Greetings!

Day after day - we are amazed at the people who have been coming out in support of the Brooklyn 4. It has been a blessing to look out into the crowd and see a courtroom full of people. Your participation in this process has really shown what a community can do.

The prosecution presented their witnesses today and it was clear that they had not prepared. The officers contradicted each other and one had to be assigned his own attorney after he perjured himself on the witness stand! Tomorrow the prosecution is scheduled to present a few more of their witnesses and if time permits, the defense will get started.

Trial will resume TUESDAY JUNE 23 at 9:45 am (note the time change). Please forward emails and let your people know what is going on. If you can join us, we are in room 307 in front of Judge Neil Ross. And if you cannot be there in person, we very much need your prayers - as we always do.

As we all know - the community support has been the backbone of all of these cases. The Bushwick 32 would not have won had it not been for the massive community organizing and support on their behalf. When the Warrens were beaten and arrested, it was the community's voice that helped to make the difference. We appreciate the incredible support that the community has shown for this case - we would not have gotten this far without that help.

We will keep you posted as we get more news. On behalf of the Brooklyn 4 - THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!



Sincerely,
Sankofa Community Empowerment, Inc.

---------- Post added at 12:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 AM ----------

TRIAL CONTINUES TOMORROW
**TUESDAY JUNE 23**
Black and Latino Teachers & Activists Racially Profiled & Prosecuted For Attending Their Student's Court Proceedings.

What: PACK THE COURT HOUSE FOR DAY 2 OF TRIAL
When: TUESDAY (tomorrow!)
JUNE 23, 2009 @ 9:45 AM
Where: 120 SCHERMERHORN ST., BROOKLYN, NY
ROOM 307 - JUDGE NEIL ROSS

On November 30, Brian Favors, teacher and director of Sankofa Community Empowerment and member of MXGM, Jesus Gonzales, community organizer with Make the Road, NY, Nkululeko Sechaba, President of the Queens chapter of InPDUM, and Mario Cox, an honor roll student at Bushwick Community High School, were all attending court proceedings in support of the students known as the "Bushwick 32," when they themselves were racially profiled in open court, assaulted and placed under arrest.

Community supporters had gathered in court once again to support the Bushwick 32 on November 30, 2007. Supporters were shocked at the terrible representation the students received from their appointed attorneys. During recess, their teacher and long-time supporter, Brian Favors, discretely urged several defense attorneys to competently represent the students. One defense attorney became irate at Mr. Favors. She went back into the court room to convey her anger to a Court Security Officer ("CSO") with whom she has a personal relationship and parents a child. She told the CSO that she did not like the way Mr. Favors questioned her and that she wanted the "Black man with dread locks" ejected out of the court room.

After court resumed session, the CSO, angered by his wife's story, racially profiled Mr. Sechaba and mistakenly identified him as the "Black man with dread locks" in question and shouted for him to leave the court room b/c he had threatened the attorney. Mr. Favors then informed the CSO that he had identified the wrong "Black man with dreadlocks" and that no one had been threatened. Mr. Sechaba requested the CSO's badge number so he could report the racial profiling incident. The CSO, angry and embarrassed, refused to provide his badge number, shoved both men into the hallway and yelled for fellow officers to "cuff" them. Mr. Favors and Mr. Sechaba were then surrounded and violently assaulted as other CSO's rushed to place them under arrest.

Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Cox asked why the supporters were being treated this way when they had done nothing wrong. They were also surrounded and pummeled by the CSOs and they too were arrested. At their arraignment, the community packed the court house so full that they had to shut down the building and stopped admitting people into the court building. The Brooklyn 4 were released on their own recognizance. They originally faced charges of assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, and obstruction of governmental administration. However, due to the AMAZING community support in the court room and the overwhelming weakness in the district attorney's case, most of the charges have been reduced and/or dropped.


What: PACK THE COURT HOUSE FOR DAY 2 OF TRIAL
When: TUESDAY (tomorrow!)
JUNE 23, 2009 @ 9:45 AM
Where: 120 SCHERMERHORN ST., BROOKLYN, NY
ROOM 307 - JUDGE NEIL ROSS

In response to this incident, City Councilman Charles Barron stated "First the police terrorize us and arrest our youth in the street. Then the court officers terrorize us again and deny our constitutional right to enter a court room and support our youth at their trial. If this is not fascism I don't know what is. I support these brothers 100% and they should be set free." Community members insist that this is only the latest example of the targeting of people of color by the NYPD and the criminal justice system. In 2006, 90% of stop and frisks citywide resulted in no summons issuance or arrest.

YOUR VOICE MADE THE DIFFERENCE FOR THE BUSHWICK 32.
WE NEED YOUR VOICE TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE FOR THE BROOKLYN 4.

What: PACK THE COURT HOUSE FOR DAY 2 OF TRIAL
When: TUESDAY (tomorrow!)
JUNE 23, 2009 @ 9:45 AM
Where: 120 SCHERMERHORN ST., BROOKLYN, NY
ROOM 307 - JUDGE NEIL ROSS


City must cough up 257G for false arrest of Bushwick 32

BY Wil Cruz
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, April 19th 2009, 4:00 AM
The city has agreed to pay more than $250,000 to 16 people who were arrested in Bushwick while on their way to a wake,
according to their lawyer. The teenagers and young adults - who were among 32 people arrested in May 2007 - will receive
between $9,000 and $23,000 each for being falsely arrested and prosecuted, said attorney Michael Scolnick. The other members
of the group did not pursue legal action.

The settlement, reached earlier this month, will cost the city $257,000.
"This is a good result for these young people," Scolnick said.
On May 21, 2007, the so-called Bushwick 32 - a mix of boys, girls and young adults ranging in age from 13 to their early 20s -
were walking to a train station to attend the funeral of a slain friend. That's when cops from the 83rd Precinct arrested them and
charged them with unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct.

"One thing that was clear from the very beginning is that when these young people were faced with a difficult situation ... they
behaved in a very smart way," said Oona Chatterjee, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, a community-based
organization that supports the youngsters. "They complied with all police instructions."
Supporters of the group will gather at 1 Police Plaza today at noon to announce the settlement.
The Brooklyn district attorney's office declined to comment.
Kate O'Brien Ahlers, a spokeswoman for the city Law Department, said the settlement had not been finalized.
wcruz@nydailynews.com.


ARTICLES ABOUT THE BUSHWICK 32:

To find out more on the Bushwick 32 case just Google it! Or click the links below.

Cruel and Gratuitous
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/op...ushwick&st=cse
Arrested While Grieving
Arrested While Grieving - New York Times

Doubting the Police
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/06/26...ushwick&st=cse

Arrest...Leads Youths to Organize in Brooklyn
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/ny...rssnyt&emc=rss


Mass Arrest of Brooklyn Youths Spotlights Tactics
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/ny...pagewanted=all


Young People Arrested When They Gathered to Attend a Wake Ask for an Apology
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/ny...25protest.html