LaToya Howell speaks to the crowd gathered in front of the Zion Police Department.

A crowd of 65 people gathered at the corner of 24^th Street and Galilee Avenue in Zion, during a light snowfall, to commemorate the shooting death of Justus Howell.

By the time protesters reached the Zion police station, one hour later, flurries and a biting wind matched the intensity and passion of speakers wanting answers and acknowledgement over excessive police force.

“Any silence is a gentle nod of approval,” said activist Ralph Peterson. “I spearheaded the investigation into Darrin Hannah’s death by the North Chicago police. They throw us settlements with nickels, and tell us to go away. How much is a human life worth?

“This is a problem that needs to be addressed. No justice, no peace … always remember, silence is a gentle nod of approval.”

At the Zion Police Department, during the march.

Peterson was calling attention to the case of Darrin Hanna, 45, in a death re-classified as homicide. In 2011, North Chicago police were sent to arrest him over a domestic incident, and he died in a hospital from multiple organ failure, one week later. A re-examination found he was allegedly hit multiple times with batons, Tasered, and absorbed physical trauma leading to his death.

The April 4 rally and march to the Zion police station marked the one-year anniversary of Howell’s death. Relatives, activists, a national volunteer group comprised of mothers and grandmothers whose children were slain by police under questionable circumstances, all came seeking responsibility for police officers using deadly force and escaping criminal prosecution.

Juanita Ferguson, mother of Malcolm Ferguson, addresses the crowd flanked by LaToya Howell (left), and Alice Howell, Justus’ mother and grandmother respectively.

Howell was shot twice in the back, by Zion police officer Eric Hill, while fleeing from authorities, who said the 17-year-old Waukegan youth was allegedly purchasing a stolen gun from an individual. It discharged, as he grabbed it and ran. Officers were responding to a gunshot call, and were led by Howell through several back yards. Hill felt threatened when the suspect turned toward him, and shot twice.

Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim refused to prosecute Hill, stating the shooting was justified, and protocol had been followed. Howell’s family refuted the events, citing there was no handgun and unjustified force, in a federal lawsuit filed April 1 in Chicago. The suit names Hill, and the Zion Police Department, as defendants for unspecified damages.

Arlen Howell stands where his son, Justus, was felled by two shots from a Zion police officer, one year ago.

The civil action contains six counts and contends that Howell never had a weapon, posed no threat to officers, and that the matter was “covered up,” by the Zion police department. It also implies a “code of silence” for the non-reporting of officer misconduct, failure to handle misconduct in a punitive manner, and a climate of inadequate training.

“They murder our kinds, and then settle with us,” said Alice Howell, the victim’s grandmother, and plaintiff in the federal action. “This has to stop. If I lose my life, it will be from a broken heart.”

The Family of Stolen Lives Tour, a group traveling nationally, brought the mothers and grandmothers of young people slain by police, to the Zion shooting site. Jerome McCorry, a social activist and head of The Adam Project, said, “I’m from Cleveland, and these same things about killing kids must be brought to record. These shootings happen again and again, and a stop must be put to it.

“This has to be stopped right now. These are stories that nobody has heard because they are not covered by the media,” he said.

Relatives of Emmett Till, Laquan McDonald, and others impacted by such incidents attended the rally, and march to the Zion police station. A sign posted on the station’s door stated the lobby was closed April 4, and requests for comment on the events were not made. Response through the foyer intercom stated the communications officer is the department’s Deputy Chief (Kirk Henderson), and was not in the building. Phone contact efforts were also not successful.

Latoya Howell speaks to the media, following a rally and march marking the one-year anniversary of her son’s shooting death.

“Don’t think it can’t happen to you,” said Juanita Ferguson, mother of Malcolm Ferguson, killed by a plainclothes policeman in 2000. “You can sit at home, watch television … be a doctor, lawyer, be anybody, and when it happens to your family, remember this. This has to be stopped. They are killing our babies.”

Zion’s deputy clerk, Sheryl Spooner, said, “The city has no comment on pending litigation at this time.” Zion Mayor Al Hill also did not comment on the lawsuit or the rally, but did correct a rumor that he and the Zion officer, Eric Hill, were related.

“We are not related … no,” he said.

La Toya Howell, the victim’s mother, still expressed shock and grief over the tragedy. “When does it all end … is there justice? This is for everybody that has suffered this. When does it end?”