As soon as news broke of the tragedy in Brooklyn, I spoke with both the families of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. And let me be perfectly clear, we are all outraged and saddened by the deaths of these police officers.
Our city is hurting, we are hurting. Today we mourn the loss of two NYPD officers who were gunned down in a vicious act of senseless violence.
As soon as news broke of the tragedy in Brooklyn, I spoke with both the families of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. And let me be perfectly clear, we are all outraged and saddened by the deaths of these police officers. Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases.
At every rally and every march, we have stressed nonviolence and peaceful protests.
I delivered the eulogy at Michael Brown’s funeral and Eric Garner’s funeral and denounced anyone engaging in violence. We have even been criticized at National Action Network, NAN, for not allowing certain rhetoric/chants calling for violence, and we would abruptly denounce it at all of our gatherings. Violence never has and never will have a place in the true fight for equality and justice.
Both the Brown and Garner families send their condolences to the families of these brave police officers who were in our community serving citizens that were in need of protection. Only those who have suffered the senseless loss of a loved one understand that pain. The city must come together and protect both police and citizens. We should not be choosing between funerals; we should be choosing justice and fairness for all.
In the past, NAN has worked with former Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and current Commissioner Bill Bratton on anti-violence and gun-buyback programs. We reserve the right to question police when they are wrong, but violence to answer violence is inexcusable and unacceptable.
That is why NAN and other groups have been stressing that we must make the system work and not match those acts that we feel represent a broken system. It will only lead to more grief and will not lead to justice.
The Garner and Brown families and I have always stressed that we do not believe that all police are bad, nor do we believe that most police are bad. We must unite and work to heal our city and this nation.
Mahatma Gandhi once said: “An eye for [an] eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Let those who can see help lead us forward together.
