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The Day After Diallo

On Friday, February 25, 2000 the Albany jury in the trial of four white police officers from the Street Crimes Unit who shot and killed an unarmed African immigrant reached its decision. All four officers, Kenneth Boss, Sean Carrol, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy, were acquitted of second-degree murder and all other charges including reckless endangerment. This came a little more than a year after Mr. Diallo's killing on the night of February 4th at 12:44 a.m. in the vestibule of his home in the Bronx.

The Diallo verdict sends a disturbing message to Mr. Diallo's family, to all communities affected by police brutality in New York and nationwide, and to the police. To Black, Latino, and Asian people this verdict again confirms: for you, there is no justice, the courts and police do not value your life, however and wherever you are killed, it will somehow be presented as though it was your fault. For law enforcement, it creates an environment where a police officer's excessive use of force and even murder are tolerated.

People wonder, "What will it take for communities in New York and elsewhere to live free from the terror of a militarized police force?"  People from a broad array of communities are asking, "What will it take for the United States to recognize and act on serious human rights violations committed by its agents here within its borders?".

Watch "The Day After Diallo" and read more about the issue of police brutality in the United States.