The Social Justice Club at Purdue Univ. Calumet (SJC) urges students and the community to come out Saturday to demand justice for Vincent Smith, Jr.

Vincent, a 16 year old boy, was fatally shot in the back of his head by Gary Police while he fled...UNARMED!

No charges at all have been filed against the officer involved, who was simply placed on leave, awaiting the Sheriff’s Department investigation.

THE COMMUNITY MUST BE VIGILANT!
After the shooting of yet another unarmed person, Gary Police and their friends at the so-called "independent" Sheriff's Department cannot be trusted to ensure justice in this case.

Do not allow Vincent's death to go unquestioned

DEMAND THE OFFICER BE CHARGED WITH MURDER

Join us this Saturday Feb 4 at 11:30a in Gary on 5th Ave & Monroe (between Jackson & Madison)

Meet SJC on campus in front of the bookstore in SUL building at 10:30am


If you have questions, comments, or further information that you would like to share, please contact the Social Justice Club of PUC at SJCPUC (at) hotmail.com

Please pass this info on to others in your community. Flyer and press release attached.


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The Community’s Cause for Concern

Naturally, the officer involved claims that he shot Vincent Smith "in fear of his life.” The officer claims to have mistakenly believed the youngster might be pulling a gun from his sweatshirt pocket as he ran away. However, as the victim's father pointed out, his son was shot in the BACK of the head, therefore, how could the officer's life have been in danger? Moreover, in such a precarious situation, why didn’t the officer try to shoot into a less fatal region of the body.

Keep in mind that the young victim did not have a gun (this is undisputed), and that he was not known as a criminal.

The officer has been charged with no crime, but simply placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by Lake County Sheriff's Department (of which Gary's police chief had the nerve to refer to as an "independent agency." )

Justice in this case should not be left in the hands of the Sheriff's Department. Their motives are already questionable: almost immediately after the incident, as the Sheriff Dept was only just beginning their "investigation", news articles reported the Sheriff’s Dept stating that the shooting appeared justified.

More than likely, the Sheriff’s Dept already have their minds made up, and they--just like their friends at the police department--are hoping to sweep under the rug yet another police shooting of an unarmed young man.

Therefore, the community must remain vigilant and demand justice-- that the officer be charged with murder.

What is a child's life worth?

Although running from the police may not be a good idea, unarmed children do not deserve to die as a consequence of doing such.