A coalition of community members and criminal justice reform advocates will gather on Saturday August 20, to ask the Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark to drop assault charges against Mamadou Diallo, a taxi driver who was responsible for the death of a man who tried to rape his wife in a Bronx apartment building.
As a result of the assault charges Mamadou’s employer suspended Mamadou’s driving privileges, and his family now survives on the kindness and charity provided by his community and friends.
“Mamadou Diallo did exactly what we all hope someone would do for us if our lives were in danger,” said Tiffany Wheatland, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“It is gravely unfortunate that as a result of this incident, a life has been lost. However, to further victimize, the Diallo family with the threat of prosecution would be a miscarriage of justice. We are asking D.A. Darcel Clark to end this ordeal that the Diallo family is experiencing and to drop the assault charges against Mr. Diallo so that he can continue to support his family. We further urge D.A. Clark to work with her colleagues to ensure that our criminal justice system is delivering the kinds of rehabilitation and reentry support that is so desperately lacking in our communities.”
“Communities in Claremont, Bronx, where Mamadou Diallo and his family live are predominantly low-income populations which experience the highest levels of crime,” said Sami Disu, communications specialist and community activist.
“To make matters worse, a biased criminal justice system is heavily weighted against people of color and draws hundreds of thousands of young men and women into a cycle of incarceration and parole, with no real intentions of rehabilitation. Earl Nash, the man who tried to rape Diallo’s wife was a homeless man with a history of untreated mental illness, despite being in and out of jail 19 times. We will not lose sight of the fact that tragedies like this are occurring in many communities of color on a daily basis. This is why we are standing with Mamadou Diallo. He is not alone.”
The rally will start at 11am at 1240 Washington Ave, in the Bronx.
