-By Jordan Freshour

A Cop Blocker in Kettering warns drivers of an OVI checkpoint

“Southwestern Ohio is the center for civil disobedience activism in the world right now.” – Mark Edge, Free Talk Live, April 1st, 2015.

Wait, what? Not New Hampshire with the Free State Project? Not in the Middle East, where protests and civil war are still erupting years after the Arab Spring? Not in DC, a Mecca for civil demonstrations and home to hundreds of national and global non-profit headquarters? Not in places like Los Angeles or Texas, where a new era of technological innovation is bursting forth?

While it’s difficult to accurately compare the efficacy of various methods used by groups to promote social change, Mark Edge did not speak out of context in lauding this specific region of the United States. In the radio segment mentioned above, he was interviewing Virgil Văduva about his own acts of civil disobedience. In particular, Văduva’s intentional violation of an anti-panhandling ordinance in the nearby city of Xenia. When asked if he agreed with Mark’s assessment, he said:

“I do agree. I have friends who live in California who complain that they are the lone activist in their large town and are unable to grow the liberty community. In essence they are alone in the middle of a crowd. I’m not sure what is causing this phenomenon here in SW Ohio, but I remember just a few years ago being the only Cop Blocker within 100 mile radius. Since then the number of activists and libertarians has exploded. While I would love to take credit for some of the growth, the reality is that there have been quite a few events in the area that served as catalysts for the message of freedom. Ohio Open Carry, the shooting of John Crawford and Tamir Rice have been huge factors in bringing new activists on board, and the recent shooting at the University of Cincinnati was another reminder of a growing police brutality problem. The police alone are responsible for the growth in the numbers of local activists. In essence they are the largest creators responsible for building our community.”

Văduva isn’t the only Ohio activist who believes the police have directly contributed to the local growth in activism. Micah David of Yellow Springs, Ohio – writer, editor, and designer for Counter Current News – shares similar thoughts:

“Yes, I think Ohio is ground zero in terms of police abuse, brutality and racism. A lot of times people will assume coastal cities, or a large midwestern city like Chicago would be the focal point of such police abuses. But Ohio has a unique history with regards to racism and injustice, as law enforcement and government reacted in very deliberate ways to the influx of freed-men and women who came across the Kentucky border. As such, many so-called minority communities know Ohio to be little more than an extension of the south, with some of the most segregated communities in the nation. On top of that, the middle-American nature of Ohio suburbs has lent to a particular flavor of Ohio activism, and reaction by law enforcement and the government, even going back to the Kent State Massacre during the Vietnam War.

So in a sense, activists come after the situation that is created sociologically in Ohio – they are borne from it. And at the same time, the law enforcement response to activism in Ohio is borne out of the sociological “Northern South” vibe that is Ohio. It is that vibe, or climate that leads to incidences such as the shooting of John Crawford, Tamir Rice and Sam Dubose, or even earlier, Timothy Thomas.”

To get closer to the target of racial police abuse, I spoke with Talis Gage (also from Yellow Springs), an activist and organizer with Black Lives Matter Miami Valley and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. He said everything “jumped off” after the murder of John Crawford III in Beavercreek, Ohio. Talis echoed Micah’s assessment when answering if police targeting has been a catalyst for uniting the black community:

“In Yellow Springs it definitely has, because there really isn’t a black community here. So we are now all working together collectively in different ways – on the radio, on HRC [Human Relations Commission], and I was running for village council. I would say [the shooting] made different organizations more active and much more aggressive in the black communities. The Ohio Student Association was very active in getting the Beavercreek police to release the tapes from the Wal-Mart shooting. They were also outside of the Beavercreek police station for days protesting. We tag teamed with them to shut down Wal-Mart, and then the Beavercreek Mall.”

Outcry over the murder of Crawford isn’t the only response from leaders in the nearby black community. Talis went on to explain how BLM Miami Valley has quickly become a group which works with others to feed the poor and homeless, provide clothes to those in need, clean up the neighborhood, educate their neighbors, and host potlucks for the public.  “Everyone is doing all they can within their organization to wake up the black community to stand strong as the Kings and Queens they originally were,” said Talis.

