December 7, 2020

Our statement on the promotion of Des Moines police officer Brian Foster

On the morning of June 3, Des Moines police officers Brian Foster and Thomas Garcia unlawfully entered a private residential elevator and violently kidnapped DSM residents who had just gotten home from a nonviolent protest in which they were advocating for racial justice. Video of these officers' actions went viral on social media and was picked up by national media. The DSM City Council remained silent. Following this incident, Des Moines BLM presented our first list of demands to Des Moines City Council, which included the firing of these DMPD officers. Now, six months later, the Council has approved a promotion for Officer Brian Foster.

This promotion clearly demonstrates that the Council and DMPD reward violent behavior and do not care to prioritize the safety of DSM residents. It is evident that the Council has not been listening to engaged community members and grassroots organizers. DSM City Council continues to demonstrate they have no real intentions of addressing the corrupt and violent police department run by DMPD Chief Dana Wingert. This is unacceptable. We again demand that Brian Foster be fired. We demand that Chief Wingert be fired. We demand that the city begins to defund the Des Moines Police Department.

Sign the petition: tinyurl.com/defundDMPD

Black Lives Matter.