BALTIMORE, January 5—A nearly unanimous “No way!” was the powerful answer to the confirmation of Mayor Catherine Pugh’s nominee, Joel Fitzgerald, as Baltimore’s next police commissioner. He would have been the City’s fifth top cop in less than four years since the Freddie Gray rebellion in 2015, which put fear in the hearts, and instability in the decision-making, of the local ruling class.
Several days before the City Council hearing, 11 West Wednesday protesters participated in the third monthly CHALLENGE Readers’ Discussion Group. (West Wednesdays are the continuing protests in response to the murder of Tyrone West in July 18, 2013.) One of the topics was about organizing speakers at the hearing, which we succeeded in doing!
Tawanda Jones, main organizer of the weekly West Wednesday rallies that demand accountability for her brother’s death and for all victims of police terror, declared to members of the City Council, about Fitzgerald, “Get him out, or we’ll push you out!”
Fitzgerald’s defining moment
The defining moment, in Fitzgerald’s career, was not the exaggeration and dishonesty in the resume he submitted for this job. Nor was it his racist response to a question about police-community relations: sometimes the best thing is to call an emergency pro-police “back the blue” rally, as he has done in Ft. Worth Texas, where he is currently police commissioner.
No, the defining moment was probably when Ft. Worth cop William Martin responded to a 911 call by Black woman Jacqueline Craig, who accused a white male neighbor of grabbing and choking her 7-year-old son. Shortly after arriving on the scene, Cop Martin forcefully shoved his taser into Ms. Craig’s back, and brutally arrested, not the neighbor, but Jacqueline and her two daughters. Even the Ft. Worth police internal investigation found Martin guilty of excessive force.
Commissioner Fitzgerald de facto let Cop Martin get away. Martin was docked two weeks pay. Fitzgerald instead demoted who commanders for releasing the video revealing the violence against Jacqueline and her family. This led to outrage and protests. In other words, Fitzgerald was far more upset about the truth getting out, than he was about racist police terror. His handling of that crisis was his defining moment.
Speak out at City Council hearing
If he became Baltimore’s police chief, killer cops here would be even more emboldened. That’s why it’s reasonable to argue that shutting down the Fitzgerald confirmation will probably result in prevenient murder of working-class lives in Baltimore. And we did shut it down! Two days after the City Council hearing, Fitzgerald withdrew himself from consideration.
Among the 70 speakers, many focused on advocating for various reforms: calling for a home-grown police commissioner, more community policing with foot patrols, no reinstitution of the deadly “jump out boys,” and no “Back the Blue” rallies.
No use in reforming wage slavery
The limiting the goal to an effort for reforming capitalism is equivalent to folks during slavery trying only to limit the length of whips. Clearly, the bigger goal—complete abolition of slavery—was the necessary focus.
The same is true today. We need to abolish this system of wage slavery. Progressive Labor Party upholds the communist view that as long as capitalism is the framework, vicious policing of the masses is essential to the survival of this system. Trying to control and repress the working class, by way of violence and terror, is the sword of this vastly unequal system. Only a relentless marathon towards a communist society can cut off racist police at its knees.
Over time, we plan to back up sharp words with unified mass action against politricksters, the Klan in blue, and all the other treacherous attacks of capitalism.