In the aftermath of the recent police shootings of African American males, Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin (1st), will host a scholarly panel to discuss the immediate need for interventions to combat black-on-black violence and police involved shootings.
The violence prevention summit, an ‘Endangered Population,’ will take place this Saturday, July 9, from 9:30am to 1pm at the By The Hand Club located at 415 N. Laramie. Panelists will include Congressman Bobby Rush, Congressman Danny K. Davis, and Congresswoman Robin Kelly. Along with Reverend Jesse Jackson, Dr. Terry Mason, Chief Operating Officer of Cook County Health and Hospitals System, and Chief Valdimir Talley of the Police Department of Maywood, IL, among others.
“Philando Castile. Alton Sterling. Freddie Gray. Laquan McDonald. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. How many more black males must die before we hold police accountable for the violent targeting of African American men by police officers in this country,” asked Commissioner Boykin in a prepared statement.
“Murder is murder. When murder is committed under color of law, and when officers of the law place themselves in the role of judge, jury and executioner with impunity, the time has come for America to wake up.
He continued, “Police officers who commit murder must be terminated as a matter of course. They must not be placed on desk duty, their salaries, pensions and reputations protected by virtue of due process. Because due process is exactly what their victims are denied.
“These officers have stripped African American citizens of their dignity, their rights and finally, in a split second, their lives. To take a life without justification is the ultimate deprivation of due process- and this behavior shocks the very core of our constitutional democracy.”
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