Another LAPD Murder — Poster of the Week
- politicalgraphics
- Jan 26, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 27, 2023
No Impunity for Killer Cops
Jon-Paul Bail
Political Gridlock
Silkscreen, 2014
Oakland, California
47175
Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Oscar Grant. Trayvon Martin. This poster from 2014 names just a few of the Black men who were murdered by police and vigilantes in the past decade. Scores more people of color have been murdered and brutalized since then. In just the first week of January 2023, Los Angeles police have already killed three Black and Latino men: Oscar Leon Sanchez, Takar Smith, and Keenan Anderson. Anderson was the latest.
Anderson — a father, teacher, and cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors — was tasered to death after seeking help following a traffic accident in Venice, California. When the police arrived at the scene, they immediately sought to restrain Anderson, even though he was the one who had called for help in the first place. The LAPD used excessive force and tasered him for over 90 seconds while he lay on his stomach being crushed by the body weight of the cops. He screamed and begged for help, even saying “They’re going to George Floyd me.”
This poster was made following the 2014 murder via chokehold of Eric Garner by the NYPD. Garner repeated “I can’t breathe” 11 times while lying face down. In 2020, George Floyd also repeated “I can’t breathe” while the police murdered him. In 2023, Keenan Anderson’s murderers are continuing the same pattern of murdering a defenseless Black man.
The questions are—again—when will the police be held accountable? And when will these killings stop?
We must continue to fight for justice and demand that:
Anderson’s, Smith’s, and Sanchez’s murderers be brought to justice and fired;
LAPD Chief Moore be removed;
Police departments restrict the use of tasers and lethal force measures;
Courts end qualified immunity that protect police from accountability;
Cities defund the police and funnel those billions of dollars towards social services that strengthen communities
Rest in Power Oscar Leon Sanchez, Takar Smith, and Keenan Anderson!
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