Brooklyn, N.Y.
Community outrage as killer cop goes free
By Pat
Chin
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Haitians and their supporters demonstrated here July 29
against a grand jury decision not to indict undercover
narcotics detective Anthony Vasquez in the shooting death of
Patrick Dorismond.
The protest, organized by the Haitian Coalition for Justice,
started with a rally in front of the home of the slain security
guard's parents. It was followed by a militant and spirited
march to the Holy Cross Church, the site of Dorismond's March
25 funeral.
Demonstrators carried a lead banner that read "Stop police
brutality." Numerous signs were hoisted, some of which declared
"Jail killer cops, free Mumia," and "Justice for Patrick
Dorismond."
Also held aloft were huge placards with pictures of
Dorismond and other victims of police terror, like Kevin
Cedeno, Anthony Baez and Nicholas Heyward Jr. Other signs
reflected the struggle against racism.
"Whose streets? Our streets," chanted the protesters when
police tried to redirect the march.
The cops, who were deployed en masse, had come prepared to
make arrests in this mostly Black and immigrant community. But
no one was intimidated.
"The people united will never be defeated," they shouted at
the blue phalanx that lined the sidewalks.
Speaker after speaker took the microphone to denounce
Dorismond's killing and the travesty reflected in the grand
jury decision handed down two days earlier. Marie Dorismond
demanded justice for her son.
"Patrick," she told the multinational crowd, "is the first
Black man to be killed for saying 'no' to drugs."
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgantheau, who prepared
the grand jury case, was called a police accomplice and
subjected to blistering criticism. Speakers urged unity and
multinational solidarity.
Dorismond, a 26-year-old Haitian man, was shot and killed
March 16 after rebuffing undercover cops who tried to ensnare
him in a buy-and-bust drug sting. The attempted set-up for his
arrest was carried out under "Operation Condor," crafted by
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the Police Department.
The huge increase in drug arrests under "Condor," many for
minor offenses, was calculated to make the mayor appear tough
on crime in his now-defunct bid to win right-wing support for a
U.S. Senate run.
After the killing, Giuliani enraged the Haitian community
and others by distorting and releasing the slain man's sealed
juvenile record. It was a gross and callous attempt to demonize
Dorismond in order to justify the police action. The
cop-coddling mayor also refused to meet with the victim's
family.
When Dorismond was fatally shot by Vasquez he became the
fourth unarmed man of African descent to be killed by city cops
in 13 months. His life was taken only weeks after a jury in
mostly white upstate Albany County had acquitted the four white
cops who gunned down Amadou Diallo.
The four walked free after their trial was moved from the
Bronx, with its majority Latino and Black population, and an
African American woman judge who was set to hear the case.
Dorismond's death, like Diallo's, sparked numerous street
mobilizations against racist police killings. Protests led by
the Haitian Coalition for Justice demanded that Giuliani and
Police Commissioner Howard Safir resign.
A massive turnout at Dorismond's funeral escalated into a
violent clash with the police, who were deployed in large
numbers, some in riot gear. Twenty-three cops and four
demonstrators were injured in front of the Holy Cross Church.
More than 27 were arrested.
Speakers at the July 29 demonstration against the grand jury
decision called for support of those who still face criminal
charges stemming from the rebellion that erupted at Dorismond's
funeral. At least seven people now face felony counts.
WBAI-Pacifica reporter Errol Maitland, who was brutally beaten
by police and hospitalized, was charged with disorderly conduct
at that protest.
Kevin Kaiser, who was with Dorismond when he was killed,
told the crowd that there was no justification for the
shooting. He testified before the grand jury and has filed a
$15 million civil lawsuit against the city.
Solidarity came from Elombe Brath of the Patrice Lumumba
Coalition and Colette Pean of the December 12 Movement. There
were also representatives from the Haiti Support Network,
International Action Center, Oct. 22 Coalition to Stop Police
Brutality, Shades of Power, Women in Mourning, and other
groups.
A speaker from Workers World Party reminded the crowd that
the cops and the courts function only to protect the interests
of the rich. "Stay mobilized," she said. "Don't give up, keep
marching. Organize yourselves for people's justice."
To support the movement to win justice for Patrick Dorismond
and those arrested at his funeral, readers can call the Haitian
Coalition for Justice at (718) 284-0889.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
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