Custom Search

'I don't have a gun, stop shooting!'

Becky Bond / CREDO

Aug. 16, 2014

Justice for Mike Brown

Sign the petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, and Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson:

"Every day, African American residents of Ferguson and Missouri face possible abuse and death at the hands of officers due to discriminatory policing tactics based on dehumanizing racial stereotypes. Exercise your authority to complete a rigorous investigation of the Ferguson Police Department's racially discriminatory policing, prosecute officers involved to the fullest extent of the law, and begin the firing process for all officers with a record of abuse."

Add your name:

As the situation continues to unfold in Ferguson, Missouri, it’s important for CREDO members to keep up the pressure on the Obama administration to ensure that justice is done.

Just days ago, a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, racially profiled and fatally shot unarmed, 18-year-old, Michael Brown.¹ Then, on Wednesday night, St. Louis County and City of Ferguson police — dressed in camouflage and equipped with armored tanks and military rifles — fired tear gas, rubber coated bullets, and flash grenades at thousands of African-American residents exercising their right to peacefully assemble and demand accountability for the police killing.

Many were injured in the war-like environment as police displayed blatant disregard for civil rights — unlawfully arresting dozens of people including members of the press and even a St. Louis Alderman.

Racially motivated police violence has no place in law enforcement -- in either the death of Michael Brown or the violent police attacks on peaceful protesters that followed. That’s why we’re joining our allies at ColorOfChange.org in calling for a rigorous investigation, prosecution, and dismissal of all officers involved in this tragic police killing and the shocking attacks on peaceful protesters Wednesday night.

Tell the U.S. Department of Justice and Missouri authorities to investigate the Michael Brown murder and ensure that all police officers involved in shooting the unarmed youth and violence against peaceful protesters are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and permanently removed from duty.

This incident is of such national importance that President Obama addressed the situation twice. He has announced that his Department of Justice would be investigating what happened in Ferguson and specifically called out the violent suppression of journalists. But we need more than an inquiry -- the attorney general must ensure that the federal government will see that justice is done as local authorities are highly compromised by a history of racial profiling and police overreach.

Eye witnesses report that the police officer, who was finally identified as Darren Wilson after local authorities refused for days to answer calls for transparency, fired several shots at Michael as the African-American youth stood in the street with his hands in the air. His family and local community members are calling his death an execution.

Dorian Johnson, Michael's good friend, experienced the entire police killing from just feet away.² Detailing the police attack, Dorian reveals the officer's attack from start to finish, with the officer's first words to the teens, "get the f—k on the sidewalk." The officer's aggression escalated, and as Michael stood in the street with his hands in the air, the officer fired the fatal shots. Michael's last words were, "I don't have a gun, stop shooting!" He was set to start college just two days later.

Law enforcement officials are working hard to construct a false narrative and make it harder to hold the officers accountable, even refusing to interview the primary eyewitness of the police killing.³ Enough is enough. This tragic police killing is representative of the systemic police abuse affecting African-American communities in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country.

Last year, African-American Missouri residents were 66% more likely to be stopped by police, and more likely to be arrested, even though white residents were more likely to be found with contraband.⁴ And despite representing just a third of Ferguson's population, African-Americans are 86% of those stopped by police while driving.⁵ Decades of entrenched police violence and racial profiling policies targeting African-American youth on the basis of dehumanizing stereotypes has now led to the brutal police murder of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/mike_brown_justice?t=5&akid=11423.1647103.vZzcFN

Thank you for speaking out.

Becky Bond, Political Director

CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

1. "Unarmed 18-year-old man shot dead by police in Missouri: witnesses," NY Daily News, 08-10-14

http://act.credoaction.com/go/5734?t=9&akid=11423.1647103.vZzcFN

2. "Eyewitness to Michael Brown shooting recounts his friend’s death," MSNBC 08-12-2014

http://act.credoaction.com/go/5735?t=11&akid=11423.1647103.vZzcFN

3. ibid

4. "Michael Brown and disparity of due process," St. Louis Post-Dispatch 08-11-2014

http://act.credoaction.com/go/5736?t=13&akid=11423.1647103.vZzcFN