Police Assault Protest Against Police Violence

What began as a peaceful protest against the Albuquerque Police Department’s systemic abuse of force and frequent shooting of unarmed civilians spiraled into chaos Sunday evening after police officers—many mounted on horses and in riot gear—assaulted the demonstrators with tear gas.

Hundreds of New Mexico residents took to the streets of downtown Albuquerque to denounce the local authorities and call for the resignation of police chief Gorden Eden. According to the Associated Press, the uprising was fueled by growing anger over the police department’s “involvement in 37 shootings, 23 of them fatal since 2010.”

The demonstrators marched peaceably between downtown and the University of New Mexico campus shouting, “We want justice,” and other chants, before being surrounded by the police force and sprayed with tear gas. The demonstration lasted a total of 12 hours.

Local news station KRQE reports:

The protest was an escalation of another demonstration last Tuesday, which was called in response to the March 16 police shooting death of James Boyd, a homeless man suffering from mental illness. The FBI has opened an investigation into the Boyd killing in addition to an ongoing probe by the U.S. Justice Department into the frequent complaints of civil rights violations by the APD and reports of excessive use of force.

The leaked video depicting the murder of James Boyd has brought “a lot of people out and a lot of attention to this situation” which has been ongoing for generations, David Correia, an organizer with the Task Force for Public Safety, told Common Dreams.

According to Correia, who has been working with families of victims of APD violence, the violence in Albuquerque is not unique to this city. However, he notes that Albuquerque suffers from some of the highest rates of police violence in the country, as well as overwhelming poverty. Many of those killed, he says, are “chicano, native; many are homeless and mentally ill.”

Correia continues:

Organizers are meeting tonight to discuss demands as well as future direct actions which, Correia says, will happen over the course of the next two weeks.

Following the protest, witnesses posted photos and videos online of the police standoff.

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