Kamau Sadiki

Kamau Sadiki was a Black Panther Party member. In 1971 an Atlanta police officer was murdered while he sat in his patrol car and had his gun and badge stolen, police were unable to find any evidence leading to potential suspects but presumed the killing was committed by the local chapter of the Black Liberation Army. Police raided the groups' compound and arrested several members. While in prison one of the BLA members claimed sadiki and another man committed the shooting while attempting to make a deal with the prosecutors in order to have charges dropped. Police did not find any evidence to charge sadiki with the crime and eventually he left the world of political activism to raise his family. 30 years after the murder FBI agents contacted sadiki demanding he assist them in having Assata Shakur extradited to the united states by arranging a meeting with her where she could be arrested. After he refused he was charged with the decades old killing. In 2003 he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

The Black Panther (January 19, 1974, printed p. 18; PDF p. 17), under “B.L.A. Members Acquitted,” reported that Joanne Chesimard (Assata Shakur) and Fred Hilton (Kamau Sadiki) were acquitted of all charges arising from an alleged New York bank robbery. The report attributed the verdict to contradictions in prosecution testimony and said both defendants still awaited trial on other charges. It does not identify the exact verdict day or establish physical release from custody. This New York acquittal is distinct from their later New Jersey and Georgia prosecutions.