynamic of police abuse and oppression in communities of color. The NLG recognizes that the most affected communities must have a voice in the specific changes to made, but calls for the following actions to be taken immediately:

1. A special independent prosecutor must be appointed to investigate and bring criminal charges against the murderer in this case. The special prosecutor must be independent of police influence, and have access to funding needed to hire investigators, experts, associates and cover other expenses needed to conduct a full investigation and prosecution. Responses to previous police shootings have repeatedly and invariably demonstrated that elected and career prosecutors are too beholden to police interests to be capable to delivering justice. The Ramsey County Attorney, the governor, and other appropriate officials must collaborate to make the special independent prosecutor a reality.

2. The office of an independent prosecutor must be permanently established to investigate and prosecute cases of deadly force and other abusive police conduct.

3. Minnesota law must be amended so that police officers have no more authority to use deadly force than other citizens. Specifically, Minnesota Statute § 609.066 which authorizes use of deadly force by peace officers must be repealed.

4. A special civilian commission must be established to propose specific, comprehensive and systemic reforms to police powers, policies, and governance. A majority of the commission must include representatives of communities disproportionately harmed by police abuse.