Despite Salt Lake’s Destruction of Police Brutality Murals, Families Carry On Their Legacy
Salt Lake City, UT – When Rae Duckworth got an email from the city notifying them that they would soon lose access to the space known as the Fleet Block murals, they knew they had to act. So the day before the city was set to put up fences around the public art installment, they called for a final vigil at the site where their cousin, alongside 28 other victims of police violence, was memorialized in a larger than life mural.
“We’re here to basically say our goodbyes,” Duckworth, the acting chairperson for Utah’s Black Lives Matter chapter, told Unicorn Riot.
In February, as Salt Lake City prepared to demolish the prominent piece of public art, the community came out to visit the murals and mourn not only the loss of the space, but those commemorated in the artwork. More than just losing a public art installment, many felt like they were losing their loved ones all over again.
“I think it’s like a common theme amongst the families, like, these being gone is like a way for the city to be quiet about, you know, police reform, police brutality,” Duckworth said while discussing the effect of losing the murals. “Just because these faces and these memorials are gone, it doesn’t mean the stories aren’t there.”
In 2020, cities across the country joined in the nationwide reckoning against police brutality sparked by George Floyd’s murder and Salt Lake City was no exception. As protesters took to the streets in Utah’s capitol city, an artist saw the opportunity to use a defunct piece of city property to amplify the stories of people killed by police.
The anonymous artist, or artists, took advantage of a series of blank white walls and began painting monochromatic portraits of people who had lost their lives to police violence, both locally and across the country. The murals popped up, one by one, on a city building once used to maintain heavy equipment.
Known as Fleet Block, the formerly neglected parcel sits just south of downtown Salt Lake. As murals populated the walls, the building transitioned from dead space to an unmissable monument to those killed by police.
The murals started with a few prominent faces, including Floyd’s and a slain local man, Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal. Soon, 29 faces encircled the building, representing a small portion of people who have lost their lives to police violence. As the space took on a new purpose, family members of those memorialized on the walls used the space to grieve and remember their loved ones.
For years, the Fleet Block murals served as a memorial ground, an organizing space, and a cultural touchstone for families and community members. Vigils and other events were regularly held at the site, and the images reassured families that not only were their loved ones remembered, but that others could see their faces and know their stories.
With the removal of the murals, families told Unicorn Riot that it feels like the city is not only removing an important space, but trying to silence the stories that the murals represent.
“When [people in authority] drive by here, they have no choice but to look and see and have conversations about these people on these walls,” Gina Thayne, the aunt and last legal guardian of Dillon Taylor, who was killed by Salt Lake City Police in 2014 and memorialized on Fleet Block’s walls, said of the artwork’s importance.
The city began the process to redevelop the vacant plot of land where the murals were housed as early as 2021, but the project accelerated last year.
Last August, the city held a semi-public meeting with families of those represented in the murals to announce that the demolition would begin early this year. While the city billed the talk, and others like it in the leadup to the destruction of the murals, as conversations, those in attendance described the process as one-sided, with the city announcing plans rather than seeking input.
While family and community members asked the city to remove and preserve the walls housing the murals, the city insisted that the process and the building’s materials would be too environmentally hazardous to keep intact.
Instead, the city has pledged to dedicate a three-acre portion of the new development to “public art inspired by social justice,” though details about what exactly that entails are sparse.
The demolition of the Fleet Block murals represents a national roll back of the demands made during the 2020 George Floyd uprising. As cities and states across the country distance themselves from the demands made by protesters, such as defunding and dismantling police departments, public art and expressions of the movement have also been removed.
Notably, in March, Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. was demolished at the behest of Republicans in Congress. Other public remnants from the uprising have similarly been removed or demolished.
Demolition of the Salt Lake building housing the murals began on March 17, and was finished within a few days. Although the faces are gone, the families insist on commemorating their loved ones and urge others to do the same.
“These names all mean something to somebody here,” Duckworth said. “I think it’s really important that we learn the names, but we know the faces and we make daily changes because of these faces.”
Jamarion Robinson was killed August 5, 2016 when agents from the Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce raided his girlfriend’s apartment in East Point, Georgia outside Atlanta. Police from at least seven different agencies forced their way into the home and shot him 59 times, claiming he had a weapon. Robinson, a 26-year-old Black man, had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Darrien Hunt, a 22-year-old Black man, was walking outside a convenience store in Saratoga Springs, UT, on September 10, 2014. Hunt, who enjoyed cosplaying, was wearing a costume shirt and carrying a replica samurai sword when someone reportedly called the police about a “suspicious” person carrying a weapon. Surveillance video shows police approaching Hunt from behind before they begin to chase him. Police said that he brandished the sword and lunged at them, but eyewitness accounts and surveillance video from local businesses demonstrate Hunt was running from police before he was shot six times.
Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal was outside a nightclub in Salt Lake City in the early morning hours of May 23, 2020. Police responded to a report of an attempted armed robbery of a man near the club. When officers arrived, they began chasing Palacios-Carbajal, who stumbled as he ran into the parking lot of a storage facility, dropping what appeared to be a gun. He retrieved it, turned and kept running as police commanded him to stop. As he turned to retrieve the dropped item again, police opened fire, shooting at least 36 bullets at Palacios-Carbajal as he tried to run away. The 20-year-old was struck as many as 15 times, and he died on the spot.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was approached by police outside a grocery store in Minneapolis for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill on May 25, 2020. Police tackled Floyd to the ground before Derek Chauvin, of the Minneapolis Police Department, knelt on Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes, killing him.
Dillon Taylor was hanging out with his brothers on August 11, 2014 when the group went into a convenience store just south of downtown Salt Lake City. As they exited, police filled the parking lot, responding to a report of someone brandishing a gun. An officer pulled into the lot, and he saw Taylor walking away from the entrance of the store with headphones in his ears and his hands in his pockets. As he approached Taylor from behind, the officer drew his gun and commanded Taylor to show his hands. Taylor, not hearing the officer, continued calmly walking away. The officer continued to yell, and Taylor noticed him and turned around. As Taylor removed his hands from his pockets, the officer shot him, killing the 20-year-old on the spot.
Bryan Pena-Valencia, 28, was driving in Taylorsville, UT in the early morning hours of March 21, 2020. Police received reports about shots being fired in a neighborhood and responded, looking for a truck that was said to have fled the scene. When officers with the Unified Police Department saw Pena-Valencia driving his Cadillac with a taillight out, they watched him for a short time, though the police didn’t pursue him. But a short time later, Unified Police officers spotted the Cadillac crashed against a median. Police saw Pena-Valencia and chased him on foot. Two officers cornered him in a backyard, and ordered him to put his hands up and get on the ground. Pena-Valencia repeatedly told officers he was giving up as he attempted to comply with conflicting orders, according to a lawsuit later filed by his family. Police say he reached for his waist, at which point an officer shot him once. Pena-Valencia fell, and the officer shot him five more times, killing him.
Chad Breinholt was arrested for reportedly having driven under the influence on August 23, 2019. Breinholt was apparently suicidal, and had taken pills to end his life, according to the person who initially called the police. Breinholt was taken into police custody in West Valley City, UT where he sat in the DUI processing room for nearly two hours as police filled out paperwork. At one point, a despondent Breinholt falls on the floor, handcuffed. Officer Tyler Longman arrived and accosted Breinholt, who was requesting to be taken to an area mental healthcare facility. Longman refused to take Breinholt to the Hunstsman Mental Health Institute, and instead insisted that he was taking him to jail. Breinholt, still intoxicated, told police that he had a gun in his pants, and then that he had a gun in his shoe. In video of the encounter, officers didn’t appear to take either threat seriously, having searched Breinholt when he was taken into custody. As police sat Breinholt in his chair and attempted to remove his shoe, a scuffle ensued and an officer exclaimed that Breinholt had a gun, apparently having grabbed an officer’s still holstered weapon. Longman entered the room, yelled, “You’re about to die, my friend” and quickly shot Breinholt in the head at point blank range. Breinholt was the third person Officer Tyler Longman had shot to death while on duty.
Michael Glad was confronted by police after he allegedly robbed a convenience store in West Jordan, Utah on May 28, 2018. A West Jordan Police officer saw Glad walking on the sidewalk and stopped him at gunpoint, at which point Glad allegedly pointed a pellet gun at the officer. The officer ran away, and Glad entered the police truck he left behind. As Glad began to drive away, two officers fired into the truck, and one bullet struck and killed the 23-year-old.
Christopher Joseph ‘Joey’ Tucker, reportedly despondent after an argument with his fiance and lacking his diabetes medication, was driving on Salt Lake City’s west side when police attempted to pull him over on August 6, 2009. Tucker fled, ending up on Interstate 80 where Utah Highway Patrol and Salt Lake City Police started a low speed chase. After pursuing the 30-year-old for some time, a highway patrol trooper rammed Tucker’s pickup truck, causing him to swerve to the side of the road. The trooper said Tucker then put the truck in reverse before driving toward police. The trooper fired three shots through Tucker’s windshield, killing him.
James Barker, a 42-year-old man, was going door to door offering snow removal services in Salt Lake City on January 8, 2015. A Salt Lake City police officer approached him, saying he fit the description of a person who had been reported as suspicious. Barker confronted the officer in what became a yelling match. As the officer reached for Barker, he swung at the officer with a snow shovel. The officer fell to the ground, at which point his bodycam footage cut out. A video of the incident filmed by a neighbor appears to show the officer, some time after falling, kneeling over Barkers back as he lie face down and handcuffed. The video shows the officer apparently shoot three rounds into Barker’s back before standing up and walking away, leaving him dead.
