PRESS RELEASE: The Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) is responding to the non-indictment of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown with proposals to promote social justice -- in Missouri and Michigan, and across the nation. GPMI joins the Brown family in calling for non-violent action for change. Non-violence is one of GPMIs most important founding values, the Four Pillars. The other three Pillars are Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Ecological Wisdom. In particular, Michigan Greens add their voices to the Brown familys call for body cameras as well as car cameras to track the actions of all officers in the field. This would help achieve the goal, stated in GPMIs 2014 platform, of re-establishing democratic control of local police forces. The platform also calls for *elected Citizen Review Boards* to oversee law enforcement, with the power to fire police officers and start prosecution of criminal acts -- and for putting proceeds of police seizures into governments general funds, to make sure police budgets are properly controlled by the peoples elected representatives. John Anthony La Pietra, of Marshall, GPMI Platform Committee chair and the partys 2014 nominee for Attorney General, wants to be sure independent cameras can watch the watchmen. He would urge repeal of any laws banning or discouraging citizens from taking photos, audio, or video of police conduct. La Pietra notes that St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch gave Wilson an extraordinary advantage. Grand juries rarely hear evidence from a defendants point of view, and almost never from the defendant in person. In this case, Wilson apparently got to testify on his own behalf for hours. Michigan Greens know the problem of police shootings is hardly limited to Missouri. Recent fatal incidents closer to home include the cases of 7-year-old Alyana Jones in Detroit and 43-year-old Aura Rosser in Ann Arbor. And the 2003 death of Terrance Shurn, caused by a police chase, sparked unrest in Benton Harbor that is arguably linked to that communitys subjection to Michigans controversial emergency-manager law. Sherry Wells of Ferndale, Green candidate for the State Board of Education, comments: Its bad enough that we have a school-to-prison pipeline -- but for too many of our youth, its school to grave. And even one is too many, whether by police shootings or police car chases. GPMI Locals Liaison Lloyd Clarke of Bridgeport Township believes that a law-enforcement officer who shoots and kills an unarmed civilian, no matter what the excuse or reason, should have to leave the job and not work in law enforcement again. Killer cops should be purged from every police department in the United States. One possibly hopeful sign is the Department of Justices ongoing investigation into whether Wilson violated Brown’s civil rights. The review is reportedly examining the Ferguson Police Departments entire operations -- with a focus on how officers use force and how they search and arrest suspects. La Pietra hopes that the DOJ investigation is thorough, honest, and open -- and above all, that it lives up to the departments name: Justice. The Brown familys written statement issued after Mondays announcement that the grand jury did not indict Wilson can be found here, among other places: abcnews.go/US/video/michael-browns-family-releases-statement-grand-jury-decision-27151572 The Democracy and Human Rights section of GPMIs 2014 platform is on line at migreenparty.org/democracy-and-human-rights.html For more information about the Green Party of Michigan, its full platform, its candidates, and its values, visit: MIGreenParty.org/ You can also “like” the Green Party of Michigan US Facebook page and follow GPMIs Twitter feed @MIGreenParty. # # # created/distributed using donated labor Green Party of Michigan PO Box 504 Warren, MI 48090-0504 313-815-2025 MIGreenParty.org GPMI was formed in 1987 to address environmental issues in Michigan politics, and has been on the state ballot continuously since 2000. Greens are organized in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals and creates its own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values: Ecological Wisdom Grassroots Democracy Social Justice Non-Violence Community Economics Decentralization Feminism Respect for Diversity Personal/Global Responsibility Future Focus/Sustainability For the latest news, “like” the Green Party of Michigan US Facebook page -- and follow us at Twitter: @MIGreenParty.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 11:47:16 +0000
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