CHICAGO�More than 500 people marched in the Windy City Oct. 22 in response to what they called a nationwide epidemic of blatant abuse by police officers. The Chicago protest was one of several held as part of what is now an annual demonstration against police brutality and misconduct.

The Oct. 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation reported that 111 people were killed by police officers in 1999 alone. Speakers said officers who have wrongly killed or abused civilians should be brought to justice and punished for their actions. More than 2,000 people, most of them Black, Latino or from other non-white ethnic groups have been killed by police since 1990, according to "Stolen Lives," a collection of victims� stories compiled and published by the coalition, which also helps organize the yearly protest.

"He did nothing wrong, he was just Black," said Vera Love, whose son Robert Russ was killed by a Chicago police officer in June. She joined demonstrators for the march downtown in front of the city�s federal court building. "Just because he wore an earring and drove a car with tinted windows, he was suspected of being something he wasn�t," she said.

The Northwestern University football player died after being stopped by police. There has been controversy about the case, which came less than 24-years after another fatal police shooting, and began with a story that Mr. Russ refused to exit his vehicle. Authorities said an officer broke Mr. Russ� tinted back window because he couldn�t see inside, and that Mr. Russ grabbed the gun and was shot accidentally.

Later, Mr. Russ� relatives obtained a copy of a police report, which said he was unarmed, and that officers opened the unlocked passenger-side door of the car, and shot him, according to his mother.

"We want the police prosecuted when they do something to us. If the police had to think about the consequences, there wouldn�t be so many shootings, killings and beatings," Ms. Love said. She has also filed a civil lawsuit against the city.

The Chicago Police Department�s Office of Professional Standards suggested that Mr. Russ� alleged killer be suspended for 15 days, and is still conducting its investigation.

The Congressional Black Caucus Task Force Against Police Brutality is completing preliminary resolutions and preparing anti-brutality legislation. The task force held hearings in Washington D.C., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, where they heard testimony from those beaten by police, from the families of those who were killed by police, from law enforcement officials, concerned community activists and civil rights organizations.

"What we found was the testimony was consistent in each city and that people of color were being brutalized by the police departments," said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), co-chair of the committee, in an interview with The Final Call. "Our resolutions request that the U.S. Department of Justice be adequately funded so that it can conduct in-depth investigations in municipalities where there are large allegations of police brutality. If they don�t conduct these types of investigations, we suggest that they would be denied federal funds. The resolutions also suggest civilian complaint review boards that have subpoena powers, so that they can truly investigate police brutality in that community. The legislation that we will propose includes improving training and hiring practices. We want police to serve the communities in which in they live," said Mr. Meeks.

Congressman Meeks also said the Black Caucus will suggest that statistics be compiled by police, documenting every individual who is stopped. "We want to know what their race was and why they were stopped," he said.

Gus Savage, a former outspoken U.S. congressman from Illinois, feels that rouge officers should be severely prosecuted or disciplined. "The power to hire, fire and promote police should ultimately be in the hands of the community. You cannot raise a white person in America, in a white community, in an all white church, send them to an predominately white school and then give them a gun and tell them to protect and serve a Black community without the results being abuse," he said.