Philadelphia rallies for victim of police murder Robert Jones after 7 months of ‘investigation’

Philadelphia, PA – On May 3, around 40 community members and activists came together to commemorate the half year anniversary of Robert Jones’ killing by Detective Christopher Sweeney. The rally took place at the south side of City Hall in the afternoon.

The rally was part of a National Day of Action, meant to put even more pressure on the Philadelphia Police Department and to propel the mission for greater accountability for police crimes. Seven months have passed, and no progress has been made to bring officer Christopher Sweeney to justice, despite numerous calls to do so from Robert Jones’ family and the Philadelphia Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (PAARPR). Philadelphia Police Chief Robert Bethel was publicly confronted about the case.

Speakers for the first portion of the rally included PAARPR Chair Musa Bey and Robert Jones’ Aunt Marcia, who spoke on the need to keep the memory of Robert Jones alive. As the day wore on, the crowd became bigger and bigger as more and more people were drawn to the message of justice.

Among the attendees were representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine, who identified with a shared desire to fight back against police repression, as they are currently being arrested and threatened for protesting the genocide in Gaza at Swarthmore University.

After the first round of speakers, the march began. One of the stops of the march was the district attorney’s office, where Amber Khan, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, delivered a compelling and direct message to DA Larry Krasner to live up to his promises to be tougher on police brutality.

Fired up by the speech, the crowd marched through Center City along Broad Street, chanting “Christopher Sweeney, lock him up” and “When killer cops are on patrol, what do we need? Community control.”

The crowd then arrived at the police headquarters where they held more speeches. A member of Democratic Socialists of America drew a connection between Robert Jones murder and the decades-long genocide and oppression of the Palestinian people.

As the march drew to a close, the attendees pledged to carry on the fight for Robert Jones, taking his Aunt Marcia’s words to heart, “Please keep fighting, not just for my nephew, though that’s the heaviest, but for everyone affected by officer-involved shootings.”

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