From the Source:
FRAMINGHAM – The Framingham
Democratic Committee is calling for the Framingham police officer who killed
Eurie Stamps Sr. in 2011 to be fired from the City of Framingham’s police
department and for police officers in the schools to be removed.
In a resolution approved
Sunday,Septemebr 13, the Framingham Democratic Committee, called for an
independent review board to be created to review complaints about police
actions and make recommendations to city officials.
The resolution called the killing of
Mr. Stamps, 68, in a raid by Framingham Police in 2011, “an example of
unacceptable police violence that remains without consequences to the officer
who shot him.” Mr. Stamps was not a suspect in any crime, and was following
police orders, laying on his stomach on the floor of his home, when officer
Paul Duncan shot him in the head. The Middlesex DA later ruled the shooting an
accident. #JusticeForEurie have demanded a new investigation into the shooting.
SOURCE
“The death of Eurie Stamps has not
been adequately addressed by the City of Framingham and the officer responsible
for the death of Mr. Stamps remains on active duty as a member of the
Framingham Police Department,” the resolution states. It calls for
the city to “acknowledge that the tragic death of Eurie Stamps is indicative of
bias and general lack of empathy toward Black and Brown communities; that
excessive use of force is too often reserved for such communities and must end;
and that Paul Duncan, the Police Officer who fired the fatal shot and was
allowed to remain on the Framingham Police Dept., be dismissed from said
Department.”
The resolution recognized the work
of the Framingham High School Black Student Union, which has complained that
students find the presence of police officers in school intimidating. It calls
for money spent on school resource officers be reallocated toward “qualified
community and psychological health workers for deployment into the schools to
address psycho/social and substance-related issues in our student population.”
The resolution will be
delivered to Mayor Yvonne Spicer, 11-member City Council, 9-member School
Committee, state legislators, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
Resolution Pertaining to Racial
Equity and Social Justice Framingham Democratic Committee September 13, 2020
WHEREAS, race-based violence by police officers against Black and Brown people
throughout our country continue to create terror in communities of Color with
little or no consequences to the police officers; and
WHEREAS, the killing of Eurie Stamps on January 5, 2011 by a
Framingham Police Officer is an example of unacceptable police violence that
remains without consequences to the officer who shot him; and
WHEREAS, the untimely and tragic
death of Eurie Stamps was the result of the militarization of the Framingham
Police Department, who dispatched a SWAT team to arrest an individual alleged
to have committed a non-violent drug offense; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Stamps was not a
suspect. He was shot and killed while lying on the floor in his home, unarmed,
non-threatening, and in full compliance with officers who knew him and that he
was innocent; and
WHEREAS, the death of Eurie Stamps has not been adequately addressed by the
City of Framingham and the officer responsible for the death of Mr. Stamps
remains on active duty as a member of the Framingham Police Department; and
WHEREAS, the Framingham High School Black Student Union (BSU) has indicated
that the presence of School Resource [Police] Officers in our public schools is
intimidating to the students; and
WHEREAS, the BSU believes social justice programs and services to Black and
Brown students should reflect an investment in their wellbeing, without the perception
of criminality; and
WHEREAS, the Black Lives Matter
movement continues to advocate for non-violent protest against police brutality
and significantly elevates awareness of the shameful institutional and systemic
racism found in our country and community.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
The Framingham Democratic Committee
calls for immediate action to be taken by the appropriate authorities,
including:
- That the Legislature establish a state-wide independent
review board similar to the one described in H2068 to review complaints
emanating from police actions or procedures and to take appropriate
actions based on its findings;
- That until a state-wide independent review board is
established, the City of Framingham establish its own independent board to
review complaints and evidence emanating from actions and procedures of
Framingham Police Officers and, based on its findings, to make appropriate
recommendations to the Chief of Police, the Mayor, and City Council;
- That the City of Framingham formalize its commitment to
diversity and inclusion in its Police Department so that it more
accurately reflects the city’s diverse population;
- That the City of Framingham formalize its policy of
requiring the widespread use of body cameras for police;
- That the Legislature reform the judicial doctrine of
“qualified immunity” by denying its use unless a Police Officer can show
that his or her conduct was reasonable under the circumstances, even in
novel cases where the law is not clearly established;
- That police officers and assistant district attorneys
be prohibited from applying for a “no knock” warrant without first
obtaining approval by the District Attorney;
- That the City of Framingham acknowledge that the tragic
death of Eurie Stamps is indicative of bias and general lack of empathy
toward Black and Brown communities; that excessive use of force is too
often reserved for such communities and must end; and that Paul Duncan,
the Police Officer who fired the fatal shot and was allowed to remain on
the Framingham Police Dept., be dismissed from said Department; and
- That funding now applied to the School Resource
Officers be reallocated and used in the hiring and retention of qualified
community and psychological health workers for deployment into the schools
to address psycho/social and substance-related issues inour student
population.