New Jersey DSA members stand alongside community activists and religious and secular leaders across the state in demanding that Governor Phil Murphy sign the independent prosecutor bill that recently passed both houses of the state legislature (A3115/S1036).
The bill provides that when a person’s death occurs during an encounter with a police officer or while in police custody, the Attorney General of the state must supersede the local county prosecutor and conduct any investigation, criminal action or proceeding concerning the incident. The bill also requires that any criminal trial following the investigation and indictment of an officer must take place in a county other than the county in which the incident occurred.
When lethal force is committed by the state against its people, an open and transparent investigation must follow and any criminal conduct must be prosecuted independently and without even the perception of corruption. Local county prosecutors who rely on and work hand-in-hand with police 365 days a year are naturally susceptible to bias. Killings at the hands of police cause trauma and a deep sense of mistrust of law enforcement in our communities, especially our communities of color.
The need for this bill is especially clear right now in the wake of the death of Jameek Lowery. Jameek was found unattended at a hospital with a broken cheekbone and eye socket only two hours after live streaming a video from a Paterson police precinct. He died two days later. Community members demanding a thorough, independent investigation have been maced and arrested by the same police department. Accountability for Jameek’s death can only come through an independent investigation.
We cannot and will not stand idly by as our community members die in encounters with police and, more disturbingly, while in police custody. The only way to ensure some measure of justice for victims of police violence and their families is for the law to mandate independent investigations and fair criminal proceedings when the facts reveal wrongdoing by police.
All that is required is for Governor Murphy to sign the legislation that both houses of the legislature have passed. We demand that he does so immediately.
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Co-Endorsed:
North New Jersey DSA Executive Committee
Central New Jersey DSA Executive Committee
South New Jersey DSA Executive Committee
Contact:
North New Jersey DSA Executive Committee
Central New Jersey DSA Executive Committee
South New Jersey DSA Executive Committee