PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY!!! PLEASE COME HELP MOBILIZE OWS FOR ACTION!!!
Tell District Attorney Cy Vance to end his silence: No more NYPD violence against #OccupyWallStreet, LGBT New Yorkers and Communities of Color!

TODAY, 10/18 AT 5PM

MARCH FROM ZUCCOTTI PARK

On Friday morning, a senior NYPD officer sucker-punched Felix Rivera-Pitre in an unprovoked attack during an #OccupyWallStreet march. Now the police say they are looking for him and threatening multiple charges to cover up the assault.

Felix is a grassroots leader in the community group VOCAL-NY and has participated in #OWS solidarity actions during the past several weeks, including arriving early on Friday morning at Zuccotti Park to help resist the eviction.

Demand District Attorney Cy Vance Hold the NYPD and Deputy Inspector Johnny “Fists” Cardona Accountable for Violence Against #OccupyWallStreet!

10/18: March from Liberty Plaza / Zuccotti Park at 5pm

Felix grew up in the Bronx and Puerto Rico, is openly HIV-positive, and believes the police may have targeted him because he is gay.  He is one of thousands of low-income and working class New Yorkers who have joined #OWS since it began, first becoming involved because he lives in a homeless shelter and cannot afford to move into his own place.

Violence and harassment by the NYPD is an everyday occurrence in communities of color, especially for people of color who are LGBT. There were over 600,000 stop-and-frisks by police in 2010, mostly among Black and Latinos and the highest number on record.

The NYPD officer who assaulted Felix has been identified as Deputy Inspector Johnny “Fists” Cardona. Inspector Cardona also tackled a female protestor during an Occupy Wall Street march to Union Square a couple weeks ago, at the same time another group was peppered spray out of nowhere by fellow coward Deputy Inspector Anthony Balogna.

10/18 at 5pm: Meet in Zuccotti Park at the corner of Broadway and Liberty St. for a march to D.A. Vance’s office at 1 Hogan Place (corner Center St. and Worth St. nearby Foley Square)

Peoples’ Justice Know Your Rights Training Series

Wed. 11/9, 6:30-9pm: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS:  Practical information on your rights when dealing with the NYPD and how to exercise them safely.  This training is open to anyone.

Wed. 11/16, 6:30-9pm:  KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TRAINING 4 TRAINERS: How to facilitate PJ Know Your Rights Trainings for your community.  This training is open to those who have attended the 11/9 training or any other PJ Know Your Rights Training.  

Location for both trainings: 105 East 22nd St. rm 4A.  (Take the 6 or N/R to 23rd St. stop in Manhattan.)

Who should attend:  Folks who are tired of watching police violence in their neighborhoods;  Folks who wanna learn their rights when dealing wtih the cops (esp. poc, youth, immigrants, trans and queer folks.);  Folks interested in facilitating PJ Know Your Rights Trainings and/or conducting Cop Watch team in their communities.

**To rsvp for either email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and specify which training(s) you wish to attend.**

***Peoples' Justice will be conducting a Know Your Rights training at Occupy Wall Street tomorrow in support of this action (below).  Please join us and wear a Cop Watch t-shirt if you have one!***

Protest Police Harassment, Brutality and Attacks

Fri. Sept. 30, 4-6pm 

Supported by: Bail Out the People Movement, Labor-Community Forum/South Bronx Community Congress, BAYAN USA, International Action Center, Jersey City Peace Movement, Pakistan USA Freedom Forum, New Yorkers Against the Budget Cuts.

Police Break the Law: NYPD Officers Destroy Know Your Rights Billboard Posters 

Recently, New Yorkers witnessed New York Police Department officers tearing down one of several billboard posters legally mounted by Peoples’ Justice for Community Control and Police Accountability (Peoples’ Justice or PJ).  Peoples' Justice is a city-wide coalition of grassroots organizations working to end police violence in New York City.  The coalition has been purchasing billboard space for posters that provide information about New Yorkers' rights when dealing with NYPD officers in low-income communities of color since mid-2009 as part of its Public Art and Advertising Campaign. Support for this campaign is provided by Center for Constitutional Rights through a grant from the Ford Foundation.

In the last week, New Yorkers witnessed officers from the 43rd Street Precinct tearing down one of PJ’s Know Your Rights posters in the Bronx. Neighborhood business owners and residents who witnessed the defacements reported being harassed and threatened by the police. Last year, several billboard posters in Brooklyn were also destroyed, although those responsible were not seen.  Peoples’ Justice demands the NYPD stop destroying these posters, which we have paid for and posted legally.  We would also like to call attention to the fact that defacing these posters constitutes criminal and unconstitutional activity, namely, the destruction of private property and a violation of the first amendment right to free speech. We ask anyone who witnesses NYPD officers defacing other posters to email us ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Your identity and email address will be used by someone in the People’s Justice Coalition to contact you and ask you about what you witnessed, and will not be revealed or provided to authorities.