|
PPR #20 Updates
Mother of Child Snatched by Riot Police Cleared in Court; Plans Suit
Kendra Smith Rosser, the woman whose one-year-old infant was snatched from her by Portland
Police during a protest against police misconduct in August, 1998, was cleared of all criminal
charges in court in January. The protest arose after police shut down a planned party before it
happened and then refused to allow the African-American organizers of that event to file a
complaint. After the protesters had marched to the police station and to Chief Moose's house, they
gathered in front of Rosser's apartment building on NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (see
PPRs 16 & 17 for more info). According to the February 9 Skanner,
"when police
armed with billy clubs, shields and beanbag guns ordered the crowd to disperse, [Rosser] was
caught in the middle between officers and fleeing members of the crowd."
Rosser was found not guilty on charges of resisting arrest, criminal trespass and interfering in an
emergency, while a disorderly conduct charge was "dropped after being deemed
unconstitutional."
Rosser indicated that she intends to file suit against the police. Stay tuned for future developments.
Back to top.
Brutality, Shootings in Northeast USA Bring Mixed Verdicts
Diallo Cops Acquitted; Louima Cops Guilty of Cover-Up
On Friday, February 25, a jury in Albany, New York acquitted all four white plainclothes New York
Police officers involved in the 1999 shooting death of African immigrant Amadou Diallo (see
PPR 17). While the acquittal is typical of the racism
inherent in the American justice
system, Michael Novick of People against Racist Terror in Los Angeles called the verdict "the
declaration of a police state."
Jurors were allowed the flexibility of "consider[ing] lesser charges, including first-degree
manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and reckless endangerment" (CNN, February 25).
The jury consisted of four black women, one white woman and seven white men.
Two other unarmed black men were killed by plain-clothes police in New York in the three weeks
after the Diallo verdict.
Around the continent, protests popped up shortly after the verdict. In New York City, 1000 people
marched on Sunday, February 27th; other cities doing demonstrations included Chicago and
Toronto. In Portland, at least a hundred people gathered on March 3, chanting and playing drums in
front of the downtown Justice Center.
Activists have been quick to point out that both the officers' previous records and any testimony
regarding Diallo's character were not introduced into the courtroom. Many expect that civil rights
charges and other litigation may still produce a modicum of justice, though nobody is holding their
breath.
Meanwhile, three of the NYPD officers involved in the beating and sodomizing of Haitian-
American Abner Louima were convicted of obstructing justice to cover up the crime. Though only
one officer was convicted--of violating Louima's civil rights--and another pleaded guilty to the
beating iteslf, the verdict is a welcome change from the usual trend of police immunity.
Back to top.
Connecticut Killer Cop Convicted
On March 14, the Associated Press reported Officer Scott Smith of New Milford, CT was found
guilty of manslaughter for shooting Franklyn Reid, an unarmed black man, in the back at point-
blank range in December, 1998. Though the jury rejected a murder charge, the lesser charge could
lead to 40 years in prison for Smith.
|
