A houseless youth dies on the streets- police do nothing
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by Mike Vizcarra and Mary McAdams Police brutality has been one of our major concerns ever since I started writing for POOR Magazine. We have always written about it and have had countless interviews with poor folks, people of color and/or houseless folks who have experienced these acts first hand. But it is very hard being homeless or of low income and/or of color to get our voices heard and justice done. Mary McAdams, a Berkeley resident, lost her son last year because of police brutality. Mary is homeless and so was her son. But no one has heard her story. Mathew J. Murphy Jr. (Jimmy) died June 1, 2001. The cause of death? The official police report lists it as a homicide. The real cause of death? "They let him die," says Mary, Jimmy’s mother. Jimmy was born on June 5, 1969. He was born with jaundis. When he was nine months old, his father hit him so hard that it left an imprint on the boy’s head. From that point on he suffered from head injuries. He suffered from coordination problems because of it. Jimmy was also diabetic. To say Jimmy was a sickly kid is an understatement. "Anytime you have an injury to the brain, there’s a lot of change that happens to that person," says Mary. "Growing up, he would embellish stories because the logical part of the brain was damaged. People couldn’t understand what the head injury and diabetes did to him." Mary ended up leaving her abusive husband, who repeatedly beat her, took her money, and used heroine. She also blames him for killing their first son, Matty. In 1995, Jimmy traveled cross-country and moved from the east coast to the Bay Area. He wanted to be more self-sufficient. Along the way, he stopped in New Mexico and got a security job. He also had a job as a cashier but "he didn’t understand the concept of money, couldn’t handle the responsibility," says his mother. Mary also moved to the here to the Bay Area around the same time. Jimmy would occasionally live with his mother in Oakland and Berkeley but started living and working out of his truck. Mary found a job as a live-in caregiver, but lost the job a few years later and therefore lost the home she was living in. She had nowhere to go and neither did her son. She moved into the Berkeley Women’s Shelter on January 21, 2001 and Jimmy continued to live out of his truck. She last saw her son on May 23, 2001. Jimmy was working odd jobs here and there. He started taking methamphetamines so he could work ‘round the clock. Soon he became addicted to meth and was not eating. He was working constantly trying to make ends meet. He was also having small heart attacks and seizures and his diabetes was getting worse because he couldn’t afford the medicine. On June 1, 2001, Jimmy was sitting in his truck with his girlfriend in an alley in Richmond. He was tired and wasn’t feeling very well. He lay his head on his girlfriend’s lap and that’s when his girlfriend knew something was wrong. The police came, four officers in squad cars, but they didn’t do anything to help him. They dragged him out of the truck and down the road and were actually laughing at him. Jimmy’s girlfriend was restrained from helping him, helplessly watching Jimmy die. He was pronounced dead at 12:58 p.m. As mentioned earlier, the police ruled it a homicide. Mary estimates that at least a half hour passed between the arrival of the police and Jimmy’s death, and nothing was done. Mary’s watch actually stopped at 1:00 p.m. that day, her belief that it was the exact time of death of her son. Jimmy’s girlfriend was charged with homicide but was later released. Mary could not even see her son, the police would not let her see the body. She wanted to file a report but a Detective Valley told her, "We did what we had to do and that was it." Had the police not been so heartless Mary would still have her son around. Jimmy was ostracized for being homeless, for living in his truck. He didn’t receive the same treatment like any other person would have received because he was homeless. It makes me mad to think that the police can get away with these crimes against the poor, the homeless, the minorities. The only time the mainstream media and the police listen is when an affluent neighborhood gets "victimized" by these cops. Take for example what happened in the Marina District here in San Francisco: A 911 call for help against police officers who randomly beat a couple guys from a bar all of a sudden gets all this attention. This type of abuse by the police has been going on in our neighborhoods for years. Only when it affects the rich, the privileged, does it make news. Mary still a lot to deal with. But she found closure with her son after getting together with family members and scattering Jimmy’s ashes. "It was a beautiful, peaceful moment," she told me. Ode to the Child in You and Me You can’t see inside of me You can’t be inside of me inside I’ll always be that child You look upon the outside So many things about me Could we just love each other This world will be better place So look upon your brothers |