|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) – The family of Guinean Muslim immigrant Amadou Diallo on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit against New York City and the four police officers who killed him, claiming $61 million in damages. Diallo was killed by the four, who shot 41 bullets into him in the entrance to his apartment, in the Bronx borough of New York City, on Feb. 4, 1999. The four officers were acquitted of criminal charges in the killing, so the family had no recourse but to pursue civil damages. Muslim sources in New York said that the family had waited patiently for six weeks after the acquittal to see if the Justice Department would bring federal civil rights charges against the four policemen, but nothing has happened yet. The Diallos are seeking $20 million in damages from the city and $41 million from the policemen, $1 million for each bullet. The charges against the policemen are “using excessive force” and denying Amadou Diallo’s civil rights. The charges against the city stem from the police’s use of “racial profiling,” which targets groups that authorities consider to be more dangerous than others; ie, dark-skinned people and foreigners. The suit claims that although blacks make up 25.6 percent of New York City’s population, 62 percent of all people stopped by the police in the streets are black. Sixteen black residents are stopped for every stop that results in an arrest. Over the past weeks, there have been several demonstrations in New York City, where hundreds of multiracial crowds protested the nationwide epidemic of police brutality, killings and racial profiling of unarmed people of color. A political cartoonist recently suggested that non-whites wear t-shirts that read, “Don’t shoot. It’s just a cell phone,” or “Ask questions first. Shoot later.” The Amadou Diallo Coalition (more than 70 religious, local and national organizations) have sponsored a boycott of NYC for the Easter holidays this weekend. The coalition is encouraging New Yorkers to protest with their wallets and only buy necessities for the next two weeks, to help bring about an end to police brutality, killings and racial profiling. |
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
