FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2012
May 2, 2012
Stop 'Stop and Frisk' Defendants to Take the Stand Wednesday, May 2nd
After Two Days of Cops Testi-lying, Be in Court Tomorrow to Hear Why People Took Risks Against Stop and Frisk!
WHEN:
WHERE: WHAT: |
Wednesday, May 2, 2012, starting at 9:30am
Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, 100 Centre Street, Room 535 Defendants take the stand to put "stop and frisk" on trial |
New York NY – May 2, 2012
Prosecutors rested their case today against 20 arrested protesting NYPD's "stop and frisk" policy at the 28th Precinct in Harlem. Many of the defendants, including Princeton professor Cornel West and the Rev. Stephen Phelps, Senior Minister of Riverside Church, will take the stand Wednesday as to why they chose to risk jail in the civil disobedience action in October 2011.
Judge Robert M. Mandelbaum ruled Monday against the defense motion to use the "necessity" defense, ruling that the NYPD police of "stop and frisk" did not present a clear and present danger, and frequently overruled defense attorneys' attempts to bring in the message of the protest. Prosecutors for the District Attorney argued that the message of the protest was not relevant, and that the defendants are guilty of disorderly conduct, carrying a possible 15 day jail sentence. Security has been extraordinarily heavy for this first Occupy Wall Street-related mass trial.
Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Communist Party, who called for the October action along with Dr. West, said today, "After two days of testi-lying by police, we will have our say in court. We will put NYPD's 'stop and frisk' on trial, and the truth will come out." West said, "We are here because we love these young brothers and sisters of all colors, and especially the black and brown ones who are subjected to being stopped and frisked through no fault of their own."
Those standing trial include people who have been stopped and frisked by the NYPD, or whose children have been repeatedly stopped, questioned, and searched without being charged with a crime. They are students, teachers, clergy, professionals, blue collar workers, and retired or unemployed. Some have served in the military, or have family members who are police. Some are Wall Street Occupiers.
The defense is expected to move that Judge Mandelbaum dismiss charges in the case because the prosecution did not show that the public or the NYPD was prevented from entering the Precinct or using the sidewalk.
“Stop and frisk,” a policy heavily promoted by Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is also being challenged in court by the NYCLU and Center for Constitutional Rights. In 2011, the NYPD stopped almost 700,000 people, or more than 1,900 people each day. More than 85 percent of those stopped and frisked are Black or Latino, and more than 90 percent of them were doing nothing wrong when the police stopped them. “Stop and Frisk” is the first step in a pipeline that has ultimately placed 2.4 million in prison.
The campaign against Stop & Frisk was initiated by Carl Dix and Cornel West. The October 21st nonviolent civil disobedience action at the 28th Precinct in New York brought forward a new generation of Freedom Fighters/Riders, and was the first of three major direct actions in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. This campaign against Stop & Frisk was carried out under the auspices of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network.
The Stop Mass Incarceration Network may be contacted at: [email protected]. It has also initiated the Bear Witness Project, which calls for people to submit their stories of encounters with law enforcement, racial profiling and of mass incarceration. This project will help break the silence and shame of racially-targeted mass incarceration and its interrelationship with the criminalization of Black and Latino peoples. To find out more: www.bearwitnessproject.tumblr.com. The website for the Network is www.stopmassincarceration.org.
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Earlier Trial Press Releases:
May 1, 2012, Stop and Frisk Trial Day #2
Apr 26, 2012, Stop & Frisk Practice of NYPD to be Challenged at Trial of “New Freedom Fighters”
YouTube of the Monday 4/30/12 Press Conference:
http://youtu.be/c76zZn6B7VsSeO
4/30/12 Other Press Coverage:
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120430/central-harlem/trial-of-stop-frisk-opponents-has-rowdy-start
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/30/activists-on-trial-for-arrests-during-nypd-top-and-frisk-policy-protest/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/activists-trial-arrests-nypd-protest-16243622?singlePage=true#.T59WMtWZiSo
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Stop-and-Frisk-Arrested-22-Demonstrators-Group-Protest-Trial-Cornel-West-149430915.html
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/04/30/activists-to-rally-ahead-of-trial-for-22-arrested-at-nypd-protest/
http://blackstarnews.com/news/135/ARTICLE/8158/2012-04-26.html
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/news/ap/politics/2012/Apr/29/22_person_trial_set_in_nyc_police_protest_arrests.html
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/160294/protesters-of-stop-and-frisk-policy-to-appear-in-court
http://www.officer.com/news/10707700/activists-on-trial-for-arrests-during-nypd-protest
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