Siale Angilau was a defendant in a gang-related racketeering case in April 2014. While appearing in federal court, Angilau rushed the witness stand as a witness was testifying against his gang. Wielding a pen he grabbed from his lawyer’s table, Angilau leapt over the witness stand in an attempt to attack the shackled witness. A U.S. marshal fired four shots, fatally striking the 25-year-old man.
Danielle Willard was approached by two undercover police in West Valley City, UT on November 2, 2012 after they say they saw her purchase drugs. According to police, Willard, who was in her car, refused to roll down the window or open her doors. Police reportedly retrieved a tool to break her car’s window after failing to break it on a first attempt. When an officer returned with the tool, Willard reportedly put her car in reverse. An officer shot Willard through her window, killing the 21-year-old.
Patrick Harmon, a 50-year-old Black man, was shot in the back on August 13, 2017 by a Salt Lake City Police officer. Police pulled Harmon over while he was riding his bike for reportedly riding without a red rear light. As two police officers prepared to arrest him, Harmon turned and ran away. Seconds later, an officer shot him in the back, killing him
Zane James, 19, was fleeing from Utah’s Cottonwood Heights Police on a motorcycle early on the morning of May 19, 2018. Police say he was suspected of robbing a grocery store with an airsoft gun. When he turned onto a residential street, the officer hit James’s motorcycle, causing him to crash and slide. James got up to flee, showing signs of being seriously injured, and the officer shot at him four times. Two bullets hit him in the back. One bullet passed through his shoulder and into his spine, causing a severe spinal injury. James died three days later in the hospital.
Allen Nelson, a 43-year-old Black man left his uncle’s apartment complex early in the morning hours of June 9, 2012. As he rode his bike away from the complex, police pulled him over. According to an eyewitness who watched the events leading up to the arrest, Nelson was heard begging police not to hit him again before another said, “I Tased him.” Police deny that officers used a Taser on Nelson, who died while being arrested.
Cody Belgard, 30, was approached by Salt Lake City Police in a busy parking lot on November 9, 2018. He and his girlfriend were in a car which police said had fled from officers the week before. After officers confronted them, Belgard drove away, prompting a high speed chase. Police later found him in a different neighborhood, on a sidewalk in front of a house. After a brief standoff, police said they thought they saw a gun. Moment’s later, one officer shouted that Belgard was pointing it at them, and police opened fire, shooting Belgard in the back. No gun was recovered, and in the immediate aftermath of the killing, one officer was heard saying “I think it was a [expletive] cellphone” on body cam footage.
Cindreia Europe was 25 years old and living out of her car around Salt Lake City in March of 2019. Police responded to a call reporting what they called a “man down,” or someone lying unresponsive in public. Megan Franklin, an officer with the Unified Police Department, drove into a parking lot where the report was made just before 11:00 p.m. on March 5. As she drove into the parking lot of a local bank branch, she ran over Europe, who was lying on the ground, in her patrol car. Franklin had a history of poor driving while on the job – including at least six infractions involving collisions with large objects – before hitting Europe, according to reporting by the Salt Lake Tribune.
Bobby Duckworth was suffering from a mental health crisis on September 10, 2019 when police responded to a call reporting a suicidal Duckworth in Wellington, UT. An officer with the Wellington Police Department walked toward a vacant field to approach Duckworth, at which point he saw the 26-year-old Black man standing unresponsive with his back turned to the officer. Duckworth was reportedly holding a knife in each hand. The officer told Duckworth to put the knives down in an attempt to speak with him, at which point Duckworth turned to face the officer. Duckworth, who a dispatcher had reportedly been told intended to commit “suicide by cop,” began walking toward the officer. As Duckworth moved closer, the officer drew his gun and shot him several times, killing him.
Breonna Taylor was in her apartment in Louisville, KY on the night of March 12, 2020, when at least seven Louisville Metro Police Department officers forced their way into her home. Mistaking the plainclothes police for intruders, Taylor’s boyfriend fired a warning shot at the home invaders. Police opened fire in return, shooting 32 shots in the direction of Taylor and her boyfriend. Six shots hit Taylor, killing the 26-year-old Black woman in her hallway.
Andrew ‘AJ’ Jacob Preece, 34, had just exited a grocery store in Salt Lake City on July 25, 2020 when police responded to a call from an employee. The worker reported that Preece and another person had stolen an umbrella and were now arguing in the parking lot, apparently intoxicated. When officers arrived, they found Preece and his companion walking on the sidewalk while Preece held a knife. Two officers confronted him, at which point Preece put the knife to his acquaintance’s throat. A brief standoff followed before an officer shot at Preece. Both officers then fired on Preece, killing him.
