National SDS Stands in Solidarity with Jermelle English

Last month, Jermelle English went to Applebee’s with his family when Kenosha PD came in searching for suspects of a nearby hit-and-run. Another patron of the Applebee’s pointed out English’s family for being “suspicious,” and the officers immediately assaulted English while holding his 1-year old baby. They pulled his baby away from him, punched him several times in the back of the head, and pepper-sprayed him. During the assault, they repeatedly threatened and yelled at the person taking a video in order to evade consequences for their brutality. They wanted the only footage of their brutality to be the body cam footage which they can edit as they please.

As it turned out, the actual suspect was found in the restroom, which the police would have known if they were doing their due diligence and not looking for an excuse to brutalize someone. Despite English shielding himself and his child from the police’s blows, he was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer. KPD turned what should have been a pleasant evening with his family into a traumatic event. As the family’s attorney, Kevin O’Conner, said, “Simply being Black and going to dinner is not a crime.”

Simply being Black and going to dinner is not a crime.

Kenosha Police Department is notorious for senseless violence against people, especially the Black community of Kenosha. In recent years, an officer shot Jacob Blake seven times, Jacob Albright died in their custody and KPD is not being transparent with Albright’s family about what happened, and now they beat English ruthlessly for assuming he was a perpetrator. These are only cases which have been made public.

SDS stands in solidarity with the family of Jermelle English, and all victims of police crimes! We call for transparency, accountability, and community control of the police in Kenosha, and everywhere!

Justice for Jermelle English!
Justice for all victims of police crimes!
Community Control of the Police Now!