For Immediate Release | December 3, 2014
Media Contacts:
Dan Morris. 917.952.8920. [email protected]
Manny Vaz. 347.674.7935. [email protected]
#ThisStopsToday: Big Action at 5:30 p.m. Day After Garner Verdict
#THISSTOPSTODAY ACTION in Foley Square at 5:30 p.m. the day after the grand jury decision is officially announced unless the decision is announced on Friday (the action would take place at 1pm on Saturday).
New York, NY— Today a number of organizations from across the city together announced that New Yorkers will participate in a #ThisStopsToday action in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan on the day after the grand jury decision is officially announced in the killing of Eric Garner.
Groups involved in planning and organizing #ThisStopsToday include: Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) members: Justice Committee, Make the Road NY, VOCAL-NY, Center for Popular Democracy, Color of Change, Jews for Economic and Racial Justice and other partners, including: Million Hoodies, Freedom Side.
Dozens of organizations have endorsed the action and related demands described below.
Regardless of the outcome of the grand jury’s decision, New Yorkers from every borough will come together to say #ThisStopsToday—the very words Eric Garner himself uttered the day he was stopped and killed by NYPD officers after the use of a chokehold that is banned in the NYPD’s own patrol guide. The encounter that resulted in Eric’s death is considered an unlawful stop by many, based on witness accounts that Eric Garner was stopping a fight prior to being stopped by police, not selling “loosies” as claimed by the NYPD.
In Foley Square, New Yorkers will demand full accountability for all instances of NYPD excessive and deadly force, including in the case of Eric Garner; and an end to broken windows and other forms of discriminatory policing.
There is growing national outrage over the lack of accountability for the killing and discriminatory and abusive targeting of people of color by the police. Eric Garner, Ramarley Graham, Mike Brown, Akai Gurley, John Crawford, Tamir Rice, Tanisha Anderson and many others whose lives have been lost to police brutality and violence are not isolated incidents. As protests across the country have made clear, connecting the dots across these incidents of police violence is critical to making systemic change and cultural shifts required to end abusive policing.
In a Unified Voice, Speakers at #ThisStopsToday Will Communicate Four Key Demands:
1) Full accountability for all officers responsible for Eric’s death, and all officers who brutalize and abuse their power in our communities
2) An end to NYPD's discriminatory "broken windows" policing
3) A Department of Justice investigation into the use of force policies and practices of the NYPD and full investigation into the killing of Eric Garner.
4) Governor Cuomo should veto Law S7801/A9853, so the police are not the only ones responsible for policing themselves.
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Website: www.thisstopstoday.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/832643866757953/
Twitter: @ThisStopsToday
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