BY MIKE SHUR
NEW YORK- More than 500 protesters gathered in front of the
Bronx County courthouse March 31 to demand justice for Amadou
Diallo, and to watch as the four cops who killed him were taken
in to be formally arraigned on charges of second degree murder
and reckless endangerment. The cops were then released on
$100,000 bail.
A large number of demonstrators were African immigrants, many of them neighbors of Diallo in the Bronx community of Soundview. They were joined by working people from around New York.
Close to 200 cops gathered outside the courthouse to support the four men being arraigned. They carried signs saying "We serve an ungrateful community" and chanted "Not guilty." The day before, a similar rally drew more than 500 off-duty police.
In their first public statements since the shooting, all four cops said they did nothing wrong. They claimed Diallo made motions like he was reaching for a gun, and they had to fire 41 shots because he didn't fall down after the first few.
Minutes after the cops' news conference, lawyers for the Diallo family released an autopsy report, conducted by a pathologist, stating at least two shots hit the bottom of Diallo's foot, proving the cops continued to fire after he was down.
Amadou's father, Sekou Diallo, joined 2,500 in Washington, D.C. for a March 3 rally against police brutality. He and Amadou's mother, Kadiadou Diallo, are starting a 16-city tour to speak out against police brutality.
Meanwhile, daily pickets have been called for outside the Federal courthouse in Brooklyn where the jury selection for the trial of the cops who tortured Abner Louima is being held. A citywide rally has been called for April 15 by a coalition of Democratic party officials, labor officials, and Black and Latino community figures to build support for a "10 point plan" to "reform" the police.