As a person who cares about justice my heart aches today. I am profoundly saddened by the news coming out of Staten Island. Eric Garner died after being stopped for selling loose cigarettes. Neither the activity he was engaged in nor his response to the police officers who apprehended him warranted the force that was applied – force that ultimately resulted in his death. As I have said before I know good people of all races are offended by injustice. Our criminal justice system must be one that every person believes in. We have a major problem in our City and country when people of color, black men in particular, believe that the justice system consistently fails them. I have great respect for police officers and the very difficult work they are charged with, but today’s announcement does not represent equal justice for all under the law. When we witness a wrong we should raise our collective voices until we make it right. As a Council Member I remain as committed as ever to working with my colleagues to build better police-community relations and advancing laws that improve justice for all.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 03:51:40 +0000
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