ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TYRONE WEST!

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SO YOU WILL KNOW, EACH WEEK, WHERE THE RALLY IS.
IT’S ALWAYS WEDNESDAY, BUT THE LOCATION CHANGES.
GET IN TOUCH: westwednesdayinfo@gmail.com WestCoalition.com
Tyrone West was a 44-year-old father, grandfather, brother, son, and talented artist. He liked to tell jokes,
worked hard, was passionate about fitness and healthy eating, deeply enjoyed holiday celebrations and,
above all, loved and cared for his family. On July 18, 2013 at approximately 7 PM, Tyrone was pulled from
his sister’s car, and beaten and stomped to death by police in Baltimore City. His family was not initially
contacted by the police. The family got confirmation of his death only when they saw it reported on the
news, saw his body on the gurney near his sister’s car that he had been driving, and saw witnesses saying
passionately that the police shouldn’t have beaten him like they did. To date, no one has been held
accountable for his death.

According to the police report, Tyrone was arrested for backing the car down the street and into an
intersection. It was reported that, when officers asked him to get out of the car, they noticed a bulge in
his sock, which they supposedly thought was drugs. Interestingly, in subsequent legal proceedings –
preparing for a civil trial – the “drugs” were never found. In fact, Tyrone was wearing no-show socks that
couldn’t be seen above the top of his shoes, so the “bulge-of-drugs” accusation was a total lie.

A struggle reportedly ensued, and officers tackled Tyrone, ramming him to the ground. According to
eyewitness accounts, he was beaten severely, with clubs and fists. He was tased, and pepper-sprayed
repeatedly, at close range. Already handcuffed and face-down on the ground, Tyrone breathed his last
breath while an obese officer sat on his back. Baltimore City Police Department Officers involved in this
violent murder include: Nicholas David Chapman, Jorge Omar Bernardez-Ruiz, Matthew Rea Cioffi, Alex
Ryan Hashgen, Eric Maurice Hinton, Danielle Angela Lewis, Derrick Dewayne Beasley, and Latreese
Nichole Lee. There was also Morgan State Officer, David Lewis.

Unsurprisingly, some of these officers are noted to have been involved in other incidents of racist
brutality during the weeks leading up to their killing of Tyrone. Bernardez-Ruiz harassed Darrel Harris
only one day before. Officers Chapman and Bernardez-Ruiz were both involved in the brutal beating of
Abdul Salaam on July 1st, approximately two weeks before they led the attack on Tyrone. Salaam later
won a civil suit against the police officers that injured him; in fact, the jury unanimously agreed that the
cops had used excessive force, and Mr. Salaam was awarded monetary compensation. At the time,
however – and still today – those cops have never been disciplined or charged with any crime!

News reports on the evening of Tyrone’s death didn’t identify him. However, Tyrone’s sister, Tawanda
Jones, knew he had a driver’s license, credit card, and registration for her car – all with him. When police
officials finally came to the family home to have a conversation, the next day, none of the family’s
questions were satisfactorily answered about his death. Instead, the family was asked about Tyrone’s
health, and whether he had any heart problems or could have been impacted by the heat that day.
Tyrone’s sister, Tawanda, offered to show the police the doctor’s report that Tyrone had gotten after a
recent physical – just 2 weeks before being beaten to death – showing Tyrone to be in excellent health.

The cops weren’t interested, and didn’t want to see it. The family got the message, loud and clear. There
was no intention to prosecute the officers involved. The medical examiner’s office did not release an
autopsy report for six months after Tyrone’s death, and there were originally no pictures released with
the report. Only at a later date did they include just a few pictures, that purposely didn’t show his
injuries from the police attack. The report claimed that Tyrone died of “Cardiac Arrhythmia due to
Cardiac Conduction System Abnormality, complicated by Dehydration during Police Restraint.”

This was just what the police seemed hoping to justify, earlier, when they interviewed the family. Later, in
an effort to get answers about what happened to Tyrone, the family paid to have his body exhumed. The
independent medical examiner’s report indicated that he died of positional asphyxia, not being able to
breathe due the position in which he was forcefully held – in other words, homicide.

Only days after Tyrone was killed, his sister got a call from his landlord, informing her that his apartment
had been broken into. When she went to the apartment to see what had happened, she noted that his
cabinets were all opened and his belongings were strewn all over the sidewalk in front of the building.
Neighbors were taking things, thinking they were free. As she was walking up the steps Ms. Jones looked
down and saw her brother’s driver’s license lying there, so she picked it up. Interestingly, the original
police report says that Tyrone West gave the police his license when they stopped him, yet later they
claimed he was a “John Doe” and that they didn’t have it. This begs the question, who was ransacking his
apartment, had possession of his license, left it there, and why?

The day after their meeting with police, and after a separate meeting with the State’s Attorney’s office,
Tyrone West’s family was out on the street, demanding answers. This was the beginning of West
Wednesday, a weekly protest against police brutality that has now lasted for over 5 years, still with no
accountability for Tyrone’s death, no honest investigation, and no charges against the officers. Tawanda
Jones, Tyrone’s younger sister, has stepped up, giving strong leadership and earning the respect of
Baltimore’s activist community.

In addition to the weekly West Wednesday rallies, her family sued Baltimore City over Tyrone’s death,
and was given a settlement prior to trial. Tawanda Jones and other family members – everyone except
Tyrone’s children, who deserved compensation for the permanent loss of their father’s income – refused
to be a party to the settlement. They turned their backs on a lot of money. This was because they didn’t
want to be prevented, by the settlement’s gag order, from speaking out about what happened to Tyrone,
and speaking out against the system that allows police brutality to continue.
There has still been no accountability – no indictments, and no prosecution of the killer cops – for Tyrone
West’s death. Those cops are still on the force! We demand accountability! Please feel free to come to
West Wednesdays to learn more, and to join in the continuing protests against police brutality.