Civil Rights: Police Brutality Protest Today in Manhattan’s Union Square
Hundreds of people, including police abuse attorneys, gathered today as part of a demonstration against the recent police shootings of black and Hispanic victims around the nation. Protestors marched from Manhattan’s Union Square to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) headquarters at 1 Police Plaza then crossed and flooded the Brooklyn Bridge, stopping traffic A video of the protest can be seen via NBC New York’s webpage here and via 7online.com here.
Signs held by protesters urged passersby to “Stop Killer Cops” and “Stop Murder by Police!”
Who Organized The Protest?
The protest was organized by the Stop Mass Incarceration Network after the horrific aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man killed by police in North Charleston, South Carolina earlier this month. Scott was shot several times in the back by a white police officer, who has since been charged with murder. A video of the event, caught on a bystander’s cell phone, has since gone viral, raising public ire.
Attending the protest was Nicholas Heyward Sr., whose 13-year-old son, and namesake was shot and killed by a police officer. Heyward Jr. was playing “cops and robbers” with a toy gun when he was gunned down in a public housing community.
Heyward Sr. told Reuters.com he has been fighting to get his son’s case reopened for 20 years. “It’s painful,” he said. “Not only do I have to wait, but while I’m waiting, I am constantly seeing innocent victims gunned down on the street for no reason at all.”
The protest in New York City is one of 28 being held across the country at locations spanning from Los Angeles to Ferguson, Missouri, where Michael Brown was infamously gunned down in August 2014.
The Mass Incarceration Network promoted the event as National Shut Down Day, encouraging protesters to “Stop Business as Usual” and skip work or school in favor of protesting against a system that has cost so many innocent lives. The hashtag for the events was #ShutDownA14 – which received an outpouring of messages on social media networks.
How Does The Law Office of Michael S. Lamonsoff Help Victims Of Police Abuse?
The Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff have represented scores of victims of police shootings and misconduct. The principal of the firm, Michael S. Lamonsoff, Esq., a high-profile Civil Rights attorney, has publically called for enhanced law enforcement training in response to the escalation of wrongful police shootings. He has criticized the hypocrisy of municipalities’ response to the escalation of police abuse cases by their allocation of their budgets to hiring defense lawyers rather than officer training.
The police brutality attorneys at the Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff are constantly fighting for the rights of victims of police brutality, police shootings, and other forms of misconduct such as false arrest. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a police shooting or other police misconduct, call our offices now at (212) 962-1020 for a free consultation about you and your personal experience. No case is too large or too small and our police misconduct attorneys will give your unique situation the attention it deserves.