For Immediate Release
(NEW YORK CITY, NY 12/10/12) –
On Monday morning (December 10) at 11:00 am, leaders from New York’s faith, interfaith and human rights organizations will gather on the steps of City Hall to urge the New York City Council to pass The Community Safety Act, a package of bills aimed at ending discriminatory and abusive policing practices and creating an “Inspector General” for the New York Police Department.
“In the performance of their duty, law enforcement officials shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.”
Article 2, Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
Adopted by the United National General Assembly December 17, 1979
What: NY Interfaith Leaders and Allies Gather on International Human Rights Day Calling for Passage of “Community Safety Act”
When: Monday, December 10 at 11am
Where: Steps of City Hall
Contact: Annie Rawlings, Director of Outreach and Program Administration, The Interfaith Center of New York: 212-870-3518, 347-418-5730, annie@interfaithcenter.org; Faiza N. Ali, Arab American Association of NY: 718-724-3041, faiza@arabamericanny.org
Faith leaders will welcome Ms. Oumou Bah as a special guest. Ms. Bah’s brother Mohamed Bah was killed by members of the New York City Police Department on September 25, following his mother’s call for an ambulance out of concern for his health.
”The police overstepped their boundaries and authority. They profiled yet another young man leading to his death while breaking their own protocols put in place to avoid such a situation. Had they correctly followed their own protocol, my brother Mohamed Bah would have been alive today. Words cannot express what this horrible tragedy has done to our family.”
– Ms. Oumou Bah
International Human Rights Day celebrates the world’s commitment to the rights of individuals to be free and safe, values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As activists and people of faith, we uphold the essential worth of every person. This December 10th, we raise our voices in support of police reforms that would uphold the dignity of every New Yorker. New Yorkers want a police department that pursues its goals of courtesy, professionalism and respect through greater transparency and equal protection of all our diverse communities.
The NYPD has gone off the rails in Muslim surveillance, stop-and-frisk, and other methods that inspire fear and lead to injury and too often to death. It is time to reform the department and install an Inspector General to ensure our safety and that of every New Yorker. Respect and dignity for every human being are at the core of all our religious traditions, and we insist on it.
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, Board Member, Rabbis for Human Rights – North America
Rabbi, Kolot Chayeinu/Voice of Our Lives
Following the press conference, some faith leaders and others will walk to One Police Plaza and offer a prayer for the victims of police brutality and for change in the NYPD.
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Organizations That Support The Community Safety Act
(partial list)
Amnesty International
Arab American Association of New York
Arab American Institute
Arab Muslim American Federation
Auburn Seminary
Council on American-Islamic Relations, New York Chapter (CAIR-NY)
Council of Social Justice, Islamic Circle of North America
Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM)
Ecclesia Ministries of New York
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Intersections International
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ)
Judson Memorial Church
Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives
Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of Metropolitan New York
Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood
Muslim Consultative Network
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Occupy Faith
Rabbis For Human Rights – North America
Riverside Church
The Dialogue Project
The Interfaith Center of New York
The Sikh Coalition
Twitter hashtags: #changethenypd #IGnow
