BY JOHN STUDER
CHICAGO - On April 19, in a special Saturday court session, Chicago cop Gregory Becker was found guilty in the killing of Joseph Gould, an African-American and former vendor for StreetWise, a newspaper sold by homeless people.

Becker, who was off-duty, and a companion were approached by Gould on July 30, 1995, when they left a bar on the city's near North side. Gould, carrying a rag and bucket to clean car windows, approached Becker and his date.

Becker claimed that Gould "pestered" him, and pulled a gun out of the trunk of his car. Becker pistol whipped Gould and then shot him in the head. After Gould fell dying to the ground, Becker and his companion jumped in his car and fled the scene.

Even though the reports indicated Becker killed Gould in cold blood, he was charged with armed violence, involuntary manslaughter, and official misconduct, not murder. After being arrested, Becker was suspended from the police force.

Becker's defense was based on the claim that Gould had wrestled for the cop's gun and it went off accidentally in the struggle. Becker was forced to admit Gould had both hands full with the bucket and rag when he supposedly attacked the cop. Becker claimed Gould used the rag to try and grab his gun.

Becker said he saw Gould fall after the shot, but didn't think Gould had been hit, so he drove off.

The jury deliberated for less than seven hours before returning with a verdict finding Becker guilty on all charges. When the verdict was read, Becker starting trembling and turned green. He was taken to the hospital, claiming chest pains, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Becker faces a minimum 15-year mandatory prison sentence on the most serious charge of armed violence. The charges of involuntary manslaughter and misconduct carry sentences of 3 to 5 years.

"We waited a long time for this, almost two years," Gwendolyn Gould, the sister of Joseph Gould, told reporters after the verdict. "Maybe now other officers will think twice before they pull their gun and leave someone to lay there like an animal in the street."

The trial also took place in the context of a series of cases involving cop brutality and frame-ups in the Chicago area. During the two-week trial alone, the big-business papers reported on two cases of cop violence. A gang of white thugs, including at least two cops, attacked Edward Stacy, a Black man who attempted to enter a bar. Stacy was head butted to the floor, beaten, and hit on the head with a pistol. When he fled, one of the attackers fired a shot over his head. Another victim of police violence, Shirley Alejos, called a press conference to demand an answer to why the two cops who beat her in 1994-a fact the city admitted-still had not been charged with any crime.

On April 16, the Chicago City Council was forced to pass a resolution calling for public hearings on discrimination and misconduct by the city police.

The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless had organized demonstrations against the cop murder of Gould before and during the trial. The case was widely publicized, with the trial splashed on the front page of both Chicago daily papers.

John Studer is a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 1011.  
 
 
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