7321: Anniversary of Dorismond Killing to Be Marked with Protests (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: karioka9@cs.com

First Anniversary of Dorismond Killing
to Be Marked with Protests

Brooklyn, March 12, 2001. On Saturday March 17, one year after the murder of Patrick Dorismond by undercover NYPD cops, Haitians and concerned New Yorkers will converge on Church Avenue in Brooklyn where his funeral was held, for a mass demonstration to demand justice for Dorismond and all other victims of police brutality. Organized by the Haitian Coalition for Justice, this rally is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Church Avenue, between
Bedford and Rogers Avenues in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

In a typical case of racial profiling, undercover cops posing as junkies accosted Dorismond and sought to entrap him in a drug "buy and bust" operation. According to witnesses, when they were rebuffed, the detectives failed to pull back, and did not identify themselves as police officers. After the murder, Giuliani immediately launched a vilification campaign against Dorismond, portraying him as an aggressive criminal who got what was coming to him. At the funeral, the NYPD intimidated, attacked, pepper sprayed, and arrested innocent mourners without provocation. In July, a Grand Jury bamboozled by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau cleared Anthony Vasquez, the cop who murdered Patrick Dorismond, of any wrongdoing while some of those arrested at the funeral are still facing prosecution.

Coalition members are outraged at the denial of justice in this and other cases of police brutality in New York City. "The official attitude is that we should bury our dead and shut up," states Ernest Banatte, a long time Haitian community activist and member of the Coalition for Justice. "We're going to work at it until justice is done," concludes Mr. Banatte. 

The Haitian Coalition for Justice, along with other community groups, is planning a series of events to commemorate this police murder.  Included is a rally and press briefing in front of the Wakamba Lounge, 37th Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan, where Dorismond was killed. This event is scheduled for 12 noon, on Friday, March 16.

On April 20, 2000, the Coalition led a march of 10,000 people across the Brooklyn Bridge, to City Hall, to demand justice for Patrick Dorismond's killing and to call for Giuliani's resignation.

For more information, contact:
The Haitian Coalition for Justice
1218 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11226
Tel:718-284-2255 Fax: 718-284-2545
Haitiancoalitionforjustice@yahoo.com