If you live in New York City, you've got a great opportunity to stand up for civil rights and against police misconduct tomorrow morning at City Hall. If you don't live in New York City, you can forward this to your NYC friends, and please comment below about similar abuses happening in your community.
A great opportunity to stand up for civil rights and against police misconduct tomorrow morning at New York City Hall!
The Basics: The NYPD is in need of some serious reform. On Thanksgiving weekend, undercover officers shot 50 bullets at 3 unarmed black men in Queens, killing Sean Bell the night before his wedding, and seriously wounding his 2 friends. Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 24th, at 10am, the New York City Council is having a hearing on "Undercover and Specialized Operations in the Police Department." Grassroots groups and community leaders are trying to get as many people as possible to this hearing to show support for basic civil rights in our city.
Bullet in Jamaica Airtrain Station: On the night of the shooting, one of the 50 bullets shot by the police went through the AirTrain station in Jamaica, narrowly missing a civilian and two patrolmen. The Airtrain Station connects JFK Airport to the subway, and many travellers pass through it on their way into or out of the city. Democracy Now has the surveillance camera footage from the Airtrain Station the night of the shooting. (If link doesn't work, go to Democracynow.org and search "Surveillance.")
City Council Hearing - Stay for the whole thing, or stop by before work: If you are in NYC, I hope you can come to the hearing. It starts at 10am, but it is advisable to arrive at 9am, as it will be crowded and we all have to go through security. Or if a pesky thing called a day job gets in the way of your grassroots activism, you can show your support just by stopping by City Hall for a little while in the morning, between 8:30 and 10am. People will be gathering for the hearing early, and it is important to make that crowd as big, as enthusiastic, and as diverse as possible. If you are not in NYC, could you copy and paste this into an email to your New York friends? I don't ask for this stuff very often.
Subways: Almost every subway goes to City Hall, so stopping off before work shouldn't be too far out of your way. You can take the 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge, the N/R/W to City Hall, the 2/3 to Park Place, or the J/M/Z to Chambers Street/W.T.C. You can also take the 1 or the A/C/E to Chambers, but it's a little bit farther of a walk.
Call Your City Councilmember: Whether you make it to the hearing or not, please contact your city councilmember to tell them that the NYPD needs reform. Details on proposed reforms will follow in a later diary, but for right now, it is important for every councilmember to hear our general concern for this problem. Don't know your councilmember? Look 'em up here. Nervous? Here's a script:
Office Staffer: Hello, Councilmember _____'s office.
You: Hi, my name is _______, and I live and vote in Councilmember ________'s district. I am calling about the hearings about the practices of New York City police.
Office Staffer: Let me transfer you.
Office Staffer 2: Hello?
You: I am a constituent of Councilmember _______'s and I am calling about the hearings on police practices in New York. I was very concerned about the shooting death of Sean Bell on Thanksgiving weekend, and other incidents of police misconduct. Does Councilmember _________ have a plan for making the police department more responsive to the people?
Office Staffer 2: Councilmember __________ is extremely concerned about the shooting of Sean Bell. We are working with other members of the council to see what reforms are best. Can I take your name and address please?
Coalition for Reform: Democracy for NYC (the local group of Democracy for America) has been working with a coalition of NYC groups and community leaders in the wake of the Sean Bell shooting to develop and push for needed reforms to the police department. This isn't just about creating a crowd for the media, though that is important - it is about mobilizing to bring about substantial policy change. Also, this movement is not anti-cop; what we are pushing for is accountability, better firearms training, and other reforms that will lead to a fairer and more effective police department. One of the groups in the coalition working on the proposed reforms is 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. They have the experience and the know-how to make law enforcement work better and they have been instrumental in developing the proposed reforms, which I will post soon .
See you tomorrow morning at City Hall. I hope to be carrying a big sign that says "Democracy for NYC."