Indianapolis, Indiana – The Party for Socialism and Liberation held a rally on Monument Circle on Saturday, drawing a small but vociferous crowd. The gang declared that it would not be content until Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death on January 7 by five Memphis police officers, was imprisoned.
Protester Doris Jones, said, “Just seeing the videos and what happened with Herman Whitfield and Tyre Nichols, it’s scary.”
Herman Whitfield III was tased by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers after they were called to his home on April 25 and were informed that Whitfield was experiencing a mental illness. Whitfield III later passed as a result.
A new body cam video of the seconds preceding Whitfield’s death was released by IMPD. The PSL is concerned that the cops responsible for Whitfield’s death won’t be held accountable.
“At this point these videos are almost like the lynching postcards of days past, where police are going to be sharing this around just like the Brianna Taylor videos,” said Spokesperson Noah Leininger.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation Party strongly opposes supporting the police and fighting for the rights of workers and immigrants. It asserts that there should be more public supervision and that politicians have an excessive amount of influence over police forces.
“We think its important to be out here because if we’re not out here and this falls out of public consciousness, it’s going to be another year before the next person gets murdered by police and we’re not here for that,” Leininger said.
Jones is concerned that because of how the police treat her, she won’t be able to defend her kid when she leaves the house.
“The fact that my kids, more than likely my oldest is going to get judged or punished just by the color of her skin, and anything can happen,” she said.
