Press Releases & Statements
9/27/1
While the indictment of Officer Wayne Isaacs on murder and manslaughter charges for the killing of Delrawn Small is significant and almost unprecedented, it's important to remember that it does not equal justice or accountability. We must stay vigilant in our call for thorough prosecution of Isaacs and we must continue to send love and support to the Small family, who still have a long, difficult road ahead of them.
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Statement Regarding Announcement that NYPD is Planning Trial for Officer Richard Haste Resignation Announcement
9/22/16
Without a start date, timeline or list of charges the announcement of a departmental trial for Officer Richard Haste appears to be a political move by Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD. It’s no coincidence that this announcement was made against the backdrop of heavy criticism of the administration for the NYPD’s lack of transparency and practice of rewarding officers who kill and brutalize New Yorkers with significant pay increases.
Statement Regarding Bratton's Resignation Announcement
8/2/16
As Police Commissioner under both Mayors Guiliani and de Blasio, Bratton leadership of the NYPD led to daily abuse of people of color, low-income and poor New Yorkers, the homeless, LGBT New Yorkers, immigrants and other vulnerable communities in our City.
We’re glad to see him go, but it’s important that we do not mistake his resignation for the systemic change that’s necessary to protect our communities from police abuse. We have a Mayor who supports Broken Windows policing and turns his back on New York families who have lost loved ones to the police. We have a City Council Speaker who makes backroom deals with the NYPD, selling out New Yorkers for her own political gain. We have a new Commissioner who is primed to continue Bratton’s legacy. We have a police department, criminal justice system and administration that refuse to hold officers who kill and brutalize New Yorkers accountable, allowing and encouraging the violence to continue.
Statement From Mother of Mohamed Bah Regarding Meeting with DOJ
7/21/16
Today I – along with my attorneys and representatives of the Justice Committee – met with Assistant US Attorney David Kennedy. He informed us that the Department of Justice is still reviewing Mohamed’s case. It is difficult to understand why my son’s case has been stalled with the DOJ for so long. It’s been almost four years. There is clear evidence that the NYPD violated Mohamed’s civil rights and yet the DOJ has failed to move forward swiftly to ensure justice and accountability....
...Every time police are not held accountable for murdering Black and Brown people, it sends a message that they can brutalize and kill with impunity, allowing and even encouraging the violence to continue. The local criminal justice system failed me and my son even though there is clear evidence that they broke the law. I am demanding the DOJ not continue this failure and in stead hold these officers accountable.
Justice Committee leader slams Speaker Mark-Viverito for backdoor deal on Right To Know Act
7/13/16
Speaker Mark-Viverito has long promoted herself as an elected official who is “down with the people”. She has stood with the mothers of Anthony Baez, Jayson Tirado, Iman Morales and others who have been killed unjustly by the NYPD, at rallies organized by the Justice Committee (formerly known as the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights' NYC chapter)– and yet in this moment where she has the power to help end the most common daily abuses by the NYPD, she has chosen instead to align herself with Commissioner Bratton instead of the communities she is supposed to represent. She is selling out Puerto Ricans and all New Yorkers who are abused by the police for her own political gain.
Recommendations and Love for Cop Watchers from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and Justice Committee
07/11/16
Video footage in the police killings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Delrawn Small, Freddie Gray, Ramarley Graham and others, has played an undeniable role in exposing the horrors and realities of policing in this country. In many of the cases, footage has come from witness's who are decidedly standing to document, deter, and deescalate violence police violence, which is disproportionately focused in Black and Latino/a and other oppressed communities across the nation.