Photo by Bryanna Bartlett
About 30 local protesters marched from San Jose City Hall to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office demanding justice for individuals who died and those whose deaths were perceived to be neglected by the San Jose Police Department.
The protest was organized by Black Liberation and Collective Knowledge (B.L.A.C.K.) Outreach, an activist group in San Jose, and other local community members.
The march was part of a month-long series organized by (B.L.A.C.K.) Outreach called “Month of Radical Action.”
Every Friday of September, community members intend to demand justice for Gregory Johnson Jr., Demetrius Stanley and David Tovar Jr., according to a Sept. 1 Instagram flyer.
Lou Dimes, B.L.A.C.K. Outreach president, said the march to the DA’s office is symbolic.
“These are the different buildings, the different parts of the institutions that are keeping these [police brutality] cases from moving forward and getting at least a smidge of justice,” Dimes said.
Gregory Johnson Jr.
Gregory Johnson Jr. was a 20-year-old San Jose State student who was found dead in the Sigma Chi fraternity house in November 2008, located next to campus on 10th Street.
Johnson’s death was ruled a suicide by the UPD and the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, according to the coroner’s office autopsy report. His family and many in the community believe he was murdered in a hate crime and have called on community officials to reopen the investigation.
SJSU President Mary Papazian stated in a Feb. 18 campus wide email the DA office and coroner’s office agreed to initiate a new review of the coroner’s report, “once the pandemic allows them to do so,” and the university will cooperate with any information requests.
Papazian stated in the same email that while privacy concerns limit what can be publicly disclosed about the case, UPD’s investigation, which involved interviewing more than 30 witnesses, revealed no evidence of “foul play.”
Papazian said there’s been no new evidence that would warrant reopening the case since the conclusion of the investigation in 2009.
Demetrius Stanley
Demetrius Stanley was shot on April 30 outside his home by un-uniformed SJPD officers and died at the scene, according to a June 2 NBC Bay Area article.
SJPD Chief Anthony Mata said in a June 2 press conference that officers didn’t identify themselves as police because they didn’t have the “time or opportunity in the rapid sequence of events,” according to the same NBC Bay Area article.
Mata said officers weren’t at Stanley’s home to arrest him and didn’t anticipate confrontation with him, which is why they didn’t have on-body cameras.
He said they were at the home to confirm Stanley’s home addresses and identify his vehicle from a March armed robbery, according to the same article.
The identities of the officers haven’t been released but they’re currently on administrative leave, according to the same article.
Charis, a protester who wished to remain anonymous for privacy concerns, said the community is asking for the names of the officers to be released.
“The fact that they’re withholding that information just shows that they’re protecting them,” Charis said. “They’re giving [the officers] a lot of leniency.”
Many friends and family members of Stanley believe he was protecting himself, his home and family when he saw strangers in his neighborhood, according to the same NBC article.
SJPD released home-security surveillance footage up until the moment Stanley was shot, according to the same article.
The Santa Clara County DA’s Office, an Independent Police Auditor and SJPD’s Internal Affairs division are investigating the case, according to the same article.
David Tovar Jr.
Gilroy resident David Tovar Jr., 27, was shot on Jan 21 at the Villa Fairlane Apartment Complex by three undercover SJPD officers, according to an April 8 San Jose Inside article.
The fatal shooting followed a 10-month investigation and several arrest attempts against Tovar because he was a “person of interest” in several offenses including a homicide and two shootings in Santa Clara County, according to the same San Jose Inside article.
Tovar’s attorneys and family members said Tovar wasn’t given the opportunity to be proven innocent or guilty in the alleged crimes, according to the same article.
Tovar was armed and body-camera footage by SJPD officers showed Tovar was shot in the back while running away, according to the same article.
One of Tovar’s family’s attorneys, Adante Pointer, said officers released a K-9 police dog to “bite, chew and maul his body as he lay there defenseless,” according to the same article.
Photos taken by the coroner’s office show bite marks and bruising caused by the police dog.
The family of Tovar is suing the city of San Jose, according to an April 7 KTVU article.
Friday Protest
As protesters marched through Downtown San Jose, the group chanted “Say his name: Demitrius Stanley,” “No good cops in a racist system” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Many protesters also chanted “out of your houses and into the streets” when passing residential areas. Several crowds near Second and Santa Clara streets encouraged the group as they marched.
Lou Dimes said consistently protesting puts pressure on city officials.
“It may seem sometimes like this right here [has] little point, but it serves a purpose. [City officials] thought in this building right here that the [Black Lives Matter] movement in San Jose was gonna die,” Dimes said. “They thought we were just going to give up some stuff so even if it’s just a handful of us here, it has to serve as a constant reminder.”
Protesters also held two demonstrations outside the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the San Jose Police Department.
A protest participant who wished to go by the name Ms. T for privacy concerns echoed the importance of continuing the Black Lives Matter movement.
“For some people, they think [the] Black Lives Matter movement is over, but it’s everyday life,” she said. “We’ve got to keep people in the streets, we’ve got to keep [community members] aware that actually people have died and their families who are suffering have no justice.”
The protest concluded at approximately 9:30 p.m. as the protesters returned to city hall.
The next protest is expected to occur on Friday at the same location.