SAN DIEGO, CA.–On Thursday evening, members of the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) San Diego were notified that the San Diego police department killed an African man in the streets of downtown San Diego in the Gaslamp District.
The murder took place on Tuesday October 20, 2015 in broad daylight around 2:00 pm in front of hundreds of onlookers.
Perhaps they did not think that anyone would stand up for this murder because the brother who was killed had just got out of jail, had a warrant from Virginia, and the mainstream media already vilified him.
Through African Internationalism, the political theory that is advancing the African Liberation Movement in strides globally, InPDUM San Diego was able to effectively provide a political summation for the African community to understand that Lamontez Jones, who was killed, was not a villainous threat to the people in the Gaslamp. In fact the two police officers who murdered him were the threat that operate as an occupying army in the African community.
On Saturday, October 24, 2015 InPDUM San Diego, Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM) San Diego, and many who support the struggle against colonial powers went downtown to F St and 6th Ave where Lamontez engaged in a struggle with SDPD that resulted in his death.
We were also able to begin an investigation in the area to get a clearer picture of the incident and eventually get in contact with the family of Lamontez Jones.
Lamontez Jones is from Virginia and his family was not aware of the fact that he was in San Diego, California until they were notified of his murder. The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) notified his mother, Victoria Jones, of his death and the stories did not add up.
The main concern for her is the fact that the police did not have their body cams on because their hands were on the motorcycle. Before he came to San Diego Lamontez was struggling to make ends meet just like most colonized people on earth.
In fact, he spent 3 years behind bars because he did not take a plea bargain for a case that he fought and in which eventually was proven innocent.
It is imperative that The People carry out this investigation to bring to light the truth about the murder of Lamontez Jones by San Diego Police Department veterans, Robert Stinson (30 years), and Scott Thompson (25 years).
This investigation has given us more information than any news story or YouTube has given us. There were residents, workers, security guards, and others that gave eye witness accounts.
Cell phone video directed organizers to the exact location of the shooting which left the street stained with the blood of Lamontez. Organizers began outreach near 12th & Imperial where many of downtown homeless population sleep.
Many of the people we spoke to were aware of the situation, did not know details, but were supportive of the work being carried out. As organizers set up on 6th Ave & F St many workers were eager to tell their version of the story; varying from those who were in support to those who were opposed.
Some of those opposed called police on us while we were demonstrating. However, the security forces who arrived listened to what we were doing and were supportive of our efforts. Police arrived but could not intervene because we were on the sidewalk and we were not in the streets.
The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement is a mass organization that struggles for the rights of Africans globally. We are led by the African People’s Socialist Party through revolutionary African working class leadership.
We herald Lamontez Jones for his courage and resistance against the colonial enforcers, SDPD. Whether Lamontez was carrying a real gun, a fake gun, a banana, a donut, or standing with his hands up completely naked the state would have carried out his murder.
The police operate as an occupying force within the internal colonies of the United States of America and the colonized African, Mexican, Native American, and other poor populations are subjected to the will of the state.
We herald Lamontez for his resistance to the will of the state and reject the notion that he was a criminal or a fugitive. We do not condone vertical violence when the state takes out violence on the colonized populations.
However we support revolutionary violence which is any violence that an individual or group uses to get out of the condition of oppression. We condemn colonial violence which manifested in the overuse of police force imposed on Lamontez Jones along with countless of Africans in the US and throughout the world.
With deep condolences to his mother, Victoria Jones, and his sister, Electra Johnson, we will continue to struggle to raise funds for them through their GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/6a6z37s7.
We hold the position that Black Community Control of Police is the answer to the issue of these rampant murders of Africans and other colonized populations.
We charge the United States government with genocide against the African population in the United States of America.
The same way the colonial powers in South Africa, Brazil, England, Colombia, and all colonial states murder us without regard to our lives, the San Diego Police Department murdered Lamontez Jones and we will work tirelessly for his justice.
You can sign the petition Africans Charge Genocide at www.africanschargegenocide.org.
