Press Conference
October 15, 2001
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, members of the press.
My name is Nicholas Heyward Sr., the father of Nicholas Jr., who was killed by a housing police officer in 1994, while playing an innocent game of cops and robbers. I am a member of the New York Committee of Families Seeking Justice. I am also a member of the October 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. I still today mourn the death of my son deeply.
Before I speak to you about the importance of October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, I would like to say first, on behalf of the members of October 22 Coalition and the families still seeking justice for family members killed by law enforcement, that we all share the pain, the sorrow, and the grief of the family members who have lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attack. Because our coalition memorializes and fights for justice for the thousands who have been killed or brutalized by police and other law enforcement agents across the country, we the parents of Stolen Lives know what it is like to have a loved one leave home in the morning and never return.
Families Seeking Justice is a group of family members who have lost their loved ones to police killings in New York City. We have come together as one to expose the truth and the injustices that this system has handed out to us, and fight for justice for our innocent children. We know how the system lies and covers up the realities of how horrible, corrupt, and filthy the system really is because we have experienced it first-hand by dealing with the mayor and other elected officials of city, state and federal government who totally ignore the evidence that the parents have presented to them. In 1999, the federal government closed the cases of many of the parents, who went to the federal authorities after the city and state authorities closed their cases despite the overwhelming evidence against the officers.
I speak in regards to those who are in authority that continually justify the horrors committed against our children. Mayor Giuliani has continuously justified murder by police in New York City. President Bush has ordered the deaths of many innocent people while he was governor of Texas. Mumia Abu-Jamal still resides on Pennsylvania's death row after a completely unjust trial. Tom Ridge, as mayor of Pennsylvania, signed the death warrant for Mumia despite the overwhelming evidence of his innocence. That warrant was stayed in 1995.
Today they ask the people to pray to God, whose laws they do not follow, and then they order the bombing of more innocent people, and more repression throughout the country. We refuse to remain silent through the heightened repression, and not all family victims of the World Trade Center tragedy agree with the way the government is handling the situation. All these voices must be heard.
To the candidates for mayor, the Families Seeking Justice would like to know, once you're in office, would you be willing to see and hear the evidence that we have regarding the deaths of our innocent loved ones killed at the hands of police in New York City. We need to know how you honestly plan to handle police brutality, as we are sure it's going to continue.
I became a member of October 22 because of a grave injustice that has been done to my family and many other families who just want justice for their loved ones that have been killed by police.
Since 1996, October 22 is part of building a movement that is capable of putting a stop to the national epidemic of police brutality, repression and criminalization. We aim to build up the ability of communities under the gun of this brutality to resist it, and to bring many others from all walks of life to stand with those under the gun. We aim to make this a national movement, especially on the National Day of Protest on October 22, which last year was marked in over 75 cities across the country. Not everyone is playing dumb to police brutality, police murder, repression and the criminalization of a generation.
Because the killing by law enforcement has continued and the repression has heightened to ridiculous levels, the need to continue and fight is more greater today than ever before.
In Detroit, 19-year-old Talena Carpenter was shot in the head by police while sitting in her car outside a neighborhood store on September 16 this year. The police cordoned off the site of the shooting and refused to let her be taken to the hospital for an hour! Now she is barely clinging to life. In Cincinnati, the cop who shot Timothy Thomas was just found not guilty by a judge after a trial where he faced a maximum of only 9 months in jail for stealing a young Black man's life! Some of the people arrested for protesting this murder face up to 15 years. The brutality and murder hasn't stopped. The authorities haven't stopped letting cops who brutalize and kill go free. SO OUR RESISTANCE TO THIS OFFICIAL BRUTALITY CANNOT STOP!
October 22 Coalition has always fought to stand for justice. We care deeply for the people, that's why we exist. And we care deeply for those that were killed on September 11. These were all innocent people just like the 2,000 documented Stolen Lives. We also know that when the smoke clears, police who killed our children will not be locked up, people unjustly in jail will not be released. For all that has changed, these things have not. New repressive laws are coming out from the same justice system that justified our children's murders.
Once again, we mourn the innocent lives lost at the World Trade Center disaster, and by no means wish to have people think we are insensitive to what's going on, because as I've said earlier, October 22 fights for the lives of innocent victims and will continue to do so. We also will not allow our grief to be used to create more horrors.
If you're not outraged, your not paying attention! On Monday, October22 at 4:00 PM Assemble with the families that lost innocent loved ones to police violence and march with them to times square. Stand for something or fall for anything!
[posted 10/24/01]
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