Community enraged by another police killing

The family and friends of Harrison Owens gathered for a vigil May 28 in the parking lot on Colfax and Logan. This is where, on May 26, Denver police officer Michael Wyatt shot Owens in the back, killing him.

Family and friends listened to some of Owens’ favorite songs. The mood was not somber but angry. The family vowed that justice will be done—and that they will unite with others whose family members were also killed by cops.

The vigil was organized by Shareef Aleem, the embattled African-American activist who has been targeted by the Denver Police Department. He, along with Owens’ friends and family, told reporters of their anger and frustration with the cops in Denver and the surrounding areas.

Larry Hales of Denver FIST—Fight Imperialism-Stand Together—told of the problems he had with the police in the neighborhood when he lived there, and also with the racist gentrifying groups and the cop-like Guardian Angels.

A cop car passed by the May 28 vigil three times, its driver going slowly to look at the gatherers along with seven members of the Angels. The Angels left when Hales along with Harrison’s family members demanded that they leave.

These reactionary groups were rallied by a city council member to put pressure on cops to be even more aggressive toward Black people and the many homeless people who sleep around the area known as the Molly Brown Neighborhood.

The police department has come out with two conflicting stories of Owens’ death.

According to the police, a man flagged down the cop, Wyatt, saying that Owens had just robbed him. Wyatt chased Owens to the parking lot. The alleged robbery victim yelled, “He’s got a gun.” Owens pointed a gun at Wyatt, and Wyatt fired one shot, hitting Owens in the back. The other story is that Owens was running and pointing the gun at Wyatt and that he turned around.

The family has found holes in the police department’s story. They say Owens, a father of two and a landscaper, was unjustly killed and that the media and cops are smearing his name. The media have sought to bring up the 31-year-old’s past and label him a criminal to justify the shooting.

Two homeless men witnessed the shooting. One was sleeping in bushes a few feet away and heard the incident. The other watched from across the street.

All the witnesses say that Owens got into a fight with a man outside of a bar, began running when the cops started chasing him and that Owens yelled that he had a gun and Owens looked like he wanted to surrender. He then moved his right hand and was shot once in the back.

Many believe that this was another unjustified shooting committed by the DPD in a neighborhood that has become an occupied battleground; cops often carry out sweeps and arrest whole groups of Black men, planting evidence on the young men as an excuse for police brutality.

The fascistic tactics of the police and police-supporting groups like the Guar dian Angels that roam this neighborhood are coming under more scrutiny. Activists and the families have stated that the murder of Owens is the last straw. They are pledging to work together to stop police killings.