“Waking up” individuals to the reality of the classist warfare waged by the government is a major challenge for activists of all stripes. Constant mobile connectivity to one another has been the single greatest tool for the nonconformist in infiltrating the minds of others with new ideas. Heather Lucas – an Awakened Cincinnatian, and council member for Unite Ohio – has worked with more than a dozen Ohio groups, linking them to each other. The Militia, Ohio Patriot Bikers, libertarian chapters, Pin Ups for Patriots, NORML, 3% Militia, and Columbus Anonymous are but a few allies. She credited social media for the success of networking and growth among like-minded people, saying:

“Activism in my opinion has become much easier for everyone due to social media. I think for one the instant access to stories, info, and causes have caused “normal” people to have to look at things they wouldn’t have normally. So they join a group, or start their own.”

Having instant access to information is vital to spreading the word about events and ideas, but social giants such as Facebook are only one element in the Buckeye dissenter’s tool kit. The effectiveness of Heather’s endeavors to unite various Ohio efforts increases with the availability of new technology designed to facilitate counter culture. Apps such as Bambuser, Wickr, and Cell 411 can be found on the smartphones of revolutionaries statewide, the latter having been developed by Văduva specifically for the use of activism. Virgil (a cryptology professional) believes advances of this kind are precisely the silver bullet for government tyranny:

“As a crypto-anarchist, it’s evident to me that technology is making the ideas of liberty virtually impregnable to government tyrants, and that’s an empowering realization. This is why I am focusing on building even more tools to empower people to subvert the state, whether it’s through adopting currencies like Bitcoin, embracing free markets, or subverting State surveillance. We are barely toddlers in this world and we are just now learning how to use technology to be truly free.”

It should be noted these kinds of technology are available across the world, but southwest Ohio has a unique environment. It is a place where innovators are focusing their implements on freedom, and the principles of the people living there are predisposed to take advantage of inventions which empower the individual. Where similar movements in other areas fragment due to infighting between egos, those in Ohio have learned how to use ego to their advantage. Justin King, journalist, and editor for The Fifth Column opines:

“Ohio’s activists seem to have adopted an informal cellular structure. There are hundreds of small groups that are self contained. Each of these groups does a great job of making the other groups aware of their actions. This means everybody supports each other. The small group sizes allow more people to have egos. If there is one large group there are only so many top positions. People of influence end up arguing. Small groups allow people of influence to abstain from an event they don’t agree with without destroying the overall movement. It cuts down on infighting because the “cells” are free to do as they choose. Nobody is jockeying for position.”

Justin has a fitting resume for a gonzo journalist, having been a military contractor, bodyguard, a “smuggler,” a federal inmate, and so on. He offers a unique set of skills for other activists. “I’ve been waterboarded, I’ve conducted counter-surveillance for activists, I’ve investigated dirty politicians for groups, and basically anything that requires a bit of playing dirty. I [..] bring tactical experience to the movement.” Justin knows to maximize his own impact, strategically aligning with specific people and events is important. “…it boils down to choosing your battles carefully,” he said. “Let’s say somebody is done wrong by a police department, but they have a massive criminal record. Ideologically it’s still an offense, tactically don’t waste the resources on a person that isn’t relatable to the rest of America.”

That last statement might be controversial in other circles of activism. But it’s not in Ohio. When activists there see a cause they like, they support it. When activists disagree about a cause, they don’t support it. And when activists think there is a better way of doing something, instead of criticizing others, they form the solutions themselves. Such is the story of Awakened Cincinnatians. Richard Brewster, an AC member, touched on this when I inquired to how the group had formed:

“Actually I started it. I loved the idea of Anonymous: How everyone can be one. I went to a few Occupy Cincinnati events and saw how they couldn’t get along – the left stayed to the left, the right stayed to the right. There was really nothing for us Awakened People, who don’t fall for the left/right nonsense. After arguing and being kicked out of the local Occupy [Cincinnati], and all the Patriot groups, I decided we needed our own. I made the group on Facebook. […] Once numbers were decent we [began holding meetings]. Ever since we have kept the ball rolling picking up new people with every event we do.”

