wfn.org | Statement by NCC Genl Secy on Amadou Diallo Verdict

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

Email: news@ncccusa.org  Web: www.ncccusa.org
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227

14NCC3/1/2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Statement From The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar,
General Secretary, National Council of Churches 
On the Amadou Diallo Verdict

We are deeply shocked over a verdict that once again declares 
"not guilty" in the shooting death of an innocent man.  This time it 
is the acquittal of four white New York City policemen on thirty-two 
counts in the death of Amadou Diallo.  This acquittal rules out any 
further prosecution of the defendants by the State.  We also 
recognize the national problem at the heart of this case:  racial 
profiling, which is rampant throughout the United States.

We express heartfelt sadness to the Diallo family at this 
second miscarriage of justice, which follows the death of their son.  
We praise them for the restraint they have shown in this most 
difficult time, including their call for calm immediately following 
announcement of the verdict.

Mr. Diallo, a 22-year-old man, was a recent immigrant to this 
country from Guinea in West Africa who came to pursue the "American 
Dream."  He was a son, a brother, a friend and, by all accounts, a 
hard worker.  He will never be a father or a grandfather, nor will 
he ever realize his full potential as a human being because of the 
41 shots which rang out on February 4, 1999, in what should have 
been the safety of his own home.  Nineteen of those forty-one shots 
hit their mark.  From all accounts, Amadou Diallo was acting 
logically when he reached into his pocket to show four men dressed 
in civilian clothing his identification.  Even if Mr. Diallo had 
been aware that the four men were police, as a new immigrant to this 
country he may have been unaware of the danger to which people of 
color expose themselves when they make a move after being stopped by 
the police.

The NCC takes notice of other recent cases in which police 
have violated human rights - notably the cases of Anthony Baez and 
Abner Louima.  In an editorial in The New York Times (2/26/00),  New 
York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer documented this pernicious 
trend.  He stated that, "even accounting for higher crime rates in 
minority neighborhoods, blacks were stopped 23 percent more often 
than whites, and Hispanics were stopped 39 percent more often.  In 
precincts where blacks and Hispanics each represent less than 10 
percent of the population, they accounted for more than half the 
stops."

We live in an increasingly violent society where racial 
profiling has become a serious problem.  Unfortunately, New York 
City has a climate in which police feel free to shoot first and ask 
questions later.  Evidence of institutional racism was clear in this 
case when the decision was made to move the venue of the trial from 
the Bronx, where the shooting occurred, to Albany, a community where 
seemingly little understanding exists of the kind of racial 
profiling and civilian-police tensions which plague the Bronx.

We urge New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Police 
Commissioner Howard Safir to ensure that all law-abiding persons 
will be safe in New York City and we further urge:

+Re-establishment of and full support for a civilian review board.

+Appointment of a special prosecutor to look into high profile cases 
such as 
the Diallo, Baez and Louima cases and

+Additional special training for the Street Crimes Unit and other 
police officers so that they may become more aware of the 
communities in which they serve.

We urge these steps not only in New York City but in all 
communities throughout the United States where there is racial 
profiling and human rights violations by police.

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