From the Desk of Carl Dix

November 16, 2012

Credit: Black Bird Press News & Review

Friends,

I want to make sure you all know that we won a victory yesterday in court in Queens. Four Stop-and-Frisk Freedom Fighters, myself, Jamel Mims, Morgan Rhodewalt and Bob Parsons, were found not guilty on 2 counts of Obstructing Governmental Administration (OGA, a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of a year in prison.) for the Stop “Stop-and-Frisk” protest at the 103^rd police precinct in Queens on November 19, 2011.  We were found guilty of disorderly conduct (Dis Con, a violation which carries a maximum penalty of 15 days) for that protest.  (Sentencing in this case is scheduled for January 7, 2013.)

To be clear, we did nothing wrong at that protest. We should’ve been found not guilty on all charges. The 20 people arrested last November 19^th were standing up and saying NO MORE to the racist, illegitimate NYPD policy of Stop-and-Frisk under which almost 2000 people, 85% of them Black or Latino and almost all of them completely innocent, are subjected to harassment, disrespect and worse every day. Putting us on trial facing charges that could’ve put us in jail for a year was part of the way NY authorities have doubled down on Stop-and-Frisk in the face of rising opposition.  They wanted to convict and jail us to deliver a message to everyone else that, if you stand up and resist injustice, you’ll be severely punished.  But they weren’t able to deliver that message.

This battle is far from over.  Nine more defendants are facing charges of OGA and Dis Con for the November 19^th protest, and 13 defendants, including me, face trial for protesting Stop-and-Frisk in Brooklyn.  Noche Diaz, a defendant in both these cases, also faces trials in Manhattan and the Bronx for getting arrested while observing the police brutalizing people.  Stop-and-Frisk, the injustice we set out to end, remains in effect, and as we said very loudly at our protests, “We Won’t Stop Till We Stop ‘Stop-and-Frisk.’” And all of this is part of taking on racially targeted mass incarceration.

We should take note of our victory and redouble efforts to carry forward this fight to a successful conclusion.  There are a few key things we need to focus on in doing this:

• Support the December 6^th “Evening to Support of the Stop-and-Frisk Freedom Fighters and Raise the Roof for their Legal Expenses.”  Spread the word on it, buy tickets, line up participants and refreshments, etc.  For information go to www.stopmassincarceration.org.
• Spread the word on the remaining trials the Stop-and-Frisk Freedom Fighters face.  Winning these cases is part of fighting to Stop “Stop-and-Frisk.”  Help get these trials covered in the media, get it out on lists you’re on, spread it on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Sign the Resolution calling for dropping the charges on the Stop-and-Frisk Freedom Fighters, ending the prejudicial prosecution of Noche Diaz and immediately ending Stop-and-Frisk.  Go to www.stopmassincarceration.org/resolution-en.html.

Revolutionary Greetings,

Carl Dix