Events arranged and promoted by the Awakened Cincinnatians have taken the Queen City by storm, attracting mainstream media attention, and the support of the most widely-known organization to focus on police accountability: Cop Block. At a recent September 19th protest – organized by AC to call attention to the murder of Sam DuBose – several Cop Block journalists were in attendance, including Ademo Freeman, CB’s co-founder. As one of the most influential anarcho-activists in the country, I was curious to his take on the Ohio brand of activism. When asked what surprised him the most from his time spent there, Ademo articulated the volume of hard-working individuals:

“Whether it be CopBlocking a checkpoint, running websites, creating videos or smartphone apps, someone in Ohio is doing it. I would say that they’ve all energized, inspired and provided hope to me in some form. From their energy, tactics and the diversity of such, it has been most beneficial to myself – and hopefully to those who view our/their work/efforts.”

Freeman is no stranger to the work being done in Ohio. Upon leaving New Hampshire a year ago to spread the message of police accountability nationwide, he made a temporary base in Cleveland in preparation for the rest of his journey. “I’ve been lucky enough to work with and meet many, some I knew before arriving – like Valerie and DEO; while others like Virgil, Micah and some of the CB offshoots (Dayton CB, Greater Cleveland folks and so on) I’ve gotten to know while CopBlocking,” he said. During his time visiting the state, new chapters were formed in Dayton and Beavercreek. Other chapters, such as Ohio Valley, Columbus, and Zanesville were strengthened by his collaboration with Columbus activist, Valerie Petrichor, whom with I also spoke.

Valerie has been involved with Cop Block since it’s inception, forming multiple chapters in and near her suburban Columbus home. Working for police accountability before Cop Block had evened formed, her efforts are reflected (in part) by a hometown which suffers far less police misconduct than cities of comparable size. I asked her a similar question as I did the others, “Is there anything you believe makes Ohioans more receptive to the message of freedom?”

“Individual thought. People who think on any level other than unique individual thought will typically not understand the need for freedom or accountability. The exception being those who believe they are part of some “movement”. Finding like-minded individuals who want to work toward shared goals is great – necessary, even. However, believing in a “movement” is just a way to continue groupthink passively and avoid truly unique thought. In Ohio we have what is probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest, [group of] activists in the US.”

Being one of the few women planted in the trenches of the fight against police brutality, I wondered if Valerie thought her femininity was a trait she considered a strength. Oddly enough, she didn’t. “It’s just a circumstance,” She said, playing down the question. “If anything, it makes what I do easier than it would be for a man. People tend to respect me and my gender is probably part of the reason. I think being female causes me to be perceived as less of a threat.” 

Though it may be true the police underestimate the strength of a principled woman, fellow Ohio activists do not. Individuals such as Heather and Valerie are not only freedom fighters in the public arena, but also in the home raising the next generation of world-changers. In wrapping up my case for Ohio being ground zero for activists, I wished to unearth that lesser-seen side of activism. Knowing where to look, I asked Jamie Văduva (married to Virgil), if she would round out my story. She obliged.

Jamie is a member of Libertarians of Southwest Ohio, artist, caretaker of her family’s farm, mother of four, and a homeschooler. Though not as visible as other activists, her efforts to promote freedom are the most selfless of type. As principled and hard-working as any liberty-minded person, she labors to raise her children as lovers of freedom and humanity, while spreading a message of love and kindness to those around. She offered the story of Christopher McCandless as one inspiring tale which shaped her values as teacher, Mom, and wife:

“I just started reading books about survival and people living simpler lives: Christopher McCandless, Henry David Thoreau, Everett Ruess and many others. Extreme stories that challenged my thinking. We gave away most of our furniture, and sold our new cars and 5-year-old house to get an old house in the country. All because God and family were what mattered. Not things, not money and mortgages, but our time together. And to be able to experience having animals and grow food, have bees, et cetera – that lifestyle goes with living a liberty or Voluntaryist life very much.”

Referencing Thoreau’s message of simplicity, only what’s truly important matters in her home. She proudly sees herself as an activist for “the little things in every day life.”  She added, “[Our kids] get to see first hand voluntary interactions between friends and acquaintances. Helping others and they help us…we have each other’s backs or do things to help because we care. Each person has something different to offer.”

