by Salim Muwakkil

About the author: Salim Muwakkil writes on African-American issues for In These Times, a weekly socialist newsmagazine.

Shortly after midnight on July 30, 1995, Joseph Gould was working as a “squeegee” on the streets of Chicago’s trendy River North district. Gould, a homeless man, was dashing from car to car, washing the windshields of passing motorists when he encountered Gregory Becker and his girlfriend leaving an area nightclub. Becker, an off-duty Chicago cop, reportedly took offense at Gould’s aggressive sales tactics and ultimately fired a 9-mm bullet through the homeless man’s head, killing him. Becker—who is married and reportedly was anxious not to be found in the company of his girlfriend—quickly fled the scene and would likely have escaped detection were it not for alert witnesses...