Shirley Patterson, the Independence Party candidate for the 43rd Assembly District seat, today, rolled out a Know Your Rights Criminal Justice Tasks Force to counter the growing string of documented police misconduct including the recent shooting death of Walter Scott in South Carolina.
“The criminal justice system must be reformed, nationally. This year, 2015, we have seen a new civil rights movement; a movement for criminal justice reform. We need to be unafraid of this journey, unafraid to examine our existing system’s failings, and unafraid to propose a positive vision for the future,” said Patterson.
Patterson said reforming the criminal justice system is something she also takes personally as she worry’s about her son, Malik, a loving father and husband, every day about what would happen if he was confronted by police.
“I worry because of what happened to Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and now, Walter Scott. I fear that my son might be unlawfully stopped and frisked, intimidated or even shot. A mother should not have to live with this fear. Walter Scott, a son and father of four, was yet another unarmed African-American man, shot and killed by a police officer,” said Patterson.
Patterson said she will work on the task force with Borough President Eric Adams, Sen. Jesse Hamilton and community members to reform the criminal justice, starting with New York State.
Also running in the special May 5 election is Geoffrey Davis, Diana Richardson and Menachem Raitport. The district includes Crown Heights, Lefferts Gardens, East Flatbush and Wingate.
