Jake Dressler photo
Scenes from Sunday’s protest.
Civil rights activists marched from City Hall to Yale Police Department headquarters to protest the recent police killings of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo in the Midwest.
Dozens of marchers blocked traffic on Ashmun Street as they listened to a lineup of community organizers speak out against police violence.
“Screw reform,” shouted Sunrise New Haven member Jaeana Bethea (pictured). “We need to put money into affordable healthcare and jobs. The cops are reactionary. We need to defund and abolish the police! We keep us safe! Mayor Elicker wants to complain about the dirt bikes in the neighborhood when there are much bigger problems!”
The demonstration was organized by the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter and Hamden Council member Justin Farmer in response to two police shootings that occurred earlier this week and that resulted in the deaths of Wright and Toledo.
Wright was killed on April 11 in Brooklyn Center, Minn.—just miles away from where former police officer Derek Chauvin stood trial for the murder of George Floyd last spring. Wright died after police officer Kimberley Potter mistook her handgun for a taser and open fire.
Toledo, a 13 year old boy, was killed on March 13 in Chicago when officer Eric Stillman allegedly believed he was hiding a gun and shot at him during a foot chase. Video footage of the incident shows that the boy had his hands up at the time he was shot.
Hamden Town Council member Justin Farmer at Sunday’s protest.
Local activists at Sunday’s march and vigil called to defund the police and allocate the police budget to social programs like healthcare and schooling.
“I think it’s important for lawyers to step up and play their part in ending police brutality and civil rights violations,” said defense attorney Alex Taubes.
“The protest rally today was not just about George Floyd, Daunte Wright, and Adam Toledo, but also Malik Jones, Jayson Negron, Mubarak Soulemane, and the victims of police brutality in Connecticut whose loved ones still seek justice.”
Police: “We Don’t Condone It”
Some who attended disagreed with that core message to defund the police.
“There are some cops who shouldn’t be on the force,” said one police officer on duty at the protest, who asked to remain anonymous. “When these types of things happen, we don’t condone it, and what happened with Daunte Wright is crazy. How did a woman with 27 years experience on the force mistake her taser for a handgun? We’re trained to reach with our right hand to our taser which is positioned on our left side. How does an officer mess that up?”
When asked if the mistake could have been intentional, the officer said, “I don’t think so. I honestly think it was a mistake, but it was a bad mistake. People think the police are all in this together, but we’re just doing our jobs. A shooting is the last thing we want to encounter.”
Commented another officer, who also declined to be identified, “People need to understand that those officers who kill people don’t represent the norm. We’re sympathetic with George Floyd and Daunte Wright. We’re not murderers. We’re just trying to protect the public.
“There are people who go 85 miles per hour down Whalley Avenue! If someone’s going a few miles an hour over the speed limit, we won’t stop them. But when you’re driving 85 down Whalley Avenue, you’re a danger to the public. And when you defund the police, you prevent us from doing our jobs.”