🚀 go-pugleaf

 http://tinyurl.com/8nyh69

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact: 338-5318. Carl, Petaluma CopWatch


Friday, December 26, 2008


                             In response to the recent taser death of
Nathan Vaughn of Santa Rosa, the October 22nd Coalition, Santa Rosa
CopWatch, Petaluma CopWatch, and the Peace and Justice Center are
sponsoring a vigil on Friday, December 26th at 4pm in Courthouse
Square in Santa Rosa; followed by a demonstration in front of the
County Sheriff's Office.  We are organizing this vigil to pay our
respects to Mr. Vaughn, the most recent victim of police violence in
the county, and to all of the victims of police violence before him.


                            This is the third death in two months at
the hands of local law enforcement.  We feel that these deaths are
tragic, unnecessary and criminal, and they warrant immediate and
vocal
opposition from the community.  Members of Sonoma County law
enforcement have consistently demonstrated a blatant disregard for
the
lives and well-being of our people.  We seek justice for all of those
whose lives have been affected by this seemingly institutionalized
violence, the majority of which has targeted the underclass,
particularly those suffering from mental illness.  Rather than
offering necessary treatment and due compassion, the state responds
with violence.  We are struggling for nonviolent alternatives, using
the resources available, to create safe communities and treat the
most
vulnerable among us with compassion, not lethal force.


                            This travesty is further exacerbated by
the gross affront to justice and transparency inherent in inter-
agency
"reviews."  When the Sheriff kills a person, the Petaluma or Santa
Rosa Police Department are put in charge of the investigation, and
vice versa. This process is undemocratic and completely shuts out
those who are most affected by these incidents.  When our local
police
kill our citizens, they must be made to answer to the community, NOT
to their friends in other departments who seem to be utterly
incapable
of finding police error under any circumstance.


                            We want no more death and no more side-
stepping of democracy with sham investigations. In the interest of
real justice, we are demanding that the Sonoma County Sheriff's
Department cease their use of tasers as a "non-lethal" alternative,
as
it is clear that they can be just as lethal as guns. Furthermore, we
are calling on the community to assist in the effort to stop police
violence by: 1.) Searching for alternatives to calling the police and
using that option only as a last resort and 2.) Getting involved with
one of the many groups in Sonoma County working for civil rights,
including CopWatch (chapters in Petaluma and Santa Rosa), the October
22nd Coalition, the Police Accountability Clinic and Helpline (PACH),
the Committee for Immigrants' Rights and the ACLU. These groups are
working in a variety of ways to protect our civil rights and end
police abuse in its many forms.


We will continue to organize together around our demand until it is
met. Let it be clear that the community will not stand silent while
more people are murdered. We want justice.




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