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<font size=3>Greetings,<br>
<br>
the brothas mentioned in this e-mail are VERY good friends of mine who
are<br>
VERY commited to community activism and protecting the rights of the
Black<br>
(New Afrikan) community. <br>
<br>
We are very concerned about their safety and are asking that folks
call<br>
the 79th precint to inform the police that we are concerned about them
and<br>
would like them released immediately. You don't have to give your
name,<br>
but if you let them know the state you're calling from they will
quickly<br>
understand that folks all over the country are watching. <br>
<br>
The number to the precint is 718-636-6611 (it may be busy a couple
of<br>
times, but i have used it and can guarantee that it is the right number).
<br>
It will only take a minute, but it could mean a world of difference
for<br>
them and their families. Thanks.<br>
<br>
cliff<br>
<br><br>
<br>
<br><br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
9 February 2005<br>
<br>
<br>
CONTACT:<br>
asha bandele<br>
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement<br>
(646) 541-9499<br>
[
<a href="mailto:asha97@aol.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:asha97@aol.com</a>
]asha97@aol.com<br>
[ <a href="http://www.mxgm.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.mxgm.org</a> ]<a href="http://www.mxgm.org/" eudora="autourl">www.mxgm.org<br>
</a> <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
ORGANIZERS WHO MONITOR POLICE ACTIVITIES ARRESTED<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Three members of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Lumumba Bandele, Desaw<br>
Floyd, and Djbril Toure were arrested in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of<br>
Brooklyn just past midnight this morning. At the time of their arrest,<br>
the three were engaged in the legal monitoring of police activities as<br>
part of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement Copwatch Program. <br>
<br>
According to Bandele, he Floyd and and Toure were driving down Greene<br>
Avenue when they heard sirens blaring. They observed an unusual amount of<br>
police activity on the block. They parked their car, turned on their video<br>
camera and approached the scene when a witness to the events ran past them<br>
stating that the police were beating someone. Bandele, Toure and Floyd<br>
continued to walk toward the scene when they were stopped by an officer<br>
who told them that they had to leave. Bandele told the officer that they<br>
had a legal right to observe the activities, and that they were not<br>
interfering with the arrest, only witnessing it. At that point, the<br>
officer, who was never touched by Bandele, Toure or Floyd placed the<br>
three under arrest, charging them with assault and obstruction of<br>
governmental administration.<br>
<br>
"The copwatch program was initiated in 2000 as a response to police<br>
brutality in central Brooklyn," said Monifa Bandele, Lumumba's wife<br>
and a founder of MXGM. "We'd been involved in a year-long struggle to<br>
bring the men who killed Amadou Diallo to justice and felt we had to do<br>
something to respond to the ongoing abuse of Black men, women and children<br>
by police. They were killing us, savagely beating us, they still<br>
are and they were doing it with apparent immunity. For Lumumba and I,<br>
as the parents of two small children, this issue had even greater personal<br>
resonance. Every time he or any of us stand up for some other parent's<br>
child, it's as though we're standing up for our own."<br>
<br>
"This arrest is outrageous," states Kamau Karl Franklin, attorney for<br>
the three. "They were involved in completely legal activities, and the<br>
irony is that their treatment by police underscores the very need for a<br>
program such Copwatch. We look forward to our day in court because it<br>
will clearly demonstrate the contempt law enforcement too often feels<br>
towards the Black community." Franklin hopes that this unfortunate<br>
event will serve as a catalyst to make significant changes in who polices<br>
Black communities, and how they police it.<br>
<br>
The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement was officially organized in 1995 as an<br>
attempt to raise awareness about human rights violations in the Black<br>
community. It was part of the coalition of organizations that filed a<br>
lawsuit against the notorious street crimes unit, an effort which<br>
ultimately resulted in the unit's disbanding. <br>
<br><br>
<br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
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