Grand Jury lets off racist killer cop

In a move as outrageous as it was predictable, a Westchester, N.Y., grand jury — under the instructions of the prosecutor — has covered up the killing of yet another innocent Black victim of a racist police assault.

On Nov. 19, Kenneth Chamberlain, a 68-year-old retired Marine veteran with a heart condition, was repeatedly tasered, shot with a bean bag and taunted with racial epithets before being fatally shot. Chamberlain, who had heart problems, was still connected to his oxygen tubes.

Chamberlain’s family slammed the decision as “a blatant cover up” and said it would request a Justice Department investigation. (Daily News, May 4)

Adding to the travesty, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore called the killing “a tragedy,” but not a crime. No disciplinary action of any sort was announced for the outrageous behavior of the police. DiFiore said only that she had been “assured by the White Plains Police Department that they will be reviewing this behavior.” (Daily News, May 4)

Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., called the failure to indict Officer Anthony Carelli “a blatant cover up of the murderous tactics” used by the White Plains police. “I have to question what evidence was presented to the grand jury,” he said. “It is hard to put trust in a system that I feel has failed me already.” (Daily News, May 4) Carelli was the officer named as the one who fired the shot that killed Chamberlain.

Chamberlain Jr. has pointed out that the shooting of his father is only the latest in a series of cover-ups of police brutality by the same DA’s office, adding that he is “not surprised” about the court’s decision, because Westchester County has “a history of questionable police shootings that have all been cleared.” He specifically referred to the cases of D.J. Henry and Detective Christopher Ridley. (CNN video, Starting Point, May 4)

In October of 2010, Henry was shot by police outside a local bar in Thornwood, N.Y. The 20-year-old college student was parked in a no stopping zone when an officer allegedly tapped on his window, telling him to move. Police claimed that Henry hit two police officers when moving his car, and that’s why officers opened fire. A Westchester County grand jury refused to indict the killer, Aaron Hess, and another officer.

In 2008, Ridley, a Black member of the Mount Vernon police force, was fatally shot while off duty when he attempted to intervene in an altercation between two homeless men. His gun fell to the ground and accidentally discharged. When he attempted to pick up his weapon, two Westchester county officers opened fire, killing him. Once again, the grand jury found no cause for indictment, and no disciplinary action was taken.

Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. pointed out that not only does District Attorney DiFiore work closely with the police department, but that “she is a member of the Chief’s organization [Westchester County Chiefs of Police Association].” (CNN video, Starting Point, May 4)

Chamberlain is right to be suspicious of not only the district attorney, but the entire grand jury system. Across the country, grand juries routinely refuse to indict police officers accused of police brutality. Prosecutors, who present the case to the grand jury and set the ground rules, are part of the same racist, repressive apparatus as the police, and the district attorneys have almost total control.

As former chief judge of the NYS Court of Appeals, Sol Wachtler famously observed, “Prosecutors have so much control over grand juries that they could convince them to indict a ham sandwich.” (BarryPopik.com, July 15, 2004)

Moreover, Carelli has a history of racism and brutality. Two Jordanian brothers have filed a lawsuit because Carelli and five other officers beat them during an arrest in 2008 for disorderly conduct, charges that have since been dismissed. Jereis and Salameh Hatter have testified that Carelli was the roughest of all, kicking and hitting them with a nightstick while calling them a racist designation for people of Arab or other Middle Eastern origin.

Carelli made the unbelievable claim in a 2010 deposition that the brothers were belligerent and that one “slammed his own head against the police car.” (NYMag.com, May 5)

Carelli also said in his sworn deposition that Jereis Hatter had no visible signs of injury to his face. A photo taken by Jereis’ lawyer after the arrest shows that his face was battered.

As in the Trayvon Martin case, progressive and anti-racist people everywhere must redouble our efforts to obtain justice for all victims of racist police brutality.