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Sean Bell and the Epidemic of Police Violence in New York City
Testimony of Michael Letwin, Former President
Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW 2325
Before the
Tri-Level Joint Legislative Task Force
Hostos College
May 19, 2007
Introduction
I am a public defender at the Brooklyn office of the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Division. From 1990-2002, I was President of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW 2325 (ALAA), the union of 800 staff attorneys at The Legal Aid Society.
In the past, the Association has been an outspoken opponent of racism and police abuse. (See appendix.) Today, however, I am speaking in an individual capacity to present a statement by fifty-seven attorneys, support staff and other Legal Aid staff members condemning the fatal shooting of Sean Bell by the NYPD on November 26, 2006.
That statement, which is attached hereto, reads as follows:
Justice for Sean Bell
March 26, 2007
The undersigned New York City Legal Aid attorneys and support staff believe that the indictment of three police officers, for the fatal shooting of Sean Bell in a hail of 50 bullets, is too little and too late.
Sean Bell joins a long list of young men of color infamously murdered or assaulted by the NYPD, including Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismond, Anthony Baez and Abner Louima. Yet police officers are almost never indicted-let alone convicted-for their crimes.
Police shootings, and the systemic failure to effectively prosecute their perpetrators, shows that the problem is not a “few bad apples” in the NYPD. Rather, they are the predictable result of a criminal justice system that-as a matter of deliberate policy-systematically targets communities of color for search and destroy arrest sweeps, widespread criminalization and inhumane drug sentences.
Under the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations, there has been an explosion in the number of racially discriminatory stop and frisks. The vast majority of these do not result in an arrest, and most that do are for such charges as riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, open alcohol containers, walking between subway cars, and marijuana possession.
These illegal stops generate criminal records for hundreds of thousands of people of color, and are often accompanied by false accusations, physical threats, beatings, torture, or worse.
Such injustices cannot be ended by tinkering with existing policies. Genuine solutions must include:
1. Firing Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
2. Vigorous prosecution, by a special prosecutor, of police officers-especially commanders-who commit or condone the crimes described above.
3. An end to militarized police operations against young people of color.
* * *
Signers (Affiliations listed for identification only):
Charles Billups
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Chairperson, The Grand Council of Guardians
Antonia Codling
Criminal Defense Division Bronx
Affirmative Action Representative
ALAA/UAW Local 2325
Lucy Herschel
Criminal Appeals Bureau
Delegate, 1199/SEIU
Julie Fry
Alternate Vice President, Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Michael Letwin
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Former President
ALAA/UAW Local 2325
Susan Olivia Morris
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Former Sgt. at Arms
ALAA/UAW Local 2325
Magda Rosa Rios
Alternate Vice-President, Harlem Community Law Office
ALAA/UAW Local 2325
Azalia Torres
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Former Sr. Attorney & Attorneys of Color (ACLA) Representative
ALAA/UAW Local 2325
Bahar Ansari
Juvenile Rights Division Bronx
Rigodis Appling
Criminal Defense Division Manhattan
Noha Arafa
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Chennette X. Barreto
Shared Services
Marisa Benton
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Abby Biberman
Civil Division
Norah Bowler
Juvenile Rights Division-Queens
Kamber L. Brisbane
Harlem Community Law Office
Jennifer Burkavage
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Cynthia Colt
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Laurie Dick
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Femi B. Disu
Criminal Defense Division-Brooklyn
Monica D. Dula
Criminal Defense Division-Bronx
Kimberly Forte
Juvenile Rights Division-Manhattan
Keisha A. Godfrey
Criminal Defense Division Queens
Bridgette Holloman
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Allison Jordan
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Emily Kane
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Benjamin Kanstroom
Criminal Defense Division Manhattan
Rebecca Kurti
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Patrick Langhenry
Civil Division Brooklyn
Adrian Lesher
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Melissa Loehr
Criminal Defense Division-Bronx
Beth Lyons
Criminal Appeals Bureau
Dianna Lysius
Accounting
Christopher Madiou
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Titus Mathai
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Joyce Murphy
Criminal Defense Division Manhattan
Elizabeth Newton
Criminal Defense Division Queens
David Ocasio
Criminal Defense Division-Brooklyn
Ivan Pantoja
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Karena Rahall
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Hara Robrish
Criminal Defense Division-Manhattan
Jacob Rolls
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Mimi Rosenberg
Civil Division Brooklyn
Gerard Savage
Criminal Defense Division-Queens
Samantha Seda
Criminal Defense Division-Queens
Kawan L. Simmons
Criminal Defense Division Bronx
Shana Skaletsky
Criminal Defense Division Bronx
Brian Slater
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Steven Terry
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Rebecca Turner
Criminal Defense Division-Brooklyn
Dawn Yuster
Criminal Defense Division Brooklyn
Appendix
Statement on Police Violence & Abuse
Adopted by the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys Delegate Council, March 22, 2000
(1) In response to “Operation Condor,” ALAA reaffirms its commitment to provide each client with high-quality legal representation, including, but not limited to:
*Thorough pre-arraignment client interviews, under conditions that are healthy and confidential;
*Adherence to established arraignment shift hours;
*Production of incarcerated clients for each court appearance;
*Aggressive investigation and motion practice;
*Inclusion of supervising attorneys in arraignment staffing; and
*Appropriate legal action against, and publicity about, the pattern of false arrests and detention.
(2) In response to the systemic police abuse that plagues New York City, of which “Condor” is a prominent example, ALAA reaffirms its support for far-reaching reform, including the immediate:
*Abolition of the Street Crime Unit, “Operation Condor,” and all similar “search and destroy,” body count, and arrest quota units.
*Dismissal of Police Commissioner Howard Safir;
*Permanent federal monitoring of the NYPD, and implementation of such long overdue reforms as police residency requirements and abolition of the 48-hour rule;
*Federal prosecution of the police officers responsible for the murders of Amadou Diallo, Malcolm Ferguson, Patrick Dorismond, and others;
*Prosecution of each City official who illegally released sealed records of former Legal Aid Society client Patrick Dorismond;
*Establishment of an independent state agency to aggressively prosecute future police violence and abuse; and
*End to the “War on Drugs,” including the Draconian Rockefeller sentencing laws, which only serves to promote violent crime, police brutality, and mass criminalization, particularly against communities of color.
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