John Derrick was an army veteran who had been wounded in Korea and released from active duty in December of 950. Due to his injury, he had been rewarded with a large settlement and decided to go to a bar with some of his friends. Derrick decided to buy his friends some alcoholic beverages while not partaking in the alcohol himself. On the way home from the bar, Derrick and his friends were stopped by two patrolmen. The patrolmen asked Derrick and his friends to raise their hands in the air. Without hesitation, the two patrolmen opened fire on Derrick and his friends. Derrick, unfortunately, took a bullet to the heart and ultimately passed away. According to Taylor, Stunned by the shooting Milline asked, Why? Why did they do it? Ive never seen anything like it in my life. (205). Police later claimed they believed Derrick has a gun on him but that was never proven to be true. The New York district attorney ruled that the patrolmen were within their rights and no charges came from this act of violence. The findings of this greatly upset the Harlem community and began a major protest movement, one of the first that gained the support of famous figures at the time. A rally, scheduled for January 5th, 95, was formed by the New York Amsterdam News. According to Taylor, New York Senator Ja
cob Javits, Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., labor leader A. Phillip Randolph, baseball great Jackie Robinson, and boxing sensation Sugar Ray Robinson agreed to attend the event (205). This was one of the first movements against police brutality that featured prominent social figures the common man would recognize.
Jessie Roberts reported that his car had been stolen at his local police precinct on November 7th, 963. Roberts had told the precinct that he suspected Richard Warme had stolen his car but had no interest in pressing charges against the teenager. Roberts simply wanted his car to be returned. Roberts waited for an extended period with no update, so he decided to return to his automobile repair shop. Upon return, Roberts found three police detectives inside the auto repair shop. These detectives claimed to find a large bag of marijuana that Roberts had never seen before. The detectives refused to believe this and physically assaulted him before arresting him. When returning to the precinct, Roberts was interrogated about gun possession and other things which were not truthful. Policemen then stage a fake crucifixion with Roberts inside the detention pen. Roberts continued to be physically assaulted while in this position sustaining several broken ribs and other injuries.