Newman Ferrara attorney, Randolph McLaughlin, announced on Saturday that the firm will be filing a lawsuit against the White Plains Police Department in the coming weeks.
Kenneth Chamberlain backers rally, plan suit
Originally published: May 26, 2012 4:24 PM
By BETTY MING LIU betty.liu@cablevision.com
Photo credit: Nancy Siesel | Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.'s son, Kenneth Jr., and niece Diane Stewart, march in White Plains, calling for a federal review of their case against the city and its police in the fatal shooting of the ex-Marine during a Nov. 19 standoff. (May 26, 2012)
Relatives of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. held a peaceful Saturday afternoon march and rally in White Plains to spread the word that they are seeking a federal review of their case against the city and its police force.
"One way or another, we are going to get justice for this family," said civil rights attorney Randolph McLaughlin, who is representing the family, as the crowd applauded.
The orderly march that began at noon and drew about 125 supporters traveled down Lexington Avenue to Main Street. It ended at the Westchester County Courthouse next to the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. where more speeches were given before the rally ended around 2:30 p.m.
One of the speakers, Nation of Islam minister Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, said that his organization was hosting a "Stop the Killing" rally on June 2 in Mount Vernon to draw attention to homicides in that city and that he wanted to show support for the Chamberlain case. "Our unity will solve 95 percent of our problems," he said.
The event drew family, friends and a range of community groups, including organizations that have joined the Chamberlain family's coalition, Network for Police Accountability. Members of the group include local NAACP chapters, the New York Civil Liberties Union , the Westchester Martin Luther King Institute for Nonviolence, Peekskill Committee for Justice, AntiRacist Alliance, the Ethical Culture Society of Westchester and the Community Unitarian Church Task Force on Police Accountability, said Julie Carran, a march organizer.
Julie Weiner, 64, of Yonkers , attending the rally as a representative of the Yonkers NAACP and Concerned Families of Westchester, called the May 3 grand jury decision clearing the officers in the case "one of the most shocking things I have ever heard."
"Hopefully, more people will be aware of the injustice in this country and police brutality," said family friend Jirrell Abraham, 25, of White Plains, who also attended the rally.
McLaughlin said the family plans to file a civil rights lawsuit in June against the city of White Plains and Anthony Carelli, the officer who fired the fatal shot in the Nov. 19 standoff in which the white police officer killed 68-year-old Chamberlain, an African-American, after a two-hour standoff at Chamberlain's White Plains apartment.
A day after the grand jury decision, federal authorities announced that they would review the shooting to determine whether to open a civil rights investigation.
White Plains Mayor Tom Roach did not immediately return a call seeking comment. He has previously said the city is conducting an independent review of the incident, including the use of a racial slur.
Carelli's lawyer could not be reached for comment. David Chong, the White Plains commissioner of public safety, has said his department will conduct an administrative investigation of the incident and review policies and procedures for similar situations.
Chamberlain had a heart condition and worked as a county corrections officer for 20 years, his son Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. said. More than a dozen police and emergency responders appeared at his South Lexington Avenue apartment door after he accidentally triggered his Life Alert alarm. In the confrontation that followed, Chamberlain said that his father was taunted and called the n-word.
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Inquiries about thiscase may be directed to Professor McLaughlin at 212-619-5400