Stop and Frisk Protest, March 2011
Stop Mass Incarceration
November, 8, 2012
New outrages have been reported from the courtroom in the trial of the Stop-and-Frisk Freedom Fighters. Today, we learned that the one juror that said she was against stop-and-frisk during jury selection was arrested and charged with five counts of disorderly conduct at the end of court on Monday, two weeks after the trial began!!! She has been removed from the jury. Another juror that was outraged at the arrest has, also, been removed.
The prosecutor is, now, arguing for a mistrial. This follows the main prosecution witness, Deputy Inspector Charles McEvoy, the Commander of the 103rd Precinct, failing in his testimony to show how in any way the Stop-and-Frisk protesters blocked the entrance to the precinct on November 19. As Debra Sweet reports, “In fact, TARU (Technical Assistance Response Unit) video shows NYPD Community Affairs officers opening the gate and walking protesters to the front door of the precinct, where they stood chanting…. We won’t stop until we STOP stop and frisk!” The gate was erected by the NYPD to barricade the precinct and prevented people from approaching the front door.
The prosecution has no case. They are arguing for a mistrial. This would means starting a new trial with a new jury. No!!! The charges must be dropped.
Today, 1,400 signatures to the resolutions demanding the dropping of the charges against the Stop-and-Frisk Freedom Fighters were delivered to the Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Add your voice.
CALL, FAX or E-MAIL the Queens District Attorney, Richard Brown TEL 718-286-6000 (9:30am-4:30pm), FAX 718-286-6350, e-mail KRRyan@queensda.org and ContactQDA@queensda.org and tell him to drop charges from November 19, 2011 on Carl Dix, Jamel Mims, Robert Parsons, and Morgan Rhodewalt. Here’s a sample letter to print and fax.