Philadelphia: Robert Jones – say his name!

Philadelphia

In response to the killing of Robert Jones by an off-duty Philadelphia cop, family members and community activists held a protest rally at City Hall on Nov. 2.

The 54-year-old Black roadside assistance operator was killed by multiple shots at 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 3 as he approached off-duty homicide detective Christopher Sweeney’s personal vehicle, which was stopped on the side of the road in Northeast Philadelphia. Wearing a reflective vest and unarmed, Jones was acting as a good samaritan, offering help to a stranded driver in need.

“He had nothing in his hands — not a clipboard, pen, not even his phone,” Shaka Johnson, a criminal defense and civil rights attorney now representing Jones’ family, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. (Oct. 7)

Jones worked for Aramark for 21 years, as a groundskeeper for the Philadelphia Eagles, as a supervisor at a Northeast Philly metal manufacturer, and worked roadside assistance gigs to make ends meet.

Initial media reports repeated totally unfounded police claims Jones was killed during an attempted carjacking of an off-duty officer.

At the Nov 2 rally, organized by the Philadelphia Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, people chanted, held signs and heard family members and community activists speak for over an hour. Jones’ aunt Marcia complained the family wasn’t even notified about the police murder until 14 hours after it happened.

Participants chanted “Cell blocks for killer cops!” a number of times, representing the main demand being made of city officials.

Sweeney, a 14-year police veteran, is on administrative leave and has not yet been charged with a crime. The murder of Jones was at least the 12th police-involved shooting this year in Philadelphia. 

Police terror resulting in death of civilians continues to increase year-by-year in the U.S., disproportionately affecting communities of color. Following 1,020 police killings in 2020, when the police murder of George Floyd led to massive widespread protests, the number has increased to 1,163 people killed by cops in 2023. (statista.com)