Congresswoman Maxine Waters Reacts to Police Killing of 13-year old Boy

Congresswoman Maxine Waters Reacts to Police Killing of 13-year old Boy

Los Angeles, CA - Congresswoman Maxine Waters released the following statement concerning the Los Angeles Police Department officer shooting of 13-year old Devin Brown:

When I learned about the killing of 13-year old Devin Brown, an African American boy, on a street corner in South Central Los Angeles, quite frankly, my reaction was, "Once again, the police in our community act as judge, jury and executioner."

While details of the incident are still being investigated, we know this much:

* Devin Brown was 13-years old and unarmed
* The car had come to a stop after only a 3-minute chase
* The police officer shot 10 rounds into the car that may have been backing up
* The result is that a 13-year old is DEAD at the hands of the police!

The Los Angeles Police Department and the County District Attorney is said to have begun investigation into this latest killing by police, but they say it will take at least six months to conclude.

Haven't we heard that before? Just last week in the Stanley Miller case, a videotaped case in which the police brutally beat a man with a metal flashlight, the District Attorney concluded after a six month review that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the police for use of excessive force.

Two weeks ago, Inglewood police officers who were videotaped slamming 16-year old Donovan Jackson against the trunk of a car won a huge award in a discrimination suit. Although the tape clearly showed he was handcuffed and limp-bodied, unable to resist, the officers were not convicted of any crimes.

Both prior cases were reminiscent of the Rodney King beating almost 14 years ago and the verdict by an all-white jury that followed in April 1992, acquitting the four police officers of any wrongdoing.

These are but a few of the widely-publicized cases of police misconduct. In incidents that never make the newspapers, I continue to receive hundreds of citizen complaints about police abuse.

Yet, in the face of these unjust results, we are told to be quiet, not to call for justice, and let the justice system do its work. One more time, the justice system has let us down.

The Los Angeles Times, hand-in-hand with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, often takes the lead in trying to muffle opposition and outrage at police abuse. Shortly after the videotapes were aired last year, when the community began to voice its outrage, the Times editorialized that airing such views could "undermine a fair investigation."

When I called for criminal charges to be filed against the officers in the Miller case, the Times editorial singled me out with a ridiculous but serious allegation, stating that I "never miss a chance to pour gasoline on a fire."

We will not be quiet, not then and not now. None of us can be silenced in the face of repeated injustice. The community must always speak out and continue to demand justice and become even more creative in ways to shame the establishment for tolerating this kind of abuse in our city.

http://www.house.gov/waters/pr050207.htm