The family of police brutality victim Eric Garner are back on track to getting justice. A New York Supreme Court judge has ruled a judicial inquiry into whether the NYPD failed to properly investigate the cops involved in the death of Eric Garner in 2014 can resume.
Eric Garner’s Family Fight For Justice Resumes
According to reports, the ruling could provide a pathway to force New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio and ex-NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill to get into the hot seat. They would ultimately testify under oath about how the 2014 death was handled.
The petition relies on a seldom-invoked provision of the New York City Charter, Section 1109, which provides for any five citizens to petition a Supreme Court judge to conduct a summary inquiry into government officials’ violation or neglect of their official duty. It empowers the judge to compel public officials who may have knowledge of a violation or neglect of duty to testify under oath. That testimony is then made available to the public. (Gothamist)
The World Still Mourns Eric Garner
The death of 43-year-old Eric Garner from a chokehold by New York police in 2014 has continued to fuel the current Black Lives Matter protests. The group Communities United for Police Reform called this week’s ruling a “major win for transparency and basic civil rights.”
The organization said in a statement that the decision could allow for Mayor Bill de Blasio, former New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill and others “to take the stand and answer to claims of neglect and the violations of duty related to the killing of Eric Garner.” The ruling is part of civil litigation against city officials by Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, and sister, Ellisha Flagg. They were awarded $5.9 million in a 2015 settlement with the city. (NBC News)
March For Black Women
The fourth annual March For Black Women is taking place today at 12 PM ET and will be a livestream. The march is geared to celebrating Black women, rising up to end violence against Black women, refusing to choose between race and gender and acknowledging the importance of the Black woman’s vote.
“These past few months, mass protests have overtaken the country and have served as an outlet for Black people to express justified outrage and grief at this nation’s blatant disregard for our lives. Yet even during this incredibly transformative moment, Black women and girls, disabled sisters, Trans and GNC communities, sisters across the border, and women that exist along all other axes of oppression have consistently been de-centered. Whether in police interactions, on the streets or in their own homes, theirs are the Black lives who continue to underscore the poignancy of this moment, and a future where all Black women and Black communities are liberated from persistent violence, domination and discrimination.” (Black Women’s Blueprint)
The march also places a heavy emphasis on remembering the lives of Black women taken away through state sanctioned and gender-based violence.
“This march is a call to gather and mobilize in the name of Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Korryn Gaines, Oluwatoyin Salau, Nina Pop, Merci Mack, Monika Diamond, Riah Milton, Jayne Thompson, Atatiana Jefferson, Renisha McBride, and countless other Black women, Trans and GNC community who have been slain in our streets and their own homes, both by state sanctioned and gender based violence. To our sisters: this movement could not and will not succeed without you, and we are proud to fight alongside you this September for the future we deserve in a world of our own making. If “we are all we’ve got,” then we choose to love each other fiercely.” Join us virtually as we unite in all our diversity to unapologetically center Black cis, Trans and GNC voices in the continued fight for racial and gender justice.” (Black Women’s Blueprint)
Injustice For Breonna Taylor
The march comes at a time when a Kentucky grand jury refused to charge three officers directly connected to the fatal shooting of Black woman Breonna Taylor. The shocking decision sparked protests across the country and celebrities addressed the situation.
