A vigil was held final Saturday, marking the two-year anniversary of the police detainment of Marvin Henry.
The occasion was held by Equal Justice for Needham (EJN) in partnership with Defund Newton Police Division that held a digital occasion for Michael Conlon, who was fatally shot by police two years ago.
Equal Justice in Needham, a grassroots group working to struggle for equal justice particularly for traditionally marginalized communities, hosted the occasion on Jan. 22 in entrance of a Starbucks from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
“The occasion that we’re holding on Saturday is to mark the second anniversary of this incident, simply to remind everyone that justice has not been finished for Mr. Henry,” Smriti Rao, a member of Equal Justice for Needham, stated previous to the occasion. “The case is being fought by the city and the NPD, who formally maintained no person did something flawed.”
Rao additionally stated that this was an important alternative to additionally remind the city and residents that justice nonetheless must be served for Henry and different victims of police brutality.
“[We wanted to] be sure that we remind the city that that is nonetheless ongoing, and that justice has not been finished,” Rao stated. “We wished to make use of it as an occasion to additionally spend just a little little bit of time excited about how we may be imagined public security in our city and extra broadly to tackle a few of these racial disparities.”
2021 Lawsuit
In January of 2020, Henry was stopped and handcuffed by Needham Police exterior of a CVS after a name of a possible shoplift within the space.
Henry, with the assistance of Attorneys for Civil Rights (LCR) and WilmerHale, filed a civil complaint against the town and the police department back in July of last year. The lawsuit was towards the city of Needham, Police Chief John Schlittler and 4 officers that had been current on the scene.
“As the daddy of 4 Black sons, my story is about extra than simply that day,” stated Henry in a press launch on the LCR web site. “I would like my sons to have each alternative – not spend their lives trying over their shoulders, apprehensive they’ll be harassed, humiliated, or handcuffed due to the colour of their pores and skin. I do know it’s my duty, as a father and as a citizen, to face up and converse out.”
In September, the city responded to the lawsuit and the 2 events have been exchanging discovery since stated Lauren Sampson, the LCR workers lawyer main the Henry case.
“What occurred to Mr. Henry is unconscionable,” Sampson stated within the launch. “… Sufficient is sufficient. We’re calling on the City of Needham to each make Mr. Henry entire and to institute lasting, systemic adjustments to make sure no particular person is ever humiliated and robbed of dignity and bodily integrity merely due to the colour of their pores and skin.”
Because the incident, Schlittler has taken a number of steps to coach his officers after the incident with Henry. Nonetheless, EJN and LCR imagine that extra needs to be finished.
“I feel they’ve instituted some new coaching, which is an effective factor. I feel the police chief is making extra of an effort to succeed in out to kind of set up your relationship with numerous teams on the town,” Rao stated. “Our argument is that that is not sufficient to handle the seriousness of the issue.”
