A few months ago, we wrote about, Iman Morales, a mentally ill man, was killed by NYPD officers on September 24th, 2008. Mr. Morales was tasered while standing on the ledge of a store front awning 10 feet high without an air bag to break his fall. The officers ignored his mother’s cries for an airbag, and made no attempts to catch Mr. Morales who fell to his death after being tasered.

“He was a good son. He didn’t deserve this. It shouldn’t happen to anyone else. All he needed was a little help, which the NYPD didn’t give him,” Olga Negron, mother of Iman Morales.

The march and rally for Imam Morales is being held on the 13 th anniversary of another case of police murder in NYC, that of Anthony Rosario and Hilton Vega, shot in the back while face down on the floor 28 times by the NYPD (officer had actually been bodyguards to then Mayor Giuliani during his campaigning).

Margarita Rosario, mother of Anthony and aunt of Hilton, will be marching alongside the family of Iman Morales and other families whose children have been killed by the NYPD.

We demand:
1) Sergeant Nicholas Marchesona, the officer who tasered Iman Morales, be fired from the NYPD immediately.

2) Sergeant Nicholas Marchesona be charged with Reckless Manslaughter and tried by a jury of Brooklyn residents.

3) Crisis Intervention Teams that consist, NOT of armed police officers, but of medical professionals and trained community members, some of whom have personal experience dealing with mental illness. Such programs have been successful in other parts of the country.

4) A permanent independent prosecutor for all cases of police violence. The cases of Sean Bell and Jayson Tirado among others have proven we can not trust the DA’s office to pursue justice when police officers are involved.

When: January 12th 2008 at 5pm
Where: Cadman Plaza on Tillary Street between Cadman Plaza East & Cadman Plaza West to the Brooklyn District Attorneys office at 350 Jay Street.

Organized by: The Family of Iman Morales, Justice Committee, Parents Against Police Brutality and Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities.

Directions: The following NYC subway lines stop in the vicinity of the Courthouse. The 2 and 3 trains stop at Borough Hall and Clark Street. The numbers 4, 5 and the M and R stop at Court Street/Borough hall. The A, C and F trains stop at Jay Street/Borough Hall.