Breakdown FM: Sean Bell Police Shootings w/ Rosa Clemente & Autmn Marie
Published on Mar 19, 2007 in none
Listing 241-270 of 343 episodes
Breakdown FM: Sean Bell Police S...
March 19, 2007
Yesterday many people in this country focused their attention on the 4 year anniversary of the Iraq War. It’s an unjust war where the US attempted ... More
Yesterday many people in this country focused their attention on the 4 year anniversary of the Iraq War. It’s an unjust war where the US attempted to use its military might and firepower to bully a country and force them to be ‘Democratic’. Of course we are now starting to see this war may have been a ploy to get the country’s oil. In anycase while the mainstream press focused on Iraq, many of us in the hood and in communities of color focused on the insidious war that is going on in our respective backyards. It’s the war that the police keep waging on the people where unarmed men are routinely brutalized and shot. Today a New York City grand jury indicted 3 of the 5 police officers involved in the tragic shooting death of Sean Bell. The charges are manslaughter and reckless endangerment. For those who don’t know, Bell was shot last November just hours before his wedding when he and 3 friends left a bar where they had a bachelor party. According to reports, 5 plain clothes officers approached the men’s car as they left the establishment and did not identify themselves. Fearing that they were gonna get carjacked Bell and his fiends tried to drive off at which point officers shot at the trio 50 times. One officer named Mike Oliver let off 31 bullets. The cops claimed the men had guns and they feared for their safety. The end result was Sean Bell was killed. He and his friends wound up in the hospital. All the men were unarmed. This was gross example of police terror that can strike anyone of us at any time. In this interview Hip Hop activists Rosa Clemente and Autumn Marie of the group People’s Justice give an indepth breakdown of what took place and what these grand jury indictments really mean. As was pointed out during our interview, an inditment does not mean a conviction. In addition, for police officers to shoot 3 unarmed men 50 times is an assassination and an assassination attempt. We should not mince words. During our interview we talked about the pattern of police terrorism and suppression that seems to be occuring all over the country. Rosa and Autumn offer up some compelling practical solutions to fight back. Rosa talked about the commitment many people within the Hip Hop generation have made to seeing that justice is served. Both her and Autumn talked about the rallies that have been taking place every week and the large number of groups that have come together to form a coalition. This incident has galvanized alot of people and apparently it’s a different day in NYC. Less
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Tags: sean bell, autmn marie, people's justice, autumn marie, hip hop demands justice, nypd indictments, police shootings, 50 shots, rosa clemente

