On Jan. 28, roughly 500 workers, parents, children and activists historically marched on the streets of Downey, CA. ANSWER LA organized the anti-police brutality march and rally along with the friends and family of Michael Nida, who was unjustly murdered by a Downey Police officer.
Nida had committed no crime, but was stopped on the evening of Oct. 22, 2011 by Downey officers while walking across the street. He allegedly ‘fit the description’ of a suspect who had apparently robbed an ATM an hour earlier. In this case, fitting the description is just a euphemism for being a young Latino man as racist police profiling is as commonplace in Downey as any police department throughout the country. Minutes later, the unarmed Nida was shot multiple times in the back with a semi-automatic machine gun as he ran for his life.
Since October, Nida’s family and friends have been running a fierce justice campaign with the continuous support of the ANSWER Coalition and the Campaign to Stop Police Violence. The march and rally was the culmination of their recent efforts to draw attention to the injustices of the system and its disregard for the senseless death of Michael Nida. The demonstration removed the fear of dozens of victims in the Downey area who came forward and are helping to broaden the anti-police brutality movement in the local community.
The over three-mile march began on the corner of Paramount Boulevard and Imperial Highway where Nida was gunned down, passing through the town’s commercial center and ending at the Downey Police headquarters and City Hall. Police attempted to intimidate protesters onto the sidewalk, but the mass of people spilled out onto the streets immediately after the march began and held the streets the entire time without a permit. Powerful chants of “no more killing, no more lies, shooting Mikey was a crime!” resonated throughout the center of town while onlookers cheered and honked their car horns in support.
As the crowd congregated at the doors of City Hall, a closing rally was held with speakers from ANSWER Coalition, Campaign to Stop Police Violence, Students Fight Back, March Forward!, PSL and members of Nida’s family.
Nida’s mother Jean Thaxton called the action an inspiring success, stating “It makes me feel like we can really make a change if we just stand together strong.” She was overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up from all around southern California to show their support.
The family’s attorney Brian Claypool, who fights on many police brutality cases, said “Sometimes I feel alone out there, [but] when I attend events like this it empowers me and gives me hope that the community cares and that by partnering with ANSWER Coalition that we can truly make a world of difference.”
ANSWER Coalition and the PSL will continue to fight police brutality across the country and demand justice for Michael Nida. The epidemic of violence must be stopped, racist murdering cops should be thrown in jail and every community can and should win some form of control over the police.
