Brooklyn, NY — On Saturday, February 28, 30 community members gathered at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Macon branch to attend a justice for Eudes Pierre panel, organized by the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NYAARPR).
Eudes Pierre, a young Haitian American man, was 26 years old when he was murdered by the NYPD in December of 2021. Pierre had called 911 himself while experiencing a mental health crisis, and the officers who responded to his call met him not with compassion but with violence. Despite understanding that Pierre was in distress, the officers harassed him, escalated the situation, and ultimately shot him ten times.
Over four years after Pierre’s death, his family continues to fight for justice, working closely with the New York Alliance. The panel focused on what justice can look like years after a loved one’s death at the hands of police, and how to change a system that continues to treat Black and brown lives as disposable, while allowing cops to get away with murder.
On the panel of speakers were Sheina Banatte, Eudes Pierre’s cousin and the managing director of advocacy of the Justice for Eudes Pierre Coalition; Joshua Lopez, the nephew of John Collado, a man who was killed by an undercover NYPD officer in 2011; and Sharif Hall, organizer and treasurer of the New York Alliance. The conversation was moderated by Shivani Ishwar, the chair of NYAARPR.
The panel opened by discussing the cases of Eudes Pierre and John Collado, and the ways in which the current system failed to deliver justice for them and their loved ones, or consequences for the officers responsible for the murders.
“We had to fight to change the narrative around Eudes’ death,” said Banatte, speaking about her cousin’s case. “The media was calling it a ‘suicide by cop.’” She went on to discuss how Pierre didn’t deserve to be dehumanized just because he was in distress. His death was not a suicide, but a murder at the hands of the NYPD.
The speakers then discussed the demands for justice, and how the fight continues years after a loved one’s death. NYAARPR’s Justice for Eudes Pierre campaign demands that the officers who killed Pierre be fired and prosecuted for murder; that police are removed from mental health crisis response; and that a system of community control over the police be implemented citywide.
Speaking on the importance of community control of the police, Hall said, “In the 60s, the Black Panther party advocated for community control. The Black liberation struggle at that time called for a lot of ways to give Black people control over different aspects of their lives.”
The panel closed on a call to action, reminding attendees to go beyond education to join the fight for justice. “Learning about these cases is just the first step,” Ishwar said. “We need to fight for our demands, and change the system that allows [the NYPD] to get away with murder.”
NYAARPR will be holding a Justice for Eudes Pierre protest outside of the NYPD’s 71st Precinct, the precinct responsible for killing Pierre. The protest will be held on March 31, the anniversary of the date of New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ refusal to pursue criminal charges against the officers.
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