Local activist Mary Jobe scribbled on the ground with a stick while sitting on the grass at Mesa Vista Community Center on May 3. She drew a heart next to the phrase, “RIP Oreo,” then sprinkled little yellow flowers all over the doodle.
“He had drug problems, but he wasn’t violent,” she said. “He didn’t support his habits in a violent way. He was not a violent man. He was a wonderful father. He was actually the one who attended all the parent conferences and took the kids to their doctor’s appointments because I was always working during the day.”
Jobe’s husband Daniel Tillison was shot dead by an Albuquerque Police Department officer in 2012 just one block from the community center. The officer, who APD subsequently identified to have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, thought Tillison’s cell phone was a gun, she said.
APD has been involved in 25 fatal shootings since 2010.
At the time, Jobe’s daughter was 3 years old while her sons Davontate and Isaiah were 7 and 9 respectively. He said their father’s death has had long-term effects on them.
“My kids cry for their dad all the time,” she said. “My youngest daughter has PTSD. She’s terrified of police. My older son has a lot of anger issues. He’s having a lot of trouble because of his dad’s passing.”
Jobe, 30, is now one of the most prominent organizers in the APD protester movement, she said. To push for the prosecution of APD officers involved in shootings, she passes petitions for a grand jury investigation of police around town.
“Even with money, if we get a settlement, I’m still going to continue to fight for justice,” she said. “I’ll fight tooth and nail until I’m six feet in the ground if I have to.”
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