Activists are stereotyped in many ways, often in a cold manner. However, those in southwest Ohio come off as the most devoted  – and caring – humans I have encountered. This may be the secret to the robust and diverse community of liberty-lovers in the Buckeye State. In closing, Jamie speaks directly to what I believe is the essence of these people:

 “I can only be myself which is someone who is drawn toward the positive. I don’t pretend everything is perfect. But my place here is to keep reminding everyone to have good hearts, and to try to bring out the softer side in people. To make them smile, and see it’s all about being free and happy with the people you love and care about. Live…just be yourself and do the things you love. Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. And remember to be a nice person. Sometimes something as simple as a smile can change someone’s world and you don’t even realize it.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

-By Jordan Freshour

A Cincinnati police officer singles me out of the crowd for photographing illegal arrests.

Saturday, September 19th, 2015 I was arrested for photographing the police in Cincinnati, Ohio. This was my first arrest and I want to talk about it.

I have gradually become involved with the police accountability movement over the last year. I’ve had the good fortune of meeting the most influential and hard-working gonzo journalists and activists in the Midwest, and with them I have found a safe place to fight for the rights of my friends and neighbors here in southwest Ohio, my home. It is my friendships with these people which allowed for the viral outbreak of support after being locked in a cage.

That being said, I was immersed in a new experience regarding the police state in America. Foremost, the risk of losing your own freedom because of principles is real. I was doing nothing more than photographing the arrest of Talis Gage when my hands were grabbed and tightly zip tied behind my back. I tossed my camera to the curb and went peacefully, for there is no reasoning with psychopaths. This video of my arrest was shot by Benjamin Virnston, who was also arrested for documenting the event:

After being kidnapped for 7+ hours, I was released due to the good will of Micah ben David posting bond. I was searched three times, fingerprinted twice, my belongings were taken, and I was given an armband – all normal procedure, but a dehumanizing one which treat citizens like cattle. Once processed, an officer herded me to the top floor of the Reading Road Corrections Center and into an isolated cell, completely alone and without explanation for the next three hours. Frankly, it was anxiety-inducing not knowing if my bail was posted or when I would be released. I did push-ups and read the names of past prisoners scratched into the drab, semigloss-painted cinder block walls to pass the time.

Many have had a night in jail, and sadly many have experienced far worse treatment from police. A fortunate man I would be to escape the brunt of cop violence for the rest of my life. Thousands are not able to say that. There is no comparison between me and them, and I do not think my story to be more important than another’s, however such a thing does not make the behavior of Cincinnati’s Lamest any less condemnable.

Micah and his son, Elijah patiently waiting for the release of myself, Talis Gage, and Benjamin Virnston

I am a highly social person, as many are. In those few hours of isolation, I understood the purpose of incarceration in a new way. Being in jail is not a punishment – banishment from the world is. I realized jail is not a place where bad people go to be rehabilitated, or to serve “their time”, but rather a coward’s device used to silence opposition. Any individual who thinks it is acceptable to isolate another person from all outside interaction – even for a short while – is not human him/herself, and shouldn’t be given the dignity of being recognized as such. Police are sub-mortal creatures mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to perform these duties without apprehension of conscience.

As a mobile person who (to the surprise of some) has a professional life as well, it can be difficult to explain the nature of police brutality to associates and family who have never given it critical thought. Often I leverage my good nature and lighthearted attitude as an example for others as to what the solution for government subjugation entails. All hatred and violence is disarmed by loving your neighbor – by nourishing the traits of peace, forgiveness, hope, and a short memory. Outside of these qualities, there is and will never be a solution to police – or any kind of – brutality.

I don’t know exactly how embracing abstract ideas translate into a better world. But I do know these are the guiding principles for myself and most of humanity. Every person deserves dignity, but that dignity is forsaken the moment initiated violence becomes acceptable. For government officials, understanding this as a reality is paramount.

In closing, if CPD or any government official of Cincinnati is reading this, I implore you to give up the ghost of authoritarianism. It does not work, and if you continue to behave in a manner such as at the March for Justice, you will and should have riots to deal with. Do not mistake the message of peace and love for pacifism. If you continue down this path, your own will die, your temples will burn, and your ruling elite will be thrown into the impoverished streets which you have created. This is not a call to violence, but merely the lesson which history teaches us is the eventual outcome of iron-fisted rule. We are all waiting on justice for the wanton violence of your law enforcement officers, the arrogance of the Fraternal Order of Police, and the careless training of those who wield power.

Wake up.

A group of activists based in Cincinnati will lead a march for justice at the University of Cincinnati with family members of local people who were killed by police.

The families of Samuel DuBose, Samantha Ramsey, Tamir Rice, and John Crawford III will unite for the first time for the “United March for Justice” on Saturday.

