Community Coalition for Justice

This past year the Community Coalition for Justice celebrated 2 victories:  first, following the consistent and determined pressure that we focused on the police department for police accountability regarding the beating of Melvin Jones, it finally led to the firing of one of the lead officers, Jeffery Asher who was caught on tape beating him with a flashlight.

The second was when the DA announced that all the charges against Melvin Jones following the traffic stop that resulted in his brutal beating would be dropped.  All of the stand-out protests, use of the media, community meetings, letter writing campaigns, and meetings with city officials paid off.

With these victories, though, are accompanying challenges; for instance, although Jeffery Asher has been fired (and, this white cop has been a particular menace in the city for nearly a decade as he has had numerous incidents that have had serious racial implications), he currently is allowed to receive his pension (and he is only 39 years of age).  The only way he will be unable to collect his pension is if he is convicted of a felony charge stemming from charges that have been pressed against him by the legal team of Melvin Jones.  To date CCJ has organized around each court date of Asher’s, and we will continue throughout his trial, which may be scheduled for November or December 2011.

So what do we do?  We keep organizing!