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March for justice

|
2008-07-12
| El Diario NY

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How a grand jury determined that police officer Sean Sawyer should not stand trial for the shooting death of Jayson Tirado is almost unbelievable. How does New York City explain to Jayleen Tirado, the five-year-old daughter of the victim, that no criminal charges will be filed against the man who killed her father?

Sawyer not only fired shots that killed Tirado, but also did not bother to report that he had discharged his gun until nearly 19 hours later. In waiting so long, he also dodged an alcohol breathalyzer, the test mandated for cops after the shooting of Sean Bell.

That recklessness should have been enough to dismiss Sawyer from the New York City Police Department. He is currently suspended from the force with pay, which means that taxpayers have been footing the salary of a menace to public safety. Commissioner Raymond Kelly must dismiss him.

Last year on October 21, an angry exchange took place between the off duty police officer and Tirado, both of who were traveling on the FDR Drive. Sawyer said that Tirado made a firing motion—with his hand. He fired twice at Tirado and then went home to dodge what he thought might be a gun fight. But the only bullets fired that morning came from his own weapon.

Sawyer claimed self defense, that he had a reasonable fear that his own life was in danger. A grand jury decided that District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s office did not disprove that claim.

Because grand jury proceedings are closed, we do not know the quality of the D.A.’s investigation and presentation. What we do know is that a black or Hispanic man dying at the hands of police is a familiar story. When these cases make it to judicial proceedings, it appears that police officers are left off the hook on criminal charges or accountability.

Shockingly, leaving the scene of a shooting is not a violation of the New York State Penal Law, according to the D.A.’s office. It should be. Morgenthau announced he would introduce legislation that would change that, a measure that should be speedily passed.

For the Tirado family, the only recourse at this point is a civil suit. That’s little, if any, consolation to the parents who lost their son, to the woman who lost her partner, and to the little girl without a father.

The shooting death of Tirado, and other cases of unnecessary and excessive force, once again highlight the urgency of a renewed community-based movement for the accountability of police officers who step out of line. That’s even more critical considering the lack of an outcry on these cases from Latino elected officials, with a few exceptions.

Recently, veteran members of the once defunct National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights (NCPRR) met to reactivate the organization, long known in New York as a relentless voice for reform of the criminal justice system.

The resurgence of the NCPRR, or a similar, strong front, is desperately needed. In the meantime, a march for Tirado will take place on Monday in the Lower East Side. Those who do not want to see other young men and loved ones suffer the same fate as Tirado and his family should be there.

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