Arrests in NYC to protest police shooting
Congress for Peace in Euskal Herria
New York City. So far more than 800 people (incl 4 Basques)
have been arrested for civil disobedience to protest the
murder of a young African, Amadour Diallo, by mayor
R(a)dolph Giuliani's death squads. Many prominent people,
civil rights leaders, politicians, artists, writers...
have been arrested. Many whites have taken part in the
demonstrations. Even the Jews for Racial and Economic Justice
took part in the rallies at Police Plaza this week.
There is a lot of police brutality here in NYC and
so far Giuliani and his police got away with it. Now it
seems the mayor and his police are under a lot of pressure
and may be forced to stop the violence.
By the way, many abertzales in NYC were embarrased when
we learned Giuliani married Ainhoa Arteta and was a guest
of honor at her wedding. Hope R(a)dolf hasn't been asked
to serve as "mediator" in our "peace process."
cheers,
Olatz Arkauz
>>>
NY Cops Charged in Diallo Shooting
NEW YORK (AP) -- Jesse Jackson galvanized protesters outside Police
Headquarters today as word spread that four white officers had been indicted
for murder in the shooting of an unarmed African immigrant.
Jackson arrived as several hundred protesters gathered for what has become a
daily rite. He linked arms with the Rev. Al Sharpton; they blocked the
entrance, then were read their rights and taken inside for arrest.
Previous demonstrations over the death of Amadou Diallo have resulted in 821
arrests, including NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and actors Ossie Davis, Ruby
Dee and Susan Sarandon.
Jackson told reporters: ``I look out here today and I see blacks, whites,
Asians, Latinos, men and women, moving from battleground to common ground and
the moral ground. This is a great day. A day of joy. A day of hope.''
A source close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The
Associated Press Thursday night that the officers had been indicted for
second-degree murder. But by early afternoon there still was no official
confirmation.
Second-degree murder is the intentional killing from depraved indifference to
life. It carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life.
``Indictment is only the first step,'' protester Yee Ling Poon, an attorney
from Chinatown, said this morning. ``I am going to stay out here until the
whole attitude toward minorities has changed.''
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a strong supporter of the police department and a
target of the demonstrations, appeared to be softening his position today,
saying on his radio show:
``When I talk about the good record of our police department, that is not
meant in any way to demean or to deny or to denigrate the feelings of
frustration and anger and hurt over the shooting that took place. I feel those
myself but it's also meant to try to convey perspective and reality to a
situation in which there aren't many trying to do this.''
Diallo, a 22-year-old street vendor, was hit 19 times on Feb. 4 in the
vestibule of his Bronx home when officers Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward
McMellon and Richard Murphy fired a total of 41 shots.
The four Street Crime Unit members were looking for a rape-murder suspect when
they found Diallo. It is unclear whether the officers thought Diallo fit the
suspect's description. A lawyer for one of the officers has said his client
believed Diallo was reaching for a gun, although he was later found to be
unarmed.
Marvyn Kornberg, Carroll's lawyer, said neither he nor his client had been
notified of the indictment, but added he was not surprised.
``As sure as I was that he was going to be indicted, that's how sure I am that
he's going to be acquitted,'' Kornberg said.
Attorneys for the other three officers said they had yet to be contacted by
prosecutors.
The officers have not spoken publicly about the case and all declined to
testify before the grand jury.
Since the shooting, apprehensions over the sometimes adversarial relationship
between minorities and police have pitted Giuliani against protesters critical
of the mayor's reactions to the case.
The peaceful protests began in minority communities but have gained momentum
and cut across racial lines in the seven weeks since Diallo's death.
Demonstrators, including young people who had never been to a protest and one-
time activists drawn back to the streets, have angrily accused police of
racism.
AP-NY-03-26-99 1355EST <<<<