We Don't Need Outside Cops In Chicago

Part of what we’re demanding in the march on the DNC is for community control of the police and to stop police crimes. Last week at the RNC in Milwaukee, the world witnessed both the murder of Samuel Sharpe Jr by Columbus police and the wrongful arrest of Nour Jaghama by Texas police. In order to prevent similar police crimes happening in Chicago, we urge the city not to invite outside police forces who are even less accountable to the people of this city than CPD.

We saw during the march on the RNC that community members are more than capable of keeping people safe by deescalating tense situations. There was a glaring contrast between unarmed marshalls ensuring the safety of 3,500 people in downtown Milwaukee against fascist counter protesters versus outside police murdering a Black man and kidnapping a Palestinian organizer. This confirms what many progressive protesters, including the ones at the 1968 march on the DNC, have said for decades: our task as organizers often involves keeping people safe from the police. Meanwhile, the only responsibility that the CPD, FBI, Secret Service, and any other law enforcement has is NOT to infringe on our First Amendment rights and NOT to commit crimes – including murder – against our communities. That's why we are fighting for permits for the marches on August 19th and 22nd.

Corporate media and politicians often use the phrase “outside agitators” to discredit protesters who join struggles for justice in other cities. The most dangerous “outside agitators” in Milwaukee are the police officers from Ohio, Texas, and other places who only terrorized Black and brown people last week.

In order to keep people safe, we urge the city not to invite “outside agitators” with guns and badges to police the Black and brown people of this city. If any outside police come to this city, they need to be kept firmly within the DNC perimeter. The city has already displaced dozens of homeless people to keep them out of sight of the rich and powerful politicians who will descend on Chicago during the DNC. We need to prevent more crimes like the killing of Samuel Sharpe Jr.