On May 17th, 2012, 15-year-old Malcolm Gracia was racially profiled, mislabeled, and had his life stolen in 27 short seconds following an unconstitutional stop by New Bedford Police Gang Unit officers Paul Fonseca, Trevor Sylvia, Tyson Barnes, David Brown, and Brian Safioleas. Detective David Brown violated Malcolm’s civil rights when …
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OPINION “Jon Mitchell stop duck and dodge accountability to New Bedford citizens”
“It is quite ironic that on Thursday, September 24th “mayor” Jon Mitchell rejected an invitation to participate in a community dialogue with the NAACP and United Interfaith Action regarding police violence and accountability, and then Jon made a claim in the press that he selected members for the Mayor’s Commission …
Read More »OPINION: BREATHE! response to 60-Day Report from New Bedford’s Mayor Mitchell’s Commissions on Police Use of Force
“It is promising that the Mayor’s Commission on Police Use of Force mentioned that police directives are within their jurisdiction. That being the case, we believe it is imperative that the Commission demand an immediate rescinding of the New Bedford Police Department’s Directive 06-71 “High Energy Patrol Initiative” which led …
Read More »OPINION: David Ehren’s response to New Bedford’s Mayor Mitchell’s Commission on Police Use of Force 60-Day report
“The New Bedford Commission on Police Use of Force Policies just issued its four-and-a-half page 60-day findings. Aside from three pages of bureaucratic blather about its mandate and a rather defensive section on its compliance with Open Meeting laws, the report was short on both analysis and prescription. The only …
Read More »OPINION: Our local legislators are the reason New Bedford Police officers don’t wear body cameras
The main reason New Bedford police officers don’t wear body cameras while performing their duties is due to the lack of money, not the political will. This could easily be solved by your New Bedford legislators, so why haven’t they acted? In 2012, 15-year old Malcolm Gracia was shot to …
Read More »BREATHE! New Bedford’s request of City of New Bedford’s Human Relations Commission
The following is a statement from BREATHE! “Members of New Bedford Human Relations Commission, We hope this email finds you seeking justice for Malcolm Gracia. We are writing to inform you that BREATHE! will not be able to meet with the Human Relations Commission on September 8th, 2020 from 3-4 …
Read More »Letter from New Bedford’s “BREATHE” to Mayor Mitchell about Commission on Police Use of Force Policies
“Dear Mayor Mitchell’s Commission on Police Use of Force Policies, It is critical that we, as a community, have an opportunity to be a part of any work aimed at evaluating the NBPD’s use of force policies as well as any other policy that directly impacts the residents of New …
Read More »My challenge for the New Bedford activists: run for elected office in 2021
People in New Bedford like to complain a lot, but few take the time to vote and New Bedford is known for its lack of candidates running for office. After the death of George Floyd, New Bedford saw a few weeks of protests in the name of George Floyd, Black …
Read More »Honoring John Lewis with “good trouble, necessary trouble”; On the interruption of New Bedford Mayor Mitchell’s speech
By Erik Andrade. Last week community leaders from BREATHE! and From The Community, For The Community New Bedford Black Lives Matter movement decided to honor Congressman John Lewis’ legacy by “answering the highest calling of our heart and standing up for what we truly believe in” JUSTICE! We were shocked …
Read More »OPINION: New Bedford police officers should not be punished for George Floyd’s death
In 10 years, New Bedford police officers have responded to 868,074 calls for service and made 41,871 arrests while shooting one person. So why are we punishing New Bedford and other good police departments across the country that have shown restraint when it comes to police-involved shootings and deaths? The …
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