CODEPINK PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2014
Contact:
Nathan Sheard, CODEPINK Campaigner, 347-234-5759, Nathan@codepink.org
Alli McCracken, CODEPINK National Coordinator, 860-575-5692, Alli@codepink.org
CODEPINK Peace Activists Condemn Decision Not to Indict Darren Wilson in the murder of Michael Brown
The peace group CODEPINK strongly condemns the court decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed the young unarmed black man Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. CODEPINK decries rampant police brutality in the US that routinely targets people and communities of color. The organization calls on the American government the Department of Justice, Congress and the courts to make radical policy changes that will hold police accountable and lead to real justice for victims’ families.
“It has been said that ‘a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich,'” said Nathan Sheard, the leader of CODEPINK’s campaign to demilitarize the police. “But what has been proven today in St. Louis County, as it was weeks ago in Ohio, is that what cannot be indicted is a police officer who has killed a black person in the United States.”
“Today's announcement presents the true face of injustice today in America, an America that wears a false mask of 'post-racial',” said CODEPINK's Sophia Armen. “As people of color and allies, it is time to see the ‘justice’ system as not broken or corrupt, but functioning in the service of the elite few. We must demand deeply rooted changes in America's system and in the consciousness of the American public. Only then will we see true justice."
CODEPINK, a group known for its actions against wars abroad, is also working on police brutality at home. The group has been on the ground in Ferguson and has been joining solidarity actions around the country against police brutality. “The police have essentially become occupying armies with equipment designed for war,” said CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans, who has been working closely with the group Hands Up United in Ferguson, Missouri. “Who is their enemy? Local young men? Peaceful protesters? This is not just an attack on Ferguson, but an attack on us all.”
CODEPINK recently launched a campaign called Communities Organize to Demilitarize Enforcement (CODE) to demilitarize the police. The campaign works with communities to stop police departments from acquiring military equipment through the 1033 federal program. CODEPINK is also working with student groups to target campus security firms that also have military equipment.
For International Human Rights Day, December 10th, CODEPINK is bringing to Washington DC a group of mothers whose children were killed by police officers. The women are calling for justice for their families and for changes in existing laws that leave families vulnerable to police brutality and accountability loopholes. They will be in Washington from December 9-11 meeting with elected officials, holding briefings and speaking at public gatherings. For more information contact alli@codepink.org.
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