Communities United Against Police Brutality Darryl Robinson passed away. He will be missed.

For many years Darryl Robinson has been a huge inspiration & role model against state violence & police abuse in the Twin Cities.

Thank you & love to our friends at Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB):
"Darryl M. Robinson, Presente!
It is with very deep sadness that we announce the sudden passing of longtime friend and CUAPB vice-president Darryl Robinson. His passing leaves a giant hole in our organization and in the community and we are truly devastated. Darryl has been solely responsible for the safety of many people along Lake Street and at the homeless shelters downtown through daily copwatch.

He has taught literally thousands of people how to advocate safely and effectively for themselves through know your rights training. Darryl represented CUAPB at conferences and events around the country and will be remembered by legions of friends and colleagues. He spent his last days being what he called himself--a freedom fighter: speaking out at the Crystal city council meeting, talking with UofM students with Students United Against Police Brutality and copwatching on Lake Street the night he died.

We are making plans for a memorial event and copwatch to remember Darryl as he lived. We will announce the plans as soon as they are solidified. Darryl M. Robinson, presente!" ..hong

“There are three things we do that are our mission,” explains CUAPB Vice President Darryl Robinson. “Firstly, we advocate for the effects—physical, mental and verbal—that police brutality has on people and help them through the crisis. Secondly, we educate people to know their rights and teach them how to conduct cop watches in order to monitor police behavior. Lastly, we seek political change by going after bad legislation and bad policies.”

In Minnesota, a law has been in place since 2009 that criminalizes the act of lying about police brutality—or failing to provide sufficient evidence to prove police brutality occurred. Three people have already been persecuted using the law, two successfully. A similar law in California has been deemed unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court, and CUAPB is currently working to bring the law to the scrutiny of the federal circuit.

Darryl joined the organization after being severely beaten by the police in 2001. He brought his case to court in a federal class action lawsuit as the lead plaintiff and won in 2006, a case that also led to the installment of cameras in all police cars. But the road ahead is long—victories in legal battles remain rare because of the fundamental structure of the law enforcement system. Police officers are rarely ever charged with use of excessive force, and if in some egregious cases with plentiful evidence they are indeed found culpable, the disciplinary response they face is minimal. A Brooklyn Park officer who faced over thirty complaints after making the news for violently beating a surrendering man was found guilty on eight of the complaints by his department. His punishment: five days of unpaid suspension. “We have the same problem with the same police and some of these police have 10-40 complaints against them,” says Darryl. “It’s the same officers over and over, and these guys go from being regular police to sergeants and lieutenants. They get promoted for bad behavior.”

http://www.cuapb.org/what-we-believe