WASHINGTON, DC – In light of the recent incidents involving police officers’ use of excessive and deadly force which has caused the deaths of Anesson Joseph (West Palm Beach, FL); Raymond Herisse (Miami, FL); Rodney Mitchell (Sarasota, FL); Ruman Brisbon (Phoenix, AZ); Tamir Rice (Cleveland, OH); Eugene Ellison, Bobby Moore and Chavis Carter (Little Rock, AK), Michael Brown (Ferguson, MO), Ezell Ford and Omar Abrego (Los Angeles, CA), Eric Garner (Staten Island, NY), John Crawford (Beavercreek, OH), Clinton Allen (Dallas, TX), Jordan Baker and Kenneth Brian Releford (Houston, TX), Marquise Jones (San Antonio, TX), and a number of other unnamed, and unarmed individuals, the National Bar Association (NBA) is hosting a “Know Your Rights, Because It Could Save Your Life” town hall meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to educate the community and call for the U.S. Department of Justice to open a pattern and practice investigation into the police departments of Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and West Palm Beach Counties.
The Town Hall will be held on Friday, January 9, 2015 from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at the Urban League of Broward County located at 560 NW 27th Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale. For more information, email DeMonica Gladney
“During the Town Hall, attendees will learn how the Fourth Amendment (Search & Seizure) of the United States Constitution applies to them, whether it is legal to record the police activity and how citizens should behave/respond if, and when, they interact with police officers. “In addition, panelists will address issues of inequality and racial bias in policing, the justice system, and violence against members of minority communities,” stated Pamela J. Meanes, President of the National Bar Association.
“The National Bar Association is outraged that there has been a systemic delay in the investigation and prosecution of the 12 police officers who assassinated Raymond Herisse in 2011 (12 officers fired 116 bullets in less than 15 seconds at Herisse’s vehicle, hitting Herisse 16 times and killing him instantly) and why the prosecutor decided not to bring charges against police officer Richard Rassch for murdering an unarmed, mentally ill Anesson Joseph in 2014,” stated President Meanes.
“A close examination of the concerns raised by the attorneys for the families of Joseph, Mieles and Herisse reveals that, when reasonable and customary police policies and procedures are not followed, private citizens in Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and West Palm Beach Counties can be the victims of police misconduct,” stated President Meanes.
In a recent interview Herisse family attorney Marwan Porter stated, “We have fought for approximately two years to get basic information, and we still believe that additional information is being withheld. However, what we do know is that any notion that Raymond Herisse fired a gun out of his vehicle on the night of the incident is without merit and that he was gunned down with over 100 bullets for, at worst, driving his car carelessly,” commented Porter.
In addition, in a February interview with Fox 29, the lawyer for the Joseph family, Byrnes Guillaume, said there are still so many unanswered questions surrounding the shooting. “To get to a point where police has to use arms and shoot somebody that’s unarmed, that raises a red flag,” said Guillaume.
“Accordingly, the National Bar Association is headed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to stand with the Joseph and Herisse families and demand that the U.S. Department of Justice open a pattern and practice investigation into the Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and West Palm Beach Counties’ police departments.
“The African American communities of these counties desire to be protected from police departments that allegedly have gone wild, and we plan to stand behind these communities until proper investigations are conducted.” President Meanes stated.
The National Bar Association renews its call for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a fair and impartial investigation into deaths involving police in Staten Island, New York; Dallas, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Beavercreek, Ohio.
