Sophie Sonnenfeld Photos.
Emma Jones speaking at Saturday’s unity walk.
New Haven anti-police-brutality activists marched in support of survivors of police violence — they heard a call for action from Emma Jones at the Fair Haven spot where an East Haven police officer shot and killed her son 23 years ago.
“You must continue this struggle,” she implored the crowd, including newer activists in a cause she has championed for decades.
Roughly 70 demonstrators gathered on the Green at 2 p.m. Saturday and shut down Grand Avenue as they marched to the spot where Malik Jones was killed in 1997 after a high-speed cross-border chase.
Police accountability activist Jewu Richardson organized Saturday’s unity walk in collaboration with Building It Together, CT Bail Fund, The Malik Organization, People Against Police Brutality and Black Lives Matter New Haven.
On the Green, Richardson (pictured), who was shot by New Haven police in 2010, said police violence isn’t only the brutality that people see on TV, but is deeper and more systemic: “People are in jail decades because of false charges. A lot of people don’t see that trauma that people are going through and the stuff behind those walls, but it’s real.”
He stated that police and prosecutors work together with “legal tactics” to convict innocent people in Connecticut and nationwide. “When the system we’re supposed to trust and believe ends up abusing and murdering us, we’re left with communities that are suffering from decades of trauma,” Richardson said.
Darcus Henry (pictured) spoke into a megaphone about being exonerated in 2013 and released from prison after he and three others were wrongfully convicted of a December 1996 shooting.
“At the same time I was wrongfully accused and convicted, countless others had false testimony given to them across the state of Connecticut. The same system that put me behind bars, falsely put away countless others,” he said.
After several organizers spoke before the crowd, Richardson asked the crowd to march with them to where Malik Jones was shot and killed in Fair Haven. The demonstrators enthusiastically cheered and gathered their water bottles and posters for the walk.
Activist Norman Clement handed out neon vests to fellow volunteers to direct traffic as they began the march. Clement halted the crowd on the corner in front of the Superior Court building and grabbed the megaphone. He led the crowd in a chant of “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
Then, pointing to the courthouse, Clement called out: “You know what I want? I want to burn that post to the ground! That’s where they incarcerate all of us!”
Cars passing by honked in support as he continued, “and when we talk about people that are wrongly convicted, almost every one of us, almost every person that goes through that courtroom is wrongly convicted for something.”
Clement and Richardson led the protesters in more chants as they took over Elm Street.
New Havener Jake Gagne (pictured) held a sign reading #Free Them All as he joined the march to Grand Avenue. “I’m here to fight against the prison industrial complex, to fight for justice for people who are incarcerated and people who survived police violence. And to call attention to the fact that it’s something that happens everywhere, everyday, and what we see is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Oliver Hernandez and Brittany Reyes said they weren’t planning to come out to the march, but decided to join when they saw protesters gather on the Green. They both are from Georgia and attend school in Connecticut. “I think it’s so important because of the fact that so many people are dying, especially all these racial issues going on and have been in our system too long, and it’s time for people to stand up,” said Hernandez.
Savannah Polica (pictured) who lives in Stanford said she came to support Black Lives Matter New Haven. “I try to come out to everything to make sure my voice is heard. My body being out here is important.”
After a half hour of marching, the crowd reached where Jones was killed on Grand Avenue. Just as Emma Jones was introduced and began to speak, a silver car rolled up behind Jones. Organizers leapt up, redirecting the white male driver, who shouted, “White lives matter only!” before turning around and speeding off.
The crowd started lashing out with insults, then quieted as Jones, dressed in all white as she has daily since her son was killed, picked up the megaphone once again.
“This is a beautiful moment for me. This is a beautiful time for me,” she said. Jones spoke about her 23 year long struggle for justice for her son.
“Today I stand before you, telling you that this struggle has been rigorous on many many levels. Every door that I went into seeking justice, the door got slammed in my face because in part what I did was I worked very hard through the system not to just to file a case that would line my pocket with money. I didn’t want that. Because you can never pay me enough money to satisfy the loss of my son.”
In 2003 Jones sued the town of East Haven and was awarded $2.5 million, which was later reversed on a technicality. In a second trial in 2010, she won $900,000, but East Haven appealed that decision and prevailed. Finally, Jones filed to have the U.S. Supreme Court hear her case against the town; the request was rejected in 2013.
Jones said her struggle for justice is one of many in a larger struggle against systemic injustice: “All of [these cases] have the same underlying reason for the murder. It is a public policy of police containment. And that type of public policy of police containment allows police officers to murder our children in the streets without any kind of consequence.”
“I believe the people here today have come because you understand that you deserve better. You deserve better than to have the struggle day in and day out just to get some semblance of justice. You deserve to be able to walk these streets without having to worry about police abuse, arrest, and even murder of our loved ones.”
Jones spoke about her successful pushes to create a civilian review board, and laws against racial profiling. “We have a number of successes, but none of them, as far as I’m concerned, is good enough to stop the police officer from engaging in the same kind of behavior over and over and over again. And so you must, you must, you must continue this struggle, and you must make demands that for the people who haven’t received any justice, that those cases be reopened!”
Jones also spoke about how important the nationwide protests against police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd are in fighting for justice and police accountability.
“As I think on it, I prayed that the lord would allow the world to know exactly what the United States of America does to black and brown and red people. But I’m telling you in a crazy way, George Floyd is an answer to my prayer.” She paused and said, “How sad is that.”
“What I’m going to do in this atmosphere, is I’m going to go back and pay a revisit on Malik’s case, and I’m going to demand they reopen it and do what’s right.”
Watch the speeches on the Green, the full unity walk, and Emma Jones’ speech below: