Long Beach, California:

Cops Murder Human Being—Pigs and Media Cry Over Dead Dog

Updated July 23, 2016 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

On June 28, Barry Prak—a 27-year-old Cambodian-American man—was shot to death by Long Beach cops as he responded to an order by the police to come out of an apartment. Prak was first hit with a 40-mm rubber baton round—and then a police dog was unleashed to tear at his flesh. The pigs then shot Prak dead when he allegedly displayed a knife.

The police took the life of yet another human being. In an obscene and disgusting demonstration of how the lives of the human beings killed by this system’s police are seen as worthless, the Los Angeles Times and the Long Beach papers focused their coverage on what they considered a greater “tragedy” that took place—the fact that the police shot dead their own dog, in the course of murdering Barry Prak. The large photo that ran with the Times article on Prak’s killing was of four cops solemnly carrying the dog, “Credo,” with an American flag draped over him.

The City News Service report said of one of the cops, “The officer ... was visibly angry and shaken, ripping off his helmet and hurling it away before burying his head in his hand. The dog was then placed into a patrol car and driven to a nearby animal hospital, where he was pronounced dead...” The article announced the time and location of the memorial service for Credo, adding that “In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Credo’s name to the LB Police K-9 Officers Association.” And then they let readers know where “condolence messages” could be sent to the pig who wept for the dog after murdering Barry Park.

“Justice for Barry”

On July 16, 100 protesters, most of them young people from the “Little Cambodia” section of Long Beach, marched along Anaheim Street to demand justice for Barry Prak. Wearing white T-shirts with “Cambodian” written in large letters across the top and “Justice for Barry” on the bottom, they marched to the alley where Prak was killed. After a minute of silence, protesters took time to write messages on scores of balloons, which were then released into the morning sky.

The cops who murdered Barry Prak were serving a warrant linking him to a 2013 shooting incident—although they have never presented any evidence publicly justifying the warrant. Prak was known for having taken an active part in protesting a 2013 killing by police in the same community.

Drivers passing the other way during the march honked horns, shouted support, put fists out the window, and slowed down and stopped in some cases, a sign of how widespread the demand for justice for Barry Prak is in the community. The RCP Central Committee’s Message, “Time To Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution,” was taken up by most of the marchers and by people in their cars coming by. Many left with Revolution newspaper in their hands.

In just the last two years, Long Beach cops have murdered Feras Morad, a college student; Mharloun Saycon, who was mentally disabled; 21-year-old Lionel Gibson, for carrying a toy air-soft gun; Tyler Woods, unarmed, on the roof of a house; Jonte House, and more.

As the Message from the RCP Central Committee at revcom.us says in the strongest terms:

"This horror must stop, and it will take a revolution, nothing less, to do that by finally putting an end to the system that’s the cause of this horror and all the others humanity has to endure. And right now, everyone who is outraged and sickened by murder after murder by the system’s police—and those pigs getting away with it time after time—need to rise up to demand justice. Police Getting Away with Murder Must STOP!"

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