09.15.17

NEW YORK – In response to the acquittal of a St. Louis police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Black man and then planted a gun on the victim, Center for Popular Democracy Co-Executive Director and Network President Jennifer Epps-Addison issued the following statement:

“Time and time again, the justice system fails our Black communities when white police officers who kill Black men in cold blood get off scot-free. How is this justice when Jason Stockley not only shot Anthony Lamar Smith from six inches away but also planted a gun on the young Black man? This summer alone, we've seen the police officers who killed Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minneapolis walk away as free men.  

“Last month, we saw white men rally in defense of white supremacy in Charlottesville, and today in St. Louis we see white supremacy in action as a judge in St. Louis rules that a white police officer is above the law even after intentionally killing an unarmed 24-year-old Black man. We mourn for young Anthony and our hearts ache for his family.

“It has become clear that criminal justice systems and law enforcement across the country are broken, even as we continue to pour resources into them. We need to rethink this investment in this corrupt and brutal system, and instead funnel resources toward services that actually make us feel safer, like affordable housing, transit, and public education.”

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The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.