CCBA Statement on the Killing of Joshua Beal
On Saturday November 5, while returning from the funeral of a murdered relative, 25-year-old Joshua Beal was shot and killed by two Chicago police officers in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood. Both police officers were off-duty, and officials largely dispute civilian eyewitness accounts of the incident. His brother, Michael Beal, was charged with assaulting and trying to disarm a police officer and for allegedly attacking the officer who fatally shot his brother. Michael was held in Chicago police custody until Tuesday, November 8, when Cook County Judge Donald D. Panarese Jr.—without statement—set his bond at half-million dollars.
Although various video clips portraying events immediately preceding and following the fatal encounter that were shot by eyewitnesses have been circulated on the internet and by news media, the City has not released any video from a firehouse located across the street that likely captured the incident. Some accounts state the incident began because an off-duty firefighter was upset that traffic from the funeral was blocking the fire lane in front of the station. Additionally, despite initial reports that there were only two Chicago police officers involved in the incident, prosecutors in Michael Beal’s case have revealed that there were, in fact, four off-duty officers involved.
As tragic as the death of Joshua Beal is, what followed is just as sad a reflection of the state of race relations as is his death. Sunday, peaceful demonstrators returned to the site of Beal’s death to call for police accountability. The fewer than 20 people assembled near the site of the shooting to ask for justice in Beal’s death were met by hundreds of protesters claiming to support the police, many carrying “Blue Lives Matter” flags. The Beal supporters “faced racial slurs and repeated requests to leave the neighborhood, and police had to intervene a few times,” DNAInfo Chicago reports. Both groups planned protests at the same Mount Greenwood intersection on Election Day. The Facebook page dedicated to “Blue Lives Matter” called for “the citizens of Chicago to take a stand” against Black Lives Matter. On that Facebook page is written: “We have continued to watch these activists take control of our streets, block traffic, and disrupt peaceful community gatherings. No longer shall we sit by idly and watch this hate group continue their reign of anarchy on our streets of Chicago.”
When those asking for no more than the dignity every person should enjoy and which is guaranteed them by law are called a hate group, it is apparent that many still view minorities as a threat. Though there may be no way to overcome their perceptions, it is incumbent upon the systems of government not to allow those attitudes to affect a citizen’s access to justice.
The lack of transparency by City officials about even the most basic facts, such as who was present and involved in the death of Joshua Beal, rightly raises concerns by citizens of Chicago who still recall a similar campaign of misinformation in the aftermath of the murder of Rekia Boyd. The obvious racial tensions at the heart of this case only further underscore the need for an independent investigation and prosecution. We, the people, deserve no less.
