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Vol. 80/No. 46 December 12, 2016
Native Americans face the highest rate of cop killings
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
Killings of Native Americans by police are on the rise with little
coverage by the capitalist media. In 2016, according to the Guardian,
Native Americans have been killed by cops 3.25 times more frequently
than Caucasians in proportion to their percentage of the population,
surpassing the rate for Blacks who are killed 2.5 times more often.
So far this year 18 Native Americans have been killed by the police
compared with 13 in all of 2015, the paper reports. This increase stands
out even more in light of the slight overall decline in cop killings
over the last year.
Especially on the reservations and in nearby towns, Native Americans
confront high unemployment and inadequate housing and health care. But
as they assert their dignity and defend their sovereign rights — from
the Standing Rock Sioux fighting against construction of an oil pipeline
in North Dakota to actions against cop killings led by groups like
Native Lives Matter — they’re winning solidarity.
Puyallup tribe members near Tacoma, Washington, are a good example.
In January police approached a parked car and shot and killed
32-year-old tribe member Jacqueline Salyers, who was in the driver’s
seat. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Wright, who had several outstanding
warrants, was in the passenger seat and managed to escape.
There is no video of the attack. Police say a surveillance camera
overlooking the street malfunctioned during the incident. According to
In These Times, cops apparently destroyed three other cameras that might
have recorded the attack.
Salyers’ relatives and friends have reached out to fighters against cop
brutality and in defense of workers’ rights. Nearly 300 tribal members
and others rallied at Tacoma’s federal courthouse March 16. Family
members have organized regular gatherings, inviting people throughout
the area to participate.
The county prosecutor and police review board cleared officer Scott
Campbell, who fired the shots that killed Salyers. The board said Aug.
16 that his “use of deadly force was reasonable and within department
policy,” based on an officer’s testimony that Salyers had threatened his
life with the car.
Cops kill those in mental crisis
A quarter of all those killed by cops in the first half of 2016 were
experiencing mental health crises, according to data collected by the
Washington Post. For Native Americans the figure is even higher. While
funds for mental health care have plummeted, calls for medical
assistance are instead often met by cops ready to shoot.
In Sandpoint, Idaho, in July 2014, Suquamish tribe descendant Jeanetta
Riley was threatening suicide. The 34-year-old mother of four was
homeless, pregnant and had a history of mental illness. Her husband
drove her to a nearby hospital asking for help, but officials there
called the police. When cops arrived they ordered Riley to drop the
knife she held. Fifteen seconds after arriving they fired three shots
that killed her.
Renee Davis, 23, who suffered from depression, texted a friend Oct. 21
that she was in “a bad way,” reported the Seattle Times. Kings County
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at Davis’ home on the Muckleshoot Indian
Reservation in Washington state after her friend requested a “wellness”
check. Instead of the psychological help she needed, the deputies shot
and killed her.
In March police officer Austin Shipley shot and killed Loreal Tsingine,
27, in Winslow, Arizona. Tsingine, who was Navajo, was accused of
shoplifting from a convenience store. According to body-cam footage
obtained by the Arizona Daily Sun, Shipley threw Tsingine to the ground
twice. When she got back up and started walking toward Shipley, he shot
her, claiming his life was in danger because she had a pair of scissors
in her hand. In July the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ruled the
shooting justified.
Like African-Americans, Native Americans face proportionally higher
incarceration rates. In South Dakota, for example, Native Americans make
up 9 percent of the population, but 29 percent of the prison population.
According to the National Congress of American Indians, health service
expenditures per capita for Native Americans was $2,849 in 2013, about
one-third of funds spent per person nationwide.
The percentage of Native Americans living below the official poverty
line is 28.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On
larger reservations it’s 68 percent. There are 90,000 homeless or
“under-housed” families on tribal lands. In many instances several
generations are crowded into single homes with inadequate plumbing and
electricity.
Related articles:
Minn. rally backs Standing Rock Sioux fight
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