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NEWS & LETTERS, October 2002
Nationwide movement against police brutality continues
New York--"Police brutality did not die on September
11 "proclaims a striking poster containing some of the names and faces of
the more than 44 people murdered by law enforcement officials since that date.
Issued by the Oct. 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the
Criminalization of a Generation, the poster urges participation in the seventh
annual protests against police brutality that will take place around the country
this Oct. 22. (For information: 1-888-NO BRUTALITY; www.october22.org. In the aftermath of September 11, with the ensuing
glorification of the police and with many white youth's concentration on
anti-war activities, the police brutality movement has all but disappeared from
view. Law enforcement officers' murders of civilians, especially Black and
Latino youth, continue unabated, however, and the official investigations
engendered by the last few years' police brutality campaigns seem to have come
to a halt. The Oct. 22 Coalition sponsored a showing of a new film,
"Justifiable Homicide" Sept. 13, that should help bring attention to
the problem. Made by Jon Osman and Jonathan Stack, it was a big hit at this
year's Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The documentary exposes the execution
of two young Puerto Ricans by the NYPD in January 1995, and the subsequent
cover-up that appears to have included former Mayor Giuliani. The film features Margarita Rosario, the mother of Anthony
Rosario and aunt of Hilton Vega, the two men executed while lying face down on
the floor. It documents the authorities insisting that they died in a shoot out,
so the killings were justified, in spite of the fact that Anthony's 14 bullet
holes and Hilton's eight are all in their backs and sides, and in spite of the
accounts of two eyewitnesses. As Ms. Rosario uncovers the truth, she is
transformed before our eyes from a Giuliani supporter into a radical activist
and the founder of "Parents Against Police Brutality." We see her reminisce about her son, comfort the grieving
father of another murdered youth, leaflet her Bronx neighborhood, and attend
endless meetings and protests. The highlight of the film is her confrontation
with Giuliani on a radio call-in show. She tries to ask him why he is covering
up the fact that Anthony and Hilton were shot in the back, but he cuts her off
and then excoriates her as being responsible for her son's death. Ms. Rosario and several other parents of murdered youth
attended the screenings. Ms. Rosario said, "I am fighting because as long
as we remain silent, more people will be killed. If we make people aware of
police brutality, we may be able to slow it down." Hilton Vega's mother
added, "The day our sons were killed, we also died. But we were killed a
second time when Mary Jo White (the federal prosecutor) told us the killings
were justified. And this goes on all over the country." The father of Malcolm Ferguson, a young Black man killed by
cops after he attended protests over the Diallo killing, spoke as well.
"What goes on locally comes from higher up. The Bush administration wants
to repeal the Posse Comitatas Law so it can call the military into our
communities. Each of us has suffered, but we must always struggle against the
forces that want to brutalize us and take away our civil liberties." --Anne Jaclard *** Chicago--Yesterday, September 11, made one year since the
attack on the United States (365 days)! But for Timia Williams it made 527 days
since her attack occurred! I Can't Hold it Against You! Timia Williams, if you do not sing "God Bless
America," I can't hold it against you! For why would you want God to bless
a land like this where three white male Chicago police officers can walk free
after what they did to you! Timia Williams, if you do not say the "Pledge of
Allegiance" to the flag, I can't hold it against you! For you to pledge to
a flag that these officers wear on their uniform is like asking a Jewish child
to pledge allegiance to a Nazi swastika flag. Timia Williams, if you do not sing "America the
Beautiful," I can't hold it against you! Since they, the officers, left a
mark on your face which will be there forever, which took from your parents'
beauty that they gave you! But I will hold the Superintendent Terry Hillard, Police
Board members, and OPS responsible until you, Timia Williams, receive justice! --George Wilfrid Smith Jr. This statement was delivered at the Sept. 12 meeting of the
Chicago Police Board. Timia Williams, 11 years old, was attacked by three white
Chicago police officers. They received 15-day suspensions. --Ed. |
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