North Richmond, Calif. – The Black Panther Party for Self Defense published its first community newsletter Tuesday, April 25th, 1967, devoting nearly every column inch to a single question printed in bold type across its front page: WHY WAS DENZIL DOWELL KILLED?

Denzil Dowell, 22, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of April 1, 1967, by an officer of the Martinez Sheriff’s Department in North Richmond. The newspaper of record declared the death a “justifiable homicide.” The Dowell family disputes that finding, and the Black Panther Party — compiling the family’s account alongside statements from neighbors and concerned citizens — used its inaugural issue to enumerate eleven specific points it says law enforcement and local media have left unanswered.

“I believe the police murdered my son,” the newsletter quotes Mrs. Dowell as saying.

Eleven Questions the Family Says Remain Unanswered

The newsletter’s opening pages present a numbered inventory of contradictions the Dowell family says undermine the official account of the shooting.

Unarmed victim, lethal force. Dowell was unarmed, the newsletter states. The Party asks how six bullet holes and shotgun blasts can constitute a justifiable use of force.

Conflicting shot count. Police and the newspaper reported that only three shots were fired. The coroner’s report and statements from neighboring residents, the newsletter says, established that six to ten shots were used and heard.

Timeline gap. Police and the newspaper placed the shooting between 4:49 A.M. and 5:01 A.M. Dowell’s sister and neighbors testified to hearing shots at 3:50 A.M. — roughly an hour earlier.

Jurisdictional anomaly. Only Richmond police were first observed at the scene. Officers of the Martinez Sheriff’s Department — the agency officially credited with the shooting — were not seen at the location until approximately 4:50 A.M.

Physical impossibility. The official account states Dowell was running and jumped two fences at the moment he was shot. The Dowell family states that he had suffered a hip injury in a prior automobile accident and, after leaving the hospital, could not run at all — “let alone jump two fences with a hammer in his hand.”

Absent trace evidence. The lot between the two fences was an old junkyard saturated with grease and oil. No oil was found on Dowell’s shoes.

Blood at scene. The coroner reported that Dowell bled to death. His sister, who was present that night, said she saw very little blood where he lay and no pool of blood — notwithstanding the coroner’s finding that he had been shot ten times.

No medical response. When Dowell’s brother and a friend found the body, the newsletter states, no attempt had been made by police to summon a doctor or render any aid to preserve his life.

Evidence withheld. The Dowell family was denied the right to see or take possession of the clothing Dowell was wearing when he was killed. The family was also denied the right to photograph his body to document the number of bullet wounds.

Inquest irregularities. The newsletter reports that the newspaper published a verdict of “justifiable homicide” approximately two hours before the coroner’s jury concluded its deliberations and formally rendered its finding. The jury, it states, comprised ten white members and two Black members. The newsletter further states that the jury foreman was unable to read.

Prior threats. The officer who fired the fatal shots knew Dowell by name, according to the family. The newsletter states the officer had stopped Dowell on multiple prior occasions, demanding identification by name — “Denzil Dowell, give me your identification” — and had at other times explicitly threatened to kill him.

Sheriff Refuses Delegation’s Request

On April 18th, a group of concerned citizens traveled to Martinez to meet with Sheriff Young. They presented the areas of factual doubt in the Dowell case and requested that the officer who admitted to carrying out the shooting be removed from duty pending a formal investigation.

Sheriff Young refused to hear the request. The newsletter characterized his refusal as a “racist disregard for the reasonable request of black taxpayers and citizens concerned with the survival of black people.”

The Dowell family and the citizens’ group are demanding a full Grand Jury investigation. They are also calling on all law enforcement agencies in the area to change what they describe as a policy of using lethal force in response to property offenses.

Armed Rally Draws Police; No Arrests

The previous Saturday afternoon, approximately 15 members of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense held a street rally at the corner of Third and Chesley in North Richmond, beginning around 5 P.M. The men were armed with Magnum 12-gauge shotguns, M-1 rifles, and side arms.

Police arrived but made no attempt to disperse the gathering. The newsletter described the episode as proof that organized, armed Black community members could exercise their constitutional rights — to free speech, to peaceful assembly, and to bear arms — without interference.

“Both the Black Brothers and the racist cops had ‘Power,’” the newsletter states. “They had righteous ‘GUN POWER,’ but the significant thing is that the Black Brothers had some of this POWER.”

Platform and Call to Action

The inaugural issue quotes directly from the Party’s founding platform. Point No. 7 of “What We Believe” reads in full:

“We believe we can end police brutality in our black community by organizing black self-defense groups that are dedicated to defending our black community from racist police oppression and brutality. The second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives a right to bear arms. We therefore believe that all black people should arm themselves for self defense.”

The newsletter also catalogs additional incidents the Party cites as evidence of a broader pattern: the killing of an unidentified individual in North Richmond around the time of Dowell’s death; the murder of another unnamed person in North Richmond approximately one week before Dowell; George Thompson killed in Hunters Point, San Francisco in September 1966; and the beating of a 14-year-old girl in East Oakland in October 1966.

A community meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 29th, at 1717 Second Street, North Richmond, beginning at 1:30 P.M.

The Black Panther Community News Service is published by the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, P.O. Box 8644, Oakland, California (Emeryville Branch).