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December 24, 2014

Family Calls for Federal Probe After Houston Officer Cleared in Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Black Man 
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In Houston, the shooting death of another unarmed African American by a
police officer has led to another non-indictment. On Tuesday, a grand
jury cleared Houston police officer Juventino Castro for the fatal
shooting of 26-year-old Jordan Baker. Castro was off-duty and working as
a private security guard when he shot and killed Baker in January.
Castro says he tried to stop Baker at a mall with a recent history of
break-ins, and claims Baker charged at him after the two got into a
confrontation. Baker was unarmed. At the courthouse, activist Deric
Muhammad and Jordan Baker's mother, Janet Baker, denounced the
non-indictment.

Deric Muhammad: "Welcome to Ferguson, Texas. Out of 93 police killings,
there have not been one indictment."

Janet Baker: "I was hopeful. I've always stated that I believe in God. A
wise person, friend said, justice delayed is not justice denied. When
your child leaves and goes three blocks away from home, three blocks
away from home, you expect him to come back."

Activists in Houston have organized for a city-wide protest next Monday.
The Baker family is calling for a federal investigation like those in
other recent unpunished police killings of unarmed African Americans
— Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Milwaukee's Dontre Hamilton. On
Tuesday, a group of Milwaukee protesters staged a "die-in" at a local
mall. They lay on the ground and read out loud 14 reasons why black
lives matter — 14 is the number of times Dontre Hamilton was shot.

 

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