Black Women Matter: Support Petition to Remove Rapist Cop

Change.org Petition

Oklahoma City Police officer Daniel Ken Holtzclaw has been charged with 16 counts of first degree rape, sexual battery, indecent exposure, stalking, forcible oral sodomy and burglary against seven African American female victims. On September 5th Oklahoma County District Judge Timothy Henderson lowered Holtzclaw’s bail from $5 million to $500,000. Holtzclaw was released Friday after posting a cash bond and will wear a GPS monitor until his trial hearing on September 18th. Holtzclaw is a former football player and the son of a longtime city police officer. He is currently on paid leave. The victims in this case were all black women between the age of 34-58, living in predominantly poor and working class African American communities in Oklahoma’s City Northeast side. Holtzclaw stalked most of these women and capitalized on their fear of arrest to exploit, sexually assault and intimidate them. He manipulated the racist/sexist stereotype of black women as hypersexual, socially expendable prostitutes in order to keep them silent:

“According to a probable cause affidavit included in the charging documents, Holtzclaw stopped a woman walking in the area of Northeast 14th and Jordan on April 24. He located a crack pipe in her property. Instead of arresting her he allegedly took her home, forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her, making the statement, ‘This is better than the county,’ referring to the jail.

Speaking of her client’s reluctance to report the crime, one of the victim’s attorneys stated,“She was so afraid that no one was going to believe her because she’s African-American.”

This campaign of sexual terrorism by a law enforcement officer is similar to the institutional sexual assault and harassment of black women and girls during the Jim Crow era. The recent beating of Marlene Pinnock, a middle-aged African American homeless woman, by a California Highway Patrol officer, and police violence against black women in cities like New York continue to amplify the mistreatment of black women by law enforcement. Shortly after Holtzclaw’s indictment, hundreds of his supporters launched a Go Fund Me campaign (which has since been taken down) and a Facebook page to raise money for his defense and clear his “good name”. They also created a special Twitter hashtag called #FreetheClaw. Non-blacks who commit criminal acts against black victims routinely receive more lenient sentences than when the assailant is African American and the victim is white. Black women have some of the highest rates of sexual assault in the nation. We demand just and equitable treatment of the victims, full prosecution of these heinous acts of sexual violence and immediate removal of Holtzclaw from the Oklahoma City PD.

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Black Women Matter: Support Petition to Remove Rapist Cop
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6 thoughts on “Black Women Matter: Support Petition to Remove Rapist Cop

  1. 1

    I don’t do Internet petitions, because too many places dismiss them out-of-hand on the ‘these people signing this aren’t here and don’t care enough to do anything real’ basis, and because my actual name is Internet-unique, and connecting it with my activism on queer/feminist/anti-racist issues could kill my self-employment stone dead. And with my disabilities, self- is the only kind of employment there is. :/

    But, I’m writing a letter to the relevant authorities, and will have it sent by morning post. And I’m going to reblog this at Fullmetal Feminist. Because this needs to be stopped. When the police are a reasonable object of fear then they are worse than a street gang, given their access to power, force, and instutional retaliatory options, as well as social approval for their bigoted use of these advantages.

    1. 1.1

      I’m self employed. I’m queer (bisexual, affianced to a transsexual lesbian). I’m a feminist. I’m anti-racist. I’m an atheist. If we don’t speak up, who will? My name is connected with my brand, and connected to tons of issues on the net. If someone has a problem with that, I don’t need their custom. AND I live in GEORGIA – not exactly a bastion of civil rights.

      My health issues and those of my son make self employment the only option for me, as well. But I have a responsibility not only to shelter, clothe, and feed him but to try and ensure he grows up in a better world. One where kids like him don’t get killed by cops who don’t understand Aspergers.

      This isn’t meant as an attack; I applaud you for writing your letter, and for working under a pseudonym to try and stop this kind of thing. All the best.

    2. 1.2

      Don’t entirely agree on the first point — petitions like this do increase visibility for cases involving POC & WOC that might not have otherwise gotten national attention (Marlene Pinnock, Bring Back Our Girls, Jena Six are some of the numerous cases that come to mind). Thanks for pitching in to write the letter.

      1. Fair enough; our experience and opinions can differ, and I’m definitely behind the increased awareness. Entirely possible I spoke out of white privilege, there, sorry for that.

        As to ‘conservative’, most of my clients are in Russia and/or in the Muslim world. Quite simply, if my name and my activism are connected, then the first new client to google me is going to end up killing my almost entirely word-of-mouth business. Because of my disabilities, if I can’t use the skills I use in my business, then I can’t work at all.

        So, no, I’m not willing, in my context, to be destitute, in order to sign an Internet petition. I’m definitely glad that you can, Grace Alexander, and that your situation is such that you’re able to. Please recognize that we may not all be in the same state of privilege. As it is, I’m living on welfare, supplementing my wage with what work I can find. Risking that is literally risking my home, my health, and eventually my life. I’ve been a queer activist since 1994, when I had to go into hiding because of the death threats I was getting supporting queer rights legislation in my jurisdiction. I know what I’m talking about here, and you honestly don’t (know my life, I mean).

        So I take a different path, make sure my voice is heard, and in a way that most public figures say gets their attention: an actual letter. Which I sent yesterday. This is a lesser form of activism, now, than signing an Internet petition?

        Enjoy your ride on the high horse, though, Grace Alexander, I’m sure the view is nice from up there. Can’t ride, myself, my back’s too buggered.

  2. 2

    That’s outrageous. And to top it all off he’s on PAID leave?!!!

    I can’t decide what’s more sick here… That he’s not behind bars. That he only has to wear a tracking bracelet. That someone started a Go Fund Me campaign. That people are actually donating to said campaign. As sleazy as we know Facebook is, that they would stoop so low to *allow* this page to to remain up.

    The whole system is basically saying these women aren’t worth a damn thing! Makes feel physically ill.

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