Of dinner and pontification
On July 16, 2025, the Orange County sheriff’s department held a “Spaghetti Dinner” event at the Taft Community Center. This was supposed to be a time where the community could feel free to show up, learn from and have conversations with their “elected representatives”—the Orange County sheriff John Mina and county commissioner Maya Uribe. Therefore, the Orlando branch of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP), along with the activist group Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC), and Tyrone’s fiancee, decided to show up to the event to ask our questions regarding the murder of Tyrone Bartley, an African man murdered on May 16, 2025, by colonial occupational officer Reese Whitlock.
At the beginning of the meeting, the sheriff and commissioner ranted and raved about how wonderful their tenures had been thus far, how much crime had dropped, as well as rounds upon rounds of thanks being given to other state representatives who were responsible for passing colonial legislation to ensure that the arms of the State had sufficient elbow room to terrorize our communities.
By the time the Q&A portion had started, bellies were full, and egos were stroked. All seemed well to the colonizers, at least until Comrade Director Siaka Toure, Regional Director of Recruitment in the Southern Region, stood and gave this proclamation and demand:
“We, the African People’s Socialist Party, demand the immediate firing and prosecution of colonial officer Reese Whitlock under Florida Statute 782.07 for the murder of Tyrone Bartley—shot six times at point-blank range with an assault rifle during a raid he wasn’t even the target of. Claims that he reached for a weapon are baseless—his lawfully owned rifle was secured in a closet, confirmed by family and friends, with no bodycam evidence showing otherwise. The officer’s lethal response within 2.68 seconds is indefensible. Release the full footage. Fire the killer. Community Control of the Police Now!”
Of lies and men
Of course, discomfort was visibly seen on multiple faces in the room after Comrade Director Siaka made such a bold statement. Immediately, the sheriff started to give the official narrative: they had followed protocol, they sent the case to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement per policy, a supposed third party, and the officer would be evaluated at the end of their investigation and the subsequent sheriff’s department’s investigation.
After giving this statement, the moderator, colonial pig Steven Montiero, quickly took the microphone from Comrade Director Siaka. Now, we all know that this is a lie, but the details of the lie are astonishing. It turns out that, according to General Orders 5.1.2 – Internal Complaints Investigative Procedures, the official policy handbook for the Orange County sheriff’s office, not only did they not have to send the case to the FDLE in the first place, but they could have decided to make an arrest and place Whitlock on unpaid administrative leave pending the conclusion of their internal investigation.
This is corroborated by the FDLE’s website, which states explicitly, “FDLE is often called to investigate officer-involved shootings for local agencies. These investigations are initiated after a local agency request. FDLE does not investigate all officer-involved shootings, nor does FDLE have the jurisdiction to initiate an officer-involved shooting case without the request of the local agency” (emphasis added). It is also corroborated by the fact that there have been multiple instances where the sheriff’s department has made arrests of deputies after the first internal investigation.
This is nothing more than a sham cover-up by the sheriff’s department, which exposes the contradiction that exists between Africans and the colonial State. The assassination of Africans by the domestic colonial military is nothing new, for them especially. For them, it is nothing more than a slight bump in the road on an average day. For the remainder of the Q&A, we were avoided by the moderator, and the APSP were only allowed to ask one question. OAPC was also allotted one question asking why the sheriff had avoided meeting with us up until this point. This was met with more lies and the statement, “I am not going to talk to an anti-police group.”
How telling that the colonial pig views accountability as antithetical to his profession. After the Q&A, we went to confront the sheriff directly with Tyrone’s fiancée. Pushing past the wall of deputies around the sheriff, we finally got to him, supporting Tyrone’s fiancée as she asked why nothing had been done and why no one had contacted her. Sheriff Mina continued to callously lie to her face, and once he started to be pressed by the rest of us, he promptly turned away from us while his lackeys prevented us from pressing further.
Community Control of the Police Now!
Point eight of the APSP working platform states: “We want the immediate withdrawal of the U.S. police from our oppressed and exploited communities.”
We, the African Nation, must fight for this through our Vanguard Party. In Orlando, Florida, the Vanguard will be working tirelessly to ensure that, through our actions and campaigns, that this goal is achieved. Not only that, but we will be moving forward to formally indict and convict Reese Whitlock for the murder of Tyrone Bartley, as well as sheriff John Mina for aiding and abetting in his murder.
This will be done through the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM), the party’s mass organization, by hosting a Black Grand Jury and a Grand Tribunal. Not only this, but we will also be initiating a recall campaign against the sheriff for his crimes against our community.
This is what Black Power looks like; this is what Black State Power looks like. We, the African Nation, have a right to self-determination, regardless of how the colonizer feels about it. We have a right to have our own Liberation Forces working in our communities, for our communities, through the communities Vanguard, The African People’s Socialist Party.
Koupé Tèt, Boulé Kay!
The African Nation Has Arrived!
Uhuru!
Justice for Tyrone Bartley!
Black Community Control of the Police Now!