“Stand for justice by marching arm in arm with the families of Samuel DuBose, Samantha Ramsey, Tamir Rice and John Crawford III,” Awakened Cincinnatians stated in a release. “Families and friends of the fallen will be traveling from all over the country to participate in this historic event.”

Awakened Cincinnatians, a local group of activists, organized the peaceful march. It will begin at 6 p.m. in front of the UC Police Department at 51 W. Corry St.

Family members of those killed by police are expected to address the crowd before the march begins. At 8 p.m. participants will march to where Samuel DuBose was shot and killed at Rice and Valencia streets.

Unknown individuals please a “F*ck the Police” sticker on a University of Cincinnati Police Call Box

When University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing was charged with murder for the death of 43-year-old Samuel Dubose in late July, the public began to question whether campus police should be armed.

Tensing, who has been dismissed from his position as police officer, shot Dubose while he was driving near a traffic stop over a dispute about his license plate. According to the video taken by Tensing’s body camera, Dubose was unarmed and did not engage in any aggressive behavior.

According to a statement by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, IACP, Joe Deters, Hamilton County Prosecutor, said during a press conference regarding Dubose that university police officers should not be armed and should not be in the “policing business,” but rather let city police officers handle necessary situations.

However, the IACP stated it “strongly disagrees with these ill-informed comments” because campus police officers are trained for the sole purpose of protecting their campus community.

Jeffrey Christensen, chief of police at the University of Illinois Police Department, said he agrees with the IACP; the University police department has 65 sworn-in, armed officers who are equipped with pepper spray, tasers, batons and for deadly situations, firearms.

“It’s a necessity with the job,” Christensen said. “If we’re charged to protect the community, the reality is that in doing that duty, many times there is the potential for individuals to have weapons.”

Because there is always the chance individuals on campus may be carrying weapons, he said, it is the responsibility of trained and certified officials to make sure these individuals do not pose a threat to the students, faculty and staff at the University.

Christensen said he understands why there would be misgivings about the idea of campus police carrying weapons, considering there are so many students in the area. However, he said this is exactly why it is necessary for campus police to be armed.

“Our officers’ job — their passion — is to protect our students and they serve beyond the students, they serve the Champaign-Urbana community,” he said.

This “necessary evil,” as Christensen calls it, is a part of the operating system in a large number of university police departments in the country. According to the latest report concerning campus law enforcement by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 2011 to 2012, 75 percent of four-year public institutions used armed officers.

The 2011 to 2012 report also stated 95 percent of four-year public institutions with 2,500 or more students were equipped with a campus police department. In addition to armed officers, 96 percent of university police officers are allowed to use some sort of non lethal weapon, such as chemical or pepper spray.

These police officers, the report states, have a huge responsibility in just maintaining security for the universities. Patrick Connolly, chief of the Urbana Police Department, said he believes the first priority for police officers anywhere is safety, and University police officers are trained with special skills to ensure the security and protection of students.

“I can tell you the University of Illinois Police Department is an incredibly professionally, well trained organization,” Connolly said. “I think the current environment, with respect to the active shooter events, is something that would have to be considered if they ever decided to say that the University police weren’t able to be armed because those officers would be the first responders to address that issue.”

He also said the Urbana police department heavily relies on the University police department for duties such as patrolling the west side of the city and being available when the Urbana police officers are unable to handle certain situations.

Due to their important collaboration, Connolly said, it becomes necessary for the University to carry weapons.

Even though being armed can be dangerous, it all comes down to having proper training, said Urbana City Council Alderman Charlie Smyth, Ward 1.

Smyth is a former employee and graduate student of the University, and both of his sons also graduated from the University. As a parent, Smyth said he finds the University to be a safe environment, and he knows the police officers coordinate and work with the Urbana and Champaign police departments to guarantee that security.

Smyth said he doesn’t need anything more than properly trained police officers.

“They are a police department just like any other police department. So what it means is, it comes down to proper training,” Smyth said. “Proper training on the use of your weapons, proper training on handling the crisis intervention aspect of policing, the daily interactions, the training the police have for just interacting with people, I think those are all things that are very important.”

Christensen said campus police carrying weapons is a sad but necessary reality. He said when he first started working in the 1980s, it was less likely to that citizens would carry a weapon with deadly intentions, but today it happens more frequently.

