Re: [Mpls] Media coverage of bike patrol officer and young boy

[Michelle Gross]

I'm glad that this issue is getting the coverage it deserves.  However, it 
is clear that this is happening only because the young man involved is the 
nephew of Kinshasha Kambui, aide to the mayor.  At the same time this was 
happening to the young man, we probably got calls on our hotline of similar 
incidents involving at least three other people and none of these will make 
the papers.  For example, one case we're working on involved a young man 
who was beaten severely AFTER he was handcuffed.  His jaw was broken in 
three places.  He was thrown in jail on trumped up charges and left there 
for two weeks with no medical care.  He finally got medical care after his 
mother convinced a judge to let him out of jail.  He just had surgery in 
which his jaw was rebroken and titanium plates were put in.  That case has 
yet to make the papers.

Everyday in this town, young (and some not-so-young) people get a lesson in 
injustice at the hands of brutal police officers.  And it is not just their 
bodies that are wounded--their spirits feel the pain even more deeply.  For 
a lot of people, their understanding of the world, of basic fairness and 
justice, is turned topsy turvy.  I truly feel sad for this young man and 
offer any help and support our organization can provide.

However, I'm wondering how Kambui feels about the terrible role she has 
played in hijacking federal mediation (she was the ringleader in putting 
together the sham "community" team), now that police brutality has hit so 
close to home.  Maybe now she will understand why we fought so hard for a 
real process that would bring about real change.  Or maybe she'll take the 
easy road and rely on her status in the city administration to carve out 
some recompense for her nephew, leaving other victims out in the cold.

It is my fervent hope that, painful as this situation is for the young man, 
some good will come out of it.  Perhaps Kambui, with her significant 
influence in the city administration, will finally understand the need for 
real change and will focus her efforts in that direction.

Michelle Gross
Bryn Mawr
Communities United Against Police Brutality
At 07:23 AM 6/8/03 -0500, Shawn Lewis wrote:
Police investigate alleged brutality by bike cop
Published June 8, 2003
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3924789.html
MINNEAPOLIS: Police probe alleged incident of brutality
BY AMY MAYRON
Pioneer Press
Posted on Sat, Jun. 07, 2003
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/6033582.htm
Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood

--
_______________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup
TEMPORARY REMINDER:
1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change 
the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)

________________________________

Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
TEMPORARY REMINDER:
1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject 
(Mpls-specific, of course.)
________________________________

Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls