The killing of a black 15 year-old autism teenager by two, white Calumet City police officers has sparked accusations of racism and excessive force in one Chicago suburb.
Now black clergy, elected officials, residents, community activists, and civil rights organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), are banning together to ensure justice is carried out against the two officers involved.
On Feb.1, the father of Stephon Watts called police to his home after his son refused to go to school. Five officers responded to the call and three officers went to the basement to talk to Watts. But instead of talking the police said they had to use deadly force after Watts allegedly slashed the arm of one officer with a steak knife. Two officers each fired one shot striking Watts in the head twice and killing him as his father watched in horror.
Calumet City is a south suburb of Chicago and has a population of 37,042, according to census data. And there are 26,136 black residents and 7,101 whites.
Police Chief Edward Gilmore, who is black, said officers had no choice.
"At that time, cornered and having no way to retreat back up the stairs, the officers fired one shot each, striking the (boy) twice," Gilmore said.
That’s a bunch of bull, said Watts’ mother.
"The way they did it, they didn't have to shoot him," Danelene Powell-Watts said Thursday at a vigil outside police headquarters.
Both officers have been placed on paid, administrative leave while the Illinois State Police conducts an independent investigation.
But community activists said they are not satisfied with how police have handled the situation.
"We're calling for the immediate resignation of those people who have shot and murdered an innocent child in our community," said the Rev. Lance Davis, pastor of New Zion Christian Fellowship Church in south suburban Dolton.
And while the Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, a civil rights organization in Chicago, stopped short of calling the incident racially motivated, he said deadly force was not justified.
"Why did they have to kill this boy? Why couldn't they use their physical strength to control him?" Jackson said.
The police were no stranger to the Watts home.
Police records showed that the last time the police visited the home was on Watts’ birthday Dec. 10, 2011. Police officials described Watts as 5-foot-10 and 220 pounds and added that he has wielded knives on other occasions, including one instance where he barricaded himself in a bathroom. In December, Watts fled the home with a knife in his hand, and officers chased him before subduing him with a taser. In fact, police have been called to the home 12 times, according to police.
That’s why the buy's uncle Wayne Watts cannot understand why officers would kill him when they knew his medical condition.
"If the policemen had never been out to the house, I can understand that because they don't know the situation," he explained. "It seems to me they would have known how to deal with the child because they knew him. It's just too much. He's gone (and) they knew he was sick."
Gilmore acknowledged that all 84 of his police officers were trained last year on how to deal with people with autism disorders.
The NAACP plans to organize marches and boycotts if necessary until justice is served.
"We will not let this rest until the truth of this matter is done," said David Lowery, a spokesman for the south suburban chapter of the NAACP.
Longtime black residents said the killing only remains them that there are some whites who still think they can get away with anything including murder.
"I have lived in Calumet City for 68 years and I remember when this village was majority white," recalled Marcus Taylor, 89. "Now black folks have taken over and that's good because it shows progress on our part. But for every step that blacks gain there are white folks who want to push us two steps back, and will do whatever it takes to do so.
And Leslie Moons, 85, said Wenesday marked the beginning of Black History Month but instead of reflecting on the achievements made by blacks, "those of us living in Calumet City are being reminded that at the end of the day we are still disposable negroes!"
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