Activists support lawyers at hearing

Michael Tariff Warren and Evelyn Warren. Photo: Roberto Mercado

Some 60 activists attended an Oct. 23 hearing for Michael Tariff Warren and his spouse, Evelyn Warren, in a Brooklyn courtroom. The Warrens, who are both progressive African-American lawyers, have been charged with obstruction, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. These bogus charges came about last June 21 when the Warrens witnessed a young Latino being brutalized by cops in a McDonald’s parking lot in Brooklyn.

When the Warrens confronted the cops with the question of why this young man was being beaten while he was handcuffed, white police sergeant James Talvy and other cops verbally and then physically attacked the lawyers. Both were then arrested and taken to the 77th Precinct, where they were incarcerated for many hours without receiving any medical care for injuries sustained while being punched and kicked. Activists from around the city quickly came to the precinct, where they held an impromptu rally inside and outside denouncing the racist police until the Warrens were released.

City Councilperson Charles Barron and other community activists are demanding that Talvy be fired and that Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hines “drop the charges against the Warrens and charge the police.”

Barron stated, “Police who murder and assault us must be charged with crimes and put in jail. That is the only deterrent.”

Evelyn Warren added, “We are professionals. If they do this to us in broad daylight on a crowded street, what do they do in the dark when no one is around? That’s what I’m concerned about. Officer Talvy must go and Police Commissioner Kelly must go, because his policy allows this behavior to continue.”

The next court hearing for the Warrens is Dec. 12.

—Monica Moorehead