Contact: Marina Dimitrijevic 414-255-4009
Marina Dimitrijevic of Wisconsin Working Families made the following statement about not-guilty verdict delivered in the trial of former Milwaukee police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown for the murder of Sylville Smith:
“Today we mourn once again for Sylville Smith and his family as one more not guilty verdict for a policy officer who murdered a black man comes down, proving again that in America black lives still do not truly matter.
Our minds are on fire with the desperate need to cure the profound sickness in our criminal justice system. From the racist policies that are inextricably intertwined through Milwaukee’s housing, schools, and institutions, to the excessive police presence in our communities of color, Sylville Smith’s murder and today’s verdict could almost seem tragically inevitable.
Silence will only perpetuate this injustice. We are all diminished by the inequality that we’ve permitted to fester in our name. We commit ourselves to dismantling our intrinsically racist judicial system while resisting discrimination all of its guises. We call on everyone to build a fairer, more just community through the ballot box, in our legislatures, in the courts, and in our hearts.”
