WEDNESDAY: Family of Black Gay Man Killed by NYPD Rally with Elected Officials & Groups to Fire Cops

Kawaski Trawick’s Family Travels From Georgia to Mark Four-Year Anniversary of Killing and Meet With Civilian Complaint Review Board Before April 24th Discipline Trial

On Wednesday, April 12 at 1 p.m. – Following a meeting with the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) and just days before the four-year anniversary of the NYPD killing of Kawaski Trawick – family members, elected officials and community organizations across New York City will join together to demand the firing of the two officers who killed the Black gay New Yorker in his own home. Basic accountability for the killing of Mr. Trawick has dragged on across two mayors and three police commissioners because of years of cover-ups, delays and obstruction by the NYPD, police union, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, and now the Adams’ administration. The Civilian Complaint Review Board will be prosecuting the officers in the NYPD discipline trial.

On April 14, 2019, Mr. Trawick was cooking in his Bronx apartment when NYPD Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis broke the chain on his apartment door, tased him, and killed him – within less than 112 seconds.  After years of delay, a discipline trial of the two officers will finally begin on Monday, April 24.

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When: Wednesday, April 12, 1pm EST

Where: 1 Police Plaza

Who:

  • Ellen & Rickie Trawick, parents of Kawaski Trawick (killed by NYPD on April 4, 2019 in the Bronx)
  • Iris Baez, mother of Anthony Baez (killed by NYPD chokehold in 1994, in the Bronx)
  • NYC Council Member Pierina Sanchez, executive committee member of the Black, Latino & Asian Caucus
  • NYS Senator Julia Salazar
  • Loyda Colon, Executive Director of the Justice Committee
  • NYC Anti-Violence Project
  • Housing Works
  • VOCAL-NY
  • Make the Road NY
  • Showing Up for Racial Justice
  • Communities United for Police Reform

What:

Immediately following a meeting with the Civilian Complaint Review Board and two days before the anniversary of the police killing of Kawaski Trawick,  family members, elected officials and community organizations will gather together to demand the firing of Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis, and to denounce the NYPD cover-ups, delays and obstruction to the discipline trial by the NYPD, the Adams administration and the PBA.

 

Background

The trial dates were scheduled in fall of 2022, but earlier this month, an NYPD judge granted the officers’ latest last-minute request to interrupt and prolong the conclusion of the trial because an NYPD official who will testify for the officers will be on vacation. As a result, while the trial will begin on April 24th, it will adjourn for two weeks after the prosecution’s presentation – and resume on Thursday, May 11 to accommodate the vacation schedule of the NYPD official testifying on behalf of the officers.

The Trawick family is outraged by the delay – viewing it as an attempt by the defense for the officers to avoid accountability for the killing of Mr. Trawick – and now has to take multiple trips from Georgia to New York City for the discipline trial because of the two-week adjournment.

Mr. Trawick was a Black queer man, a son, and a brother pursuing his dreams as a dancer, aerobics, and fitness instructor in New York City when NYPD Officers Thompson and Davis killed him.

 

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About the Justice Committee:

Since the 1980s, the Justice Committee (JC) has been dedicated to building a movement against police violence and systemic racism in New York City. The heart of our work is organizing and uplifting the leadership of families who have lost loved ones to the police and survivors of police violence. We empower our community to deter police violence, hold law enforcement accountable, and build people-led community safety through grassroots organizing campaigns, community empowerment, political education, our CopWatch program, and by developing safety mechanisms and projects that decrease reliance on police. By building solidarity with other anti-racist, immigrant and people of color-led organizations, the Justice Committee seeks to contribute to a broad-based movement for racial, social, and economic justice.

About Communities United for Police Reform:

Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory and abusive policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.