Family First Aid Kit For People Who Have Lost Their Loved Ones To Police Violence

Family First Aid Kit For Families That Have Lost Their Loved Ones To Police Violence

Families
An untimely death begins the tragedy for a loved one's family. Police killings consistently compound the grief in the following ways:

1. Your world is filled with utter confusion as those sworn to protect you destroy your loved ones.
2. You are made to feel isolated as the police force mobilizes to protect its own at the cost of the truth, and then to diminish their guilt they publicly demonize the victim. Your natural support system may be unsympathetic when you turn to them for emotional or spiritual solace, having been influenced by the police slant that always receives most of the media attention. Our combined experience demonstrates that even the strongest family's integrity is challenged by this onslaught, and at best, you and your family must assume a defensive posture instead of seeking the necessary closure in your grief. The natural search for justice shall set many tasks and obstacles before you.

Develop Support System:
Your first priority should be the preservation of yourself and your family. To assist you in these troubled times the following compassionate and knowledge folks should be contacted.

Develop a list of people of faith, family and individual counselors that are attuned to the special circumstances of police killings as well as ourselves as a family support group.

Present your case to supportive political, social justice, human rights, and civil rights groups, including Amnesty International, ACLU, NAACP.

Pursue Legal Strategies:

Obtain Legal Counsel: Do not assume that public agencies will act in good faith. You will be engaged in a battle and finding a competent attorney willing to tackle the law enforcement infrastructure is difficult. Here are some of our regional recommendations:

Attorneys from North Bay, East Bay, San Francisco, and South Bay that we have learned to trust, plus referral services like Police Watch.

If none of the above are available, one way to find local attorneys willing to challenge City Hall is to go to the City's Clerks office and request a list of police pay-outs for the last several years. You may have to cross check the list with records available in Superior Court to find names of local attorneys who have won claims against your city police force.

File your complaint with the police station or the sheriff's dept. or the jail. Obtain all rules and regulations about filing a lawsuit, i.e. due dates for different steps in the process, like how many days you have to file an appeal, according to each county, city, or state's regulations.

Attain your own pathologist.
Documentation:
Expect to be stonewalled by your public servants. Keep a record of all visits and phone calls. Make sure you note who and when as well as what was discussed. Keep a file of correspondence copies and if the letter is important that you are sending, mail it registered mail so you can demonstrate that it was received.

Your deposition should concentrate on the facts of the tragic incident, rather than the emotional aspects.
Collect All Pertinent Records:
Ask for copies, and ask again, until you possess copies of:

1. Ambulance reports
2. Hospital records
3. Fire Department report (if they responded)
4. Police reports
5. Coroner's report (coroner investigator report, autopsy, coroner notes)
6. District Attorney's report
7. FBI or Justice Department report (if possible)
8. 911 tapes and all County communication tapes that make reference to the incident
9. Blood and tissue samples from the Hospital and Coroner for independent testing
10. All lab reports from Criminal, Coroner and Hospital Lab

Do Your Own Investigation:
Depend on no one. As soon as possible take many photos of the scene. Go back when lighting and traffic are the same as the initial incident and take photos there also. If possible, also take video footage. Canvass the neighborhood for witnesses. Look for physical evidence the police may have opted to overlook.
Present Your Case to the Media:
Writers and journalists that cover homicides under the cover of law, depend upon a good working relationship with law enforcement. So it is not surprising that media almost always presents the police slant. It is still important for your family to attempt to get the truth and a balanced story before the public eye.

1. Tape all TV news and radio broadcasts, keep a file on all print stories regarding your case.
2. Make special note of any journalist who provides fair coverage, and establish and establish personal contact.
3. Issue your own press release with important data so that your unusual questions get addressed. Make a list of all regional media.
4. See attached press release as an example.
5. It will be helpful to put your story on paper and take it to regional, ethnic or alternative press. Remember that major newspaper interest will follow and with that also broadcast news.


Revision #1.0
More advice online at http://www.headcity.com/AmericanDream/article.php?story=20050106042018511