Residents of Chicago’s West Side plan to descend on a local police station this weekend to protest what they say is a continual pattern of police brutality against African-Americans.
The march, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, was called Monday night during a highly-charged community meeting. Residents plan to march at 1 p.m. from Galewood Park to the Grand Central District police station.
The call to arms comes days after a group of community leaders flew to Washington to ask Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to investigate the Chicago Police Department’s treatment of African-Americans and other minorities.
“We have to send the message that there has been too much wrong in this city, and we’re tired of being mistreated and disrespected,” Rev. Paul L. Jakes Jr. shouted to wild applause from the audience. “We need to stand up together and say `we are not going to take it anymore.’ “
Jakes shouted his words to nearly 200 residents and a handful of elected officials who jumped to their feet several times to demand justice. The meeting was the second gathering called in response to an West Side youth’s allegations that two police officers brutally beat him during a confrontation Sept. 26.
Jeremiah Mearday, 18, contends he was walking with two friends when two officers jumped out of their patrol car and beat him without provocation. Mearday suffered a broken jaw and head injuries.
Mearday’s allegations are under investigation by the police Office of Professional Standards. Chicago police have not commented on the allegations, except to say that Mearday struggled when officers attempted to arrest him.
But Mearday’s charges of police brutality were not the only ones aired during the Monday night meeting. A handful of residents publicly accused the police of specific incidents of brutality, while a dozen offered similar accounts privately.
A tearful Nancy Durham told the crowd that her nephew was shot and killed by a police officer for no apparent reason. Andrew Durham was shot in August after police attempted to stop him for questioning. According to police, Durham fled and an officer tackled him from behind. The two fought for the officer’s gun, and Durham was shot during the struggle, police said.
The family disputes that.
“I’m here to urge you all to stand up and tell your stories,” Durham told the crowd. “I lay awake in my bed at night and wonder about all those people out there who are too afraid and too intimidated to come forward.”
