Pittsburgh, PA: Justice for Mark Daniels

This report on a recent police shooting comes from the Filler Collective, and includes information about a support event happening this Saturday.

Early Sunday morning, February 11th, Mark Daniels, a black man of the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, was killed by police. This is the same city that had to be taken over by the U.S. Justice Department to stem a pattern of civil rights abuses; the same city that paralyzed Leon Ford, that killed Bruce Kelley Jr. The same police department that is facing its second corruption investigation in five years.

The police started stalking Mark after he left a convenience store—why, exactly, the police have yet to say. Then, somebody shot a gun, police allege it was Mark shooting at them, while multiple witnesses in the neighborhood say it was unrelated fire away from the police. Regardless, the police shot Mark in the shoulder and he ran, likely fearing for his life. Mark arrived at the backdoor of a nearby house asking for a glass of water. Police followed him to the backdoor, threw him to the ground, and took him away. A half hour later he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

How could this happen? Mark was shot in the shoulder, a serious, but often survivable injury. After running down the block to ask for water, the woman who answered described him as alert and lucid. As the police were dragging Mark away, multiple witnesses say they saw officers beating him relentlessly. Officers contend that they were preforming CPR, but somehow no one seems to have seen this.

No gun was found at the scene, but after two days of putting the neighborhood on lock down and searching it with dogs, police did eventually turn up a .40 caliber hand gun. However, the coroner reports that there was no gun powder residue on Marks hands at the time of his death. And it’s unclear what caliber of gun was fired that night. So what does the discovered gun have to do with Mark?

As of this writing, Mark’s mother has yet to be allowed to view his body.

Mark was a father, a grandfather, a son, a brother, and a friend to many. His absence has left a hole in his community. His family has requested that as many people as possible attend a police accountability meeting to hold the police’s feet to the fire and raise questions.

Update: Benefit Event This Saturday!