“It’s a necessary evil because of societal issues,” Christensen said. “And because of where we are and where we’ve been that police officers in this country have to be armed.”

In the wake of Baltimore’s “purge” (as April’s protests came to be known), two competing theories emerged about what effect the controversy has had on policing in America. We’ve outlined the two theories on a number of occasions, but for those unfamiliar, here’s a recap:

One theory — dubbed the “Ferguson Effect” — claims police are now reluctant to engage in “discretionary enforcement” for fear of prosecution. “Discretionary enforcement” of course refers to the use of lethal force in the line of duty and the implication seems to be that in light of recent events, law enforcement officers are afraid that their actions will be scrutinized by the public. In extreme cases, such scrutiny could culminate in social unrest, something no one individual wishes to be blamed for.

Casting doubt on the so-called Ferguson Effect is a report from The Washington Post which shows that US police are shooting and killing “suspects” at twice the rate seen in the past. More specifically, 385 people have been killed by police in 2015 alone. Unsurprisingly, minority groups are overrepresented in cases involving the fatal shooting of unarmed suspects.

Despite a notable spike in violence across Baltimore in the months since the riots and the persistence of violent crime in Chicago, the number of people killed by police across the country posted M/M declines in April, May, and June. In July, the trend was broken. Here’s The Guardian with more:

July was the deadliest month of 2015 so far for killings by police after registering 118 fatalities, according to the Guardian’s ongoing investigation The Counted, which now projects that US law enforcement is on course to kill more than 1,150 people this year.

The July figure brought an end to a steady decline in totals over the previous four months. After 113 people were killed in March, 101 died in April, 87 fatalities were recorded in May and 78 in June.

At least 20 people killed in July – more than one in six – were unarmed, including Samuel DuBose, who was shot by University of Cincinnati officer Ray Tensing in a 19 July traffic stop that has become the latest flashpoint in protests over the police’s use of deadly force.

Of the 118 people, 106 died from gunfire, making July also the first month of 2015 in which that number has exceeded 100. Two people died after officers shocked them with Tasers, two died being struck by police vehicles, and eight died after altercations in police custody.

Tensing had claimed DuBose dragged him with his car, but footage recorded by Tensing’s body camera refuted his account. The officer was charged with murder on Wednesday, when at a press conference the Cincinnati prosecutor Joe Deters called the shooting “senseless” and said Tensing “should never have been a police officer”.

Tensing, who turned himself in on Wednesday, was arraigned on Thursday and has been released on bail. On Friday it was announced by Deters’s office that two officers who appeared to reinforce Tensing’s false account will not be charged with any crimes.

For those who haven’t seen the body cam footage referenced above, here is the incident:

As a reminder, The Guardian’s effort stems from what it says is a generalized failure on the part of the US government to keep a “comprehensive record of the number of people killed by law enforcement” which it says is a “prerequisite for an informed public discussion about the use of force by police.”

Again, we’ll leave it to readers to determine what it says about police accountability in America when other countries feel compelled to put a face and a name to hundreds of people whose deaths, if left in the hands of the US government, might have gone unnoticed or worse, undocumented.

This article featured originally on Zero Hedge

Left: Police Officer Ray Tensing; Right: murder victim Sam Dubose (h/t Rigel Robinson)

By Ian Reifowitz

The murder of Sam Dubose by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing was truly horrible. The video captured by Tensing’s body-cam shows what began as a routine traffic stop. At first, the officer asks to see Dubose’s license, and ends up having to ask a number of times. Then, a series of events unfolds rapidly over just a few seconds. We see Tensing tell Dubose to take off his seat belt. Next, the officer grasps the handle to open the door on the driver’s side. Dubose subsequently puts one hand over the door—where the window had been rolled down—and pulls in an attempt to hold it shut, while starting his car. The video then shows Tensing reach into the car with one hand, twice call out “stop”—during which time Dubose revs the engine—and then, inexplicably, the officer pulls out his weapon and delivers one shot, fatal, to the head, as the car accelerates forward and ultimately rolls to a stop not far away.

