NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR A DAY
OF ACTION IN HOUSTON, TEXAS
Deaths Involving Police in Missouri, Florida,
New York, Ohio, Texas and California
WHO:
National Bar Association
WHAT:
DAY OF ACTION IN HOUSTON
Know Your Rights Because It Could Save Your Life Town Hall
WHEN:
Friday, October 24, 2014 at 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Thurgood Marshall School of Law
Room 105-107
3100 Cleburne St.
Houston, TX 77004
WASHINGTON, DC – In light of the recent incidents involving police officers’ use of excessive and deadly force which has caused the deaths of Jordan Baker, Kenneth Brian Releford and Mark Vincent Ames, (Houston, Texas) and the injuries to Robert R. Tolan (Bellaire, Texas), Marquise Jones (San Antonio, TX), Clinton Allen (Dallas, Texas), Jermaine Darden (Ft. Worth, Texas), Michael Brown (Ferguson, MO), Ezell Ford and Omar Abrego (Los Angeles, CA), Rodney Mitchell (Sarasota, FL), Eric Garner (Staten Island, NY), John Crawford (Beavercreek, OH), and a number of other unnamed, and unarmed, individuals, the National Bar Association (NBA) is hosting a “Know Your Rights, Because It Could Save Your Life Town Hall” meeting in Houston, Texas, to educate the community and call for justice in the killings of Jordan Baker, Marquise Jones, Kenneth Brian Releford, Mark Vincent Ames and the injuries to Robert Tolan.
“During the Town Hall, attendees will learn how the Fourth Amendment (Search & Seizure) of the United States Constitution applies to them, whether it is legal to record the police activity and how citizens should behave/respond if, and when, they interface with police officers. In addition, panelists will address issues of inequality and racial bias in policing, the justice system, and violence against members of minority communities,” stated Pamela J. Meanes, President of the National Bar Association.
The National Bar Association joins The Greater Houston Coalition for Justice in saying, “Houston, We Have a Problem.” From 2000-2011 there were over 2,100 use of force complaints filed against Houston Police Officers. From 2008-2012, Houston Police Department (HPD) officers shot 121 people, 52 fatally, 10 of whom were unarmed. HPD officers have been cleared by Harris County grand juries 288 consecutive times for shootings of civilians. The Greater Houston Coalition for Justice filed 48 excessive and deadly force complaints against Houston Police Officers with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington from 2007-2012. No action has been taken by the DOJ!
A September 2013 report on CNN titled “Who’s Policing the Houston Police Department” states that 2/3 of HPD Officers, fired or suspended, get their jobs back or their suspensions overturned. This is the highest rate in the country! Houston City Councilman and former Police Chief C.O. "Brad" Bradford has publicly stated that the citizens of Houston have lost faith in the city's oversight of the use of force by police officers. “We rely on the police to keep us safe and treat us all fairly, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin or religion. But sometimes the police go too far; using excessive force, engaging in racial profiling or illegally restricting an individuals rights. The above statistics demonstrate that the Houston Police Department has simply gone too far,” said President Meanes. “More importantly, these statistics demonstrate that police brutality is a national epidemic.”
Accordingly, the National Bar Association is headed to Houston, Texas to call for a full and independent federal investigation into the Baker, Releford and Ames cases. “These families deserve a full and fair investigation and we plan to stand behind them until a proper investigation is conducted,” President Meanes stated.