Never too late for police accountability, from Missouri to Minneapolis

BY KRISTINA GRONQUIST AND DAVE BICKING

One year ago Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Mo. The police shooting of the unarmed teen rightly sparked national outcry. Roughly two years ago, the Minneapolis police killed two men of color within one hour: Terrance Franklin and Ivan Ramirez. It was Friday, May 10, 2013, when a heavily armed SWAT team shot the 21-year-old unarmed Terrance 10 times. Soon after, but not so soon that an emergency response was still required, a police vehicle heading to the crime scene ran a red light and killed Ivan Ramirez, a motorcyclist en route to send money to his mother in Mexico.
To date, none of the police responsible have been held accountable. Police officials orchestrated a cover-up that was endorsed by a new police chief and parroted by a media that portray any black victim with a police record as a “thug,” the new “N” word. The exoneration of the officers was naively accepted by the majority of Twin Cities white conservatives and liberals.
The summer and fall of 2013 following the MPD killings saw numerous street demonstrations. We did not number in the thousands, but we were defiant and strong in our resolve. We marched in Uptown where Terrance was killed, we marched downtown to City Hall, and on the Nicollet Mall we chanted, “No Justice, No Peace.” We prayed. We received no Justice for Terrance, none to this day. This was before the heightened public awareness of such incidents and the increasing revelations, confirmed by statistics, that police do indeed kill Black men and women often and without consequence. With this reality now exposed, why hasn’t the case of Terrance Franklin’s murder in Minneapolis been revisited?
It has been good to see the outpouring into the streets for Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Freddy Gray and many others over the last year. But looking back, we can’t help but feel a deep sadness that Terrance’s death has sparked no national outcry.
As seasoned activists we are well aware of the actions of the Minneapolis police over the years. Terrance’s brutal killing was not an isolated case. Not in our city, not in any city. It was disappointing to see the lack of support for Terrance from the larger Twin Cities community. Many came out to rally after the appalling miscarriage of justice when Trayvon Martin’s killer was freed, but they did not turn out for Terrance. We suppose it was safer for Minnesotans—especially Liberals who dominate Minneapolis politics—to rally for national cases than to confront the dysfunction in their own back yard. It’s one thing to stand up to racist forces miles away, but it takes courage to confront it within your own circle of influence.
The mayor and police chief talk the talk of reform. We hear about body cameras, federal studies and anti-bias training. Additionally, there are some changes; our City Council wisely overturned low level nuisance laws that disproportionately target men of color. Another key reform would be a requirement that police carry personal liability (malpractice) insurance. Currently, taxpayers foot the bill and police never receive any discipline.
We are heartened and impressed by the young people who are defiantly taking the struggle to new places with the Black Lives Matter movement.  As white allies, we will not pretend to understand what life was like for Terrance, a young Black man. What we do know is that a person of color is killed by police or security authorities once every 28 hours. With white privilege this can be ignored by retreating into comfort, but if one walks away from their white privilege and joins the larger community, one will be chilled by this fact and called to action.
Facebook is full of “Justice for Terrance” type pages. There are numerous other names and tragic stories. There are cases where no one marched at all, victims whose wrongful deaths only a handful of people tried to challenge. Now, scrutiny is increasing and that is good news. But let’s turn the clock back a few years to that dreadful day on May 10th of 2013 when Terrance and Ivan were felled. Their lives mattered. It’s not too late to hold the perpetrators accountable and make things right.

Kristina Gronquist is a Minneapolis-based community activist. She was the Green Party’s endorsed candidate for City Council, Ward 3, in 2013.
Dave Bicking works with Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) and served on the (now disbanded) Civilian Review Authority in Minneapolis from 2008 to 2010.