Mothers of New Yorkers Killed by Police Meet NYPD Inspector General
Mothers of family members killed by police met with New York Police Department Inspector General Philip Eure on Wednesday evening to ask for an investigation into the department's use of deadly force.
The nine mothers and one sister meeting Eure were Iris Baez, mother of Anthony Baez, killed in 1994; Margarita Rosario, mother of Anthony Rosario and Aunt of Hilton Vega, killed in 1995; Allene Person, mother of Timur Person, killed in 2006; Valerie Bell, mother of Sean Bell, killed in 2006; Constance Malcolm, mother of Ramarley Graham, killed in 2012; Natasha Duncan, sister of Shantel Davis, killed in 2012; Hawa Bah, mother of Mohamed Bah, killed in 2012; and Carol Gray, mother of Kimani Gray, killed in 2013.
"We've been supporting cases of excessive force and police killings for almost thirty years. ... This is a very important day for the families. Families whose loved ones were killed by the police, as they don't usually get the opportunity to meet with officials, so this is a huge opportunity and we are grateful to be meeting with the Inspector General," said Loyda Colon, Justice Committee.
"In addition to this being an historic moment for these families, with the current case of Eric Garner completely caught on video, the ruling of the medical examiner saying that his death was the result of a chokehold, yet the officers have not been arrested. For any one of us, we'd have already been arrested, and the families here today know that all too well. Regardless of evidence in their cases, regardless of the fact that officers broke protocol and broke laws, none of these officers have been held accountable."
The meeting was requested by the families two months ago, long before the death of Eric Garner, and Eure agreed to meet with the families to better understand what they are going through.
The Inspector General of the NYPD was a new position created by New York's City Council a year ago and is tasked with looking at practices of police officers and evaluating police policies. The IG reports to the Department of Investigations, has a staff of 50, and subpoena power.
Eure was appointed March 28 of this year and was previously head of he Washington, D.C. Office of Police Complaints. According to The New York Times, he is a close friend of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"My son was Ramarley Graham; he was murdered February 2, 2012 in my home by Officer Richard Haste. I am here to day to meet with the Inspector General to present what happened to my son," Constance Malcolm, mother of Ramarley Graham, said. "There was a lot of protocol that was broken in the incident with my son, when he was murdered. They broke into my home, they had 45 minutes outside for backup and they didn't do that, and as a result my son died."
"We're here because there no accountability for officers that break the law, and they keep on breaking on the law over and over every day. Two years ago it was me, a couple of weeks ago it was Eric Garner, and I felt if they would have prosecuted this officer in this case, we would have been, moving forward, this officer would have been found guilty because he broke every protocol," Malcolm said.
"My son didn't have any weapon, he posed no threat to him, and yet my son is dead while this man is walking free collecting a paycheck. And all these officers that are killing people, abusing people, there is no accountability. It happens every day. There's nobody standing up for us mothers. We have to fight for justice. They are taking away our sons, our daughters, they are destroying whole families and they seem not to understand it and it has to stop," she added.
Loyda Colon said they requested a meeting with the Inspector General because there had never been an investigation of all cases of excessive force resulting in death, their pattern and practice. She said the issues of police killings spans decades, "the mothers represent killings from two decades, innocent New Yorkers killed by police for no reason."
The family of Eric Garner was contacted but couldn't attend the meeting on Wednesday. Two other mothers also helping to develop areas for investigation and recommendations are Kadiatou Diallo, mother of Amadou Diallo, killed in 1999 and Laverne Dobbinson, mother of Tamon Robinson, killed in 2012.
After the meeting with Inspector General Philip Eure, the Justice Committee released the following statement,:
"The IG told us his office is currently assessing priorities and he could not say definitely whether such a review would be conducted at this time. However, he did say his office is looking into some excessive force issues," said Loyda Colon, Justice Committee.
"The families felt the meeting was productive and hope to continue an open dialogue with the IG's office moving forward. It is our strong hope the IG will prioritize an investigation into NYPD killings, as we believe a report on findings from it would shed light on why the NYPD continues to unjustly kill black and Latino New Yorkers, as well as the dire need for real systematic change in the Department."
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!