Riche Santiago was inside a car at an apartment complex in Salt Lake City when police responded to a hung-up 911 call on August 5, 2019. When police arrived, they saw a car with a license plate reportedly connected to a past shooting. Officers approached the car to speak to the driver, and eventually spoke with Santiago, who was sitting in the back seat next to a young girl he said was his niece. After asking for his name and date of birth, police discovered the 21-year-old had a warrant out for his arrest and began to apprehend him. Santiago scrambled for a bag in the car as police wrestled with him. Soon, Santiago pulled out a handgun. Two officers opened fire, hitting Riche while others in the car screamed. Santiago died on the scene.
Troy Burkinshaw was traveling on a state highway in Corrine, UT on October 26, 2012, when he pulled over on the side of the road. A Box Elder County sheriff’s deputy drove by and saw what he believed was Burkinshaw urinating on the side of the road. The deputy turned around to pull Bukinshaw over. Burkinshaw drove away before the the deputy arrived, at which point the deputy started a low speed chase. The deputy pursued Burkinshaw into a rural agricultural area, where he eventually turned down a dead end road. The deputy tried to block Burkinshaw’s exit with his truck by parking it across the road. The deputy left his truck and stood in front of Burkinshaw’s car as the car rolled toward the deputy at “an extremely low rate of speed,” according to a lawsuit filed by Burkinshaw’s mother. The deputy shot three shots point blank through the windshield, the lawsuit explains.. Two bullets hit Burkinshaw, killing the 52-year-old man.
Hussein Al Rakabi was killed by Salt Lake City Police in 2009 after an officer responded to a shooting at a nightclub. When an officer confronted him, according to police, he got into a car and drove toward the officer. The officer reportedly fired six shots into the car, causing Rakabi to crash into a pole. Al Rakabi died as a result of the shooting.
Nicolas Sanchez, a 38-year old man, was standing outside a convenience store when he was approached by Roy City Police in Utah on February 21, 2017. Officers asked him to step towards them, prompting Sanchez to ask why they wanted to speak with him. After a short exchange, police believed they saw a handgun in Sanchez’s waistband. One officer stepped toward Sanchez and tried to grab him, at which point he turned and ran away from the officer. After a short chase, one officer tackled Sanchez. Shortly after he was on the ground, both Roy City Police officers opened fire, shooting Sanchez 16 times. One officer shot Sanchez at least once using Sanchez’s own gun.
Harold Robinson, a 37-year-old Utah man, was suffering a mental health crisis in April 2019. He drove to Hollady, UT, and robbed a convenience store before continuing to another gas station and robbing it. After leaving that store, Robbinson drove down State Street in Salt Lake City and fired a rifle from his moving truck. Officers from multiple agencies began chasing him. After a pursuit, Robinson crashed into a storefront and got out of his truck. Police surrounded him, and as he tried to get back into his truck, officers said they were afraid he was retrieving a weapon. Police opened fire on Robinson, firing 196 rounds and killing him on the spot.
Jovany Mercado-Bedolla was confronted by police at his home in Ogden, UT on August 16, 2019. Police, responding to a call about an apparently disoriented person wandering in the neighborhood, found Mercado-Bedolla in his driveway under a car port. The 26-year-old walked toward the officers while holding a knife. Seconds after yelling at him to drop the knife, police opened fire, shooting Jovany 16 times.
Elijah Smith, a 20-year old Black man, was shot and killed by police in West Valley City, UT. Officers were searching the area after receiving a report of someone stealing from a cell phone store. Officers found Smith hiding in a garage in the neighborhood. They confronted him, ordering him to raise his hands. When he left one hand in his jacket pocket, an officer opened fire, killing Smith.
Jemel Roberson was working as a security guard at a bar in Robbins, IL when a gunman opened fire on November 11, 2018. Roberson subdued the shooter and held him at gunpoint while police made their way to the scene. When a Midlothian, IL police officer arrived, he saw Roberson and demanded he drop the weapon. Eyewitnesses reported the officer almost immediately opened fire, killing Roberson. Roberson, a 26-year-old Black man, was a licensed gun owner and aspiring police officer.
Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man was shot to death by an Atlanta Police Department officer on June 12, 2020. Officers confronted Brooks for sleeping in his car at a Wendy’s drive through, they searched him and ran a breathalyzer test. After determining he was too drunk to drive home, they attempted to arrest him. Brooks fled on foot, grabbing one officer’s taser. He was shot two times and died in surgery.
Related Stories:
Minneapolis Protest Art Collection Becomes Largest of its Kind – October 2020
Breonna Taylor coverage
George Floyd Uprising coverage
Follow us on X (aka Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, BlueSky and Patreon.
Please consider a tax-deductible donation to help sustain our horizontally-organized, non-profit media organization:
