DIALLO'S
ONLY CRIME WAS THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN
"Only
in black and minority neighborhoods are cops allowed to kill first
and ask questions later."
March 9, 2000
WASHINGTON, D.C.--Today,
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and the Congressional Black
Caucus sent a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno urging the Department
of Justice to investigate the facts surrounding the Diallo shooting
to determine what kind of Federal action is warranted.
"It is unconscionable
that all four white police officers could kill an innocent, unarmed
black man and be found innocent of second-degree murder, first-degree
manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and even reckless endangerment,"
stated McKinney. The Department of Justice has to determine whether
federal civil rights charges can be brought against the individual
officers. "Forty-one shots fired at Diallo, nineteen that took his
life is evidence in itself to bring civil rights charges against
the cops," stated McKinney.
Congresswoman Cynthia
McKinney and the Congressional Black Caucus believe that the Justice
Department should send a message to police departments across the
nation that excessive use of force against people of color will
be sanctioned at the highest level of the federal government so
that Amado Diallo will not have died in vain.
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