Bernell Butler, a pastor who passionately advocated for police reform after Riverside police fatally shot his cousin Tyisha Miller 27 years ago, has died.
He was 67.
Butler died Friday, Jan. 3, in San Bernardino County of complications from ALS. He was known for organizing and leading nonviolent protests to demand justice for Miller, a Black teenager from the Rubidoux area of what’s now Jurupa Valley.
Miller, 19, was fatally shot by four Riverside police officers on the night of Dec. 28, 1998, at a Riverside gas station in what became a major moment in Riverside history and sparked a reckoning with race relations in the city.
Riverside Police Department officers had responded to a 911 call reporting an unconscious woman inside a locked car with a handgun on her lap at the station. When officers broke the car window to reach her, they said Miller reached for the gun. Officers fired 23 shots, striking her 12 times. The shooting led to protests, allegations of racism against the department, calls for prosecution of the officers and ultimately changes in the police force’s operations.
Reflecting on the case, Butler said in a March video interview for the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California that: “All we could do was expose what they had done and try to get some justice by nonviolently protesting.”
Born in Riverside in 1957, Butler was one of eight siblings and grew up in the Belltown neighborhood, which is now part of the city of Jurupa Valley.
He organized numerous demonstrations calling for justice for his cousin, including a nonviolent freeway protest on the 91 Freeway in Riverside in 1999. He became the spokesperson for the family as he advocated for police accountability.
Butler also helped bring in nationally known public figures, such as attorney Johnnie Cochran and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson for protests, which brought international attention to the case.
Butler’s son, Jerel Butler, marched alongside his father at many of the protests.
“My dad always stood for justice and what was right,” Jerel Butler said Thursday, Jan. 16.
Bernell Butler’s efforts, along with community support, led to reforms, including the formation of Riverside’s Community Police Review Commission.
“With his leadership and efforts, he was able to make a change in his community — the legacy that he leaves behind is his fight for justice,” said Pastor Paul Munford, of New Joy Baptist Church in Riverside, who was involved with the demonstrations after Miller’s death.
Butler’s March interview is part of an oral history project tied to his being named one of the downtown Riverside institute’s 25 Homegrown Heroes — Inland Empire community leaders recognized for their contributions.
“Well, I don’t feel like a homegrown hero, I just try to do what I can and stand up for what is right,” Butler said in the interview.
Butler is survived by his wife and four children, three of which are still alive.
“My dad was always my hero and had a very strong family foundation,” Butler’s son, Jerel Butler, said.
“He never let a member of our family go without food or a jacket and always helped every member of the family,” Butler’s son said.
Bernell Butler served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Navy Reserve before pursuing ministry later in life.
“When I joined the military, it helped me broaden my horizons,” Butler said in the interview. “One of the reasons I left Riverside was to get out of the mindset of ‘live and die in L.A.’”
He received his first minister’s license while in Oklahoma and described his denomination as Pentecostal, within the Church of God in Christ.
Munford called Butler “a dedicated and committed servant of God.”
A funeral will be Friday, Jan. 31, at 10 a.m. at Higher Ground Church of God in Christ in Riverside.
