Brooklyn community continues monthly protests at the 71st Precinct despite NYPD harassment

New York, NY – For the seventh consecutive month, organizers from the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression gathered members of the community, September 24, to protest the NYPD’s 71st Precinct, where killer cop Conrado Abreu-Gerez continues to draw a six-figure salary. Abreu-Gerez and his partner, Peter Lan, shot and killed 26-year-old Eudes Pierre in December 2021.

Before the speaker program, the New York Alliance gathered a crowd flyering at a nearby subway station. Commuters and passersby, including a high school classmate of Eudes Pierre, expressed outrage that Abreu-Gerez faced no consequences for murdering Eudes. Several told stories of officer misconduct, harassment and incompetence at the 71st Precinct and surrounding precincts.

Organizers then set up in front of NYPD barricades to begin the protest. They were joined by members of the community, including Eudes Pierre’s family. Also in attendance were organizers representing groups such as We The People NYC, who later spoke on systemic corruption.

Participants directed chants at the half dozen cops watching from behind the barricade, shouting, “How do you spell murderer? NYPD!” The officers wore bulletproof vests and kept their hands on their weapons. Among them was Deputy Inspector John Dasaro, the commanding officer of the 71st Precinct. Dasaro is the officer at the 71st with the most substantiated allegations. He made headlines in 2019 when he pulled his gun on a group of Black children in Halloween costumes. The NYPD later invoked its authority to unilaterally end the cases against Dasaro and other officers involved.

The NYPD overpolices Black and brown neighborhoods. Sheina Banatte, Eudes Pierre’s cousin, said, “There’s food insecurity, there’s unemployment, there’s housing, there’s people who can’t even afford to pay to take the subway, but they’re being criminalized.” Every racially-motivated stop risks NYPD escalation to deadly force, especially for people experiencing mental health crises like Pierre did in 2021.

NYAARPR Chair Shivani Ishwar ended the protest with a call to join the fight for community control of the police. They said, “What we cannot do alone, we can accomplish together!” Protesters dispersed with chants of “Justice for Eudes Pierre!” and “If we don’t get no justice, then they don’t get no peace!”

After dispersing, officers from the 71st Precinct followed members of the New York Alliance in unmarked cars. They initiated stops of three members who were waiting for public transit. Lieutenant Christopher Maccarone, Sergeant Michael John, and Officers Darren Moore and Pedro Mendez attempted to intimidate the organizers, ultimately leaving without making an arrest or issuing summons.

The New York Alliance will continue to protest the 71st Precinct until Conrado Abreu-Gerez and all killer cops are held accountable. As Joe Wilkins of the New York Alliance put it in his speech earlier that evening, “This fight only ends when we win true justice for every life stolen and destroyed by police violence.”

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