For Immediate Release: March 11, 2021
Contact: media@colorofchange.org
ROCHESTER POLICE TAKE ANOTHER LIFE, COLOR OF CHANGE CALLS FOR DOJ INVESTIGATION INTO PATTERN OF VIOLENCE
Erika Maye, Deputy Senior Director of Criminal Justice and Democracy Campaigns at Color Of Change, issued this statement following another killing by Rochester police:
“This week, Rochester Police continued their reign of terror, and killed another person in the midst of a mental health crisis. The currently unidentified man was shot by police outside of the Open Door Mission after threatening to harm himself with a knife. The RPD says the newly-created Family & Crisis Intervention Team was not alerted to the crisis, instead police aggravated and escalated the situation, leading the officers to murder a man in need of support and care. We offer our condolences to the community of Rochester, and continue to stand with activists calling for fully-funded mental health responders and safety initiatives informed by public health approaches that protect Black lives. We are also demanding an immediate investigation by the Department of Justice into RPD’s pattern of civil rights violations and violence.”
“This heartbreaking incident echoes a number of devastating acts of racist police violence in recent months. On March 5, the city’s Police Accountability Board released new footage showing police pepper-spraying a Black woman and 3-year-old child. On February 12, officers maced a 9-year-old Black girl, scolding her as she was pushed, handcuffed, into a police car. These events followed the horrific video-taped murder of Daniel Prude last year, a Black man suffering from a mental health crisis who was naked, covered with a hood, and pinned to the ground by officers until he stopped breathing.
“These events underscore why trauma-informed professionals should be leading these responses, not racist cops. Until the RPD’s pattern of brutality and racism is addressed and confronted, and Rochester leaders take action to prioritize public safety initiatives that protect Black lives, Black Rochesterians are not safe from terror. That includes hearing the demands of the community, including ensuring mental health professionals respond to mental health calls, a Department of Public Safety is created, the use of chemical weapons (including tear gas) is banned, and the degrading and dehumanizing use of spit hoods is banned. The time to invest in solutions is now — before even more lives are lost.”
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Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over 7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and governments to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org
For Immediate Release: March 11, 2021
Contact: media@colorofchange.org