Joseph T. Deters is the district attorney of Hamilton County, the person who secured an indictment of murder in this case. Deters has ensured that, this time at least, there will be a trial after the death of an unarmed, non-threatening black man at the hands of a cop. Here’s what Deters said about the killing of Sam Dubose, below:

I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. This is the most asinine act I’ve ever seen a police officer make. Totally unwarranted. It’s an absolute tragedy in the year 2015 that anyone would behave in this manner. It was senseless.

Thankfully, the video-cam provides the evidence necessary to bring the murderer to justice. At the press conference announcing the indictment, Deters explained that without the video, the authorities would have believed Officer Tensing’s story as described in the incident report—namely that he had been dragged alongside the car, that his life had been in danger as he “was almost run over,” and it was for that reason he fired his weapon.

We’ll see how the trial goes, and whether any new evidence comes to light, but at least now the justice that Sam Dubose’s mother rightfully demanded at her son’s funeral stands a chance. As bad as this murder was, at this point I want to focus on what happened afterwards, specifically on the officers who were perfectly willing to lie on Tensing’s behalf, to support his false account, and thus to cover up a murder.

Make no mistake. This was a deliberate cover up. When it comes to Tensing, am I surprised that someone capable of murder was willing to lie about it? Of course not. I don’t mean to dismiss his lies, but they are the least of his crimes that day. Let’s focus on what two other officers, Phillip Kidd and Eric Weibel, said after arriving on the murder scene.

Officer Weibel drafted the aforementioned police report. In addition to Tensing’s own lies, both Kidd and Weibel also bore false witness. As Weibel wrote: “Officer Kidd told me that he witnessed the Honda Accord drag Officer Tensing, and that he witnessed Officer Tensing fire a single shot.” You saw the video. Tensing was not dragged. Phillip Kidd lied. Weibel continued: “Looking at Officer Tensing’s uniform, I could see that the back of his pants and shirt looked as if it had been dragged over a rough surface.” You saw the video. Tensing was not dragged. Eric Weibel also lied.

What’s going to happen to these two officers? The Dubose family sure wants to know, and pushed for answers on that front from District Attorney Deters, who stated that his office is “looking at the issue.” That’s good, for a start, but we need to keep the pressure on to make sure they do more than look.

Unless the investigation uncovers radically different information from what we already know, Officers Kidd and Weibel must be punished severely for what they did. Their lies didn’t kill Sam Dubose. But they would have allowed his killer to get away with it. While Ray Tensing committed murder in an instant, Phillip Kidd and Eric Weibel sought to murder the truth in a calculated fashion. They had time to craft their stories, to get them just right before presenting them to their superiors as the official version of events.

On the matter of police reform, officers should use the minimum amount of force necessary. We should aim to be a society where there are no unjustified killings or other acts of violence committed against civilians by officers. Certainly our peer countries demonstrate that we can do much, much better than we are. There are countless numerical comparisons to be made, but this one is as shocking as it is simple to digest.

Whether or not we achieve of the goal of perfection, we must also reform our police departments so that if any officer does act in an unjust way toward a civilian, every other officer will work to ensure justice rather than obstruct it. The fact that Ray Tensing had no trouble finding willing co-conspirators, accessories after the fact in a sense, speaks volumes about why it is so hard to make progress in the fight against police abuse.

That abuse, disproportionately experienced by African Americans, Latino Americans, and American Indians, is so dangerous because—in addition to the direct harm it causes its victims—it further corrodes the relationship between those communities and law enforcement. If we could get to a place where that relationship works properly, where people trust rather than fear the police and the criminal justice system, more lives could be saved in the very communities that suffer most from crime and violence.

Right now, one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of America getting to that place is the fact that too many people—mostly white, albeit not exclusively—don’t believe that this kind of police abuse is a real problem. When an officer uses force, and claims that it was justified, many people believe the officer every time, even when countered by statements from non-officers who say different.

I’m not suggesting that we should do the opposite, that we should never believe a police officer, or that we should always take the word of a civilian when their stories conflict. But the sheer number of cases where officers have lied about what they’ve done—lies we know about only because we have video evidence that was rarely available until very recently—makes clear that those who say we should always take the word of a cop over the person assumed to have done something illegal are either hopelessly naive, willfully blind, or simply too invested in their privilege to care.

Police officers aren’t the only people who lie about crimes. That’s not the point. The police are supposed to uphold the law. Criminals are supposed be the ones who break it. We should be able to tell the difference between them.