Home
News
The Agitator
Calendar
Photos
What is POP?
Why Join POP?
Constitution Preamble
Aims and Purposes
Core Demands
Contact

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SEEKS ANSWERS

New Jersey Attorney General John J. Farmer, Jr. and Orange Police Director Donald Wactor have received letters from Amnesty International inquiring about the case of police brutality victim Earl Faison. Copies of the letters from the London office of the International Secretariat of Amnesty International were received in the mail on Saturday by The People's Organization For Progress (POP), along with a third letter thanking POP for its letter of January 4th asking the human rights group to look into the case. The letters express& "deep concern" about the death of Mr. Faison while in police custody and requests answers to specific questions relating to different aspects of the case.

We are encouraged that Amnesty International has responded to ourrequest to look into the Faison case and are asking serious questions ofthe state attorney general and the Orange police department because webelieve that there are very serious issues yet to be addressed andresolved, said Matthew Johnson, chairman of the POP Task Force onHuman Rights, who drafted the January 4th letter.

"The People's Organization For Progress believes that thecase of Earl Faison involved not only the violation of his civil rightsbut more importantly his human rights. This inquiry by AmnestyInternational highlights this fact and shows that the case is gaininginternational significance. We hope that this will help the attorneygeneral's office realize the need to reopen the investigation intothe death of Earl Faison," POP chairman Lawrence Hamm stated.

Earl Faison, a 27 year-old African-American man, wrongfully apprehendedas a suspect in the murder of Orange police officer Joyce Anne Carnegiedied on April 11,1999 after being in the custody of Orange police foronly forty-five minutes.

In December, five Orange, New Jersey police officers who were indicted inconnection with the beating and torture of Mr. Faison, were found guiltyof conspiracy and violations of his civil rights. Members of the familyof Earl Faison and the People's Organization For Progress met withofficials of the New Jersey Attorney General's Office on Monday,
April 9, 2001 to request that the state reopen its investigation into thedeath of Mr. Faison.= = = = = =Amnesty to NJ Atty. Gen. Farmer
The Honorable John J. Farmer, Jr
The Department of Law and Public Safety Ref: TG AMR 51/07/01Office of the Attorney GeneralHughes Justice Complex25 Market StreetTrenton, P.O. Box 080NJ 08625-0080USA 02 March 2001

Dear Attorney General

I am writing to express Amnesty International's deep concern aboutthe case of Earl Faison, who died in police custody in April 1999, afterbeing mistakenly arrested in connection with the murder of a policeofficer. In December 2000, five Orange police officers were convicted ofconspiring to violate Mr. Faison's civil rights, after evidence waspresented at a federal trial that officers had repeatedly kicked andpunched him and one had sprayed him in the nose and mouth with pepperspray as he lay handcuffed and surrounded by officers in a stationstairwell.
We understand that the convictions were obtained after a lengthy federalinquiry in which two police officers, who were key prosecution witnessesat the trial, admitted initially lying to investigators to protect theirfellow officers. According to reports, other police witnesses testifiedonly reluctantly at the trial.

While the officers in this case were eventually brought to trial, thecase raises a number of wider concerns, including the existence of"code of silence" among police officers which may hamperthe investigation of abuses. We are also concerned by reports thatTerrance Everett, another suspect detained at the same time as EarlFaison, was also beaten while in custody of the Orange police officers.We should be grateful to know whether there has been a criminalinvestigation into this case also, and of the outcome of any suchinquiry.

The use of pepper spray by police officers raises a number of issues,even without the abusive circumstances reported in Earl Faison'scase. There is evidence to suggest that OC spray may be inherentlydangerous when used against certain subjects with underlying healthconditions such as asthma, which may not be known at time of arrest.Since the early 1990s, more than 90 people in the USA are reported tohave died in police custody after being exposed to OC spray, sometimes inconjunction with other restraints. While most deaths have been attributedby coroners to other causes, or are unexplained - in some cases, it hasbeen suggested, because the effects of OC spray do not show up clearly inautopsy reports - OC spray has been found to be a factor in a number ofcases. Amnesty International has also received ...
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT
1 Easton Street, London WCIX 0DW United Kingdom
Tel: Int. Code: 44(20)74135500. UK code: 020 7413 5500. Fax: Int. Code:44(20)79561157. UK Code: 020 7956 1157
E-Mail: amnestyis@amnesty.org . Web: http://www.amnesty.orgcomplaints of law enforcement officers misusing OC spray to deliberatelypunish and ill-treat suspects.

These concerns have led Amnesty International to call on the US federalauthorities to establish an independent, nationwide review of the use ofOC spray by law enforcement and correctional agencies, and to urge allagencies to either cease using OC spray or introduce strict guidelinesand limitations on its use. We are also calling on authorities tostringently monitor the use of OC spray, both at agency level andstatewide.

Amnesty International is further concerned that Earl Faison's caseis one of many reported instances of police abuse in New Jersey in recentyears, most of which have not resulted in criminal prosecutions. Casesdrawn to our attention - some of which we have raised previously withyour office - include shootings of unarmed suspects during traffic orpedestrian stops as well as physical brutality of suspects held in policecustody. The large majority of the victims in the cases reported, likeEarl Faison, have been African Americans or members of other minorities.We are concerned that such cases may be indicative of a pattern ofexcessive force and/or discriminatory treatment in certain jurisdictionsor among certain officers.

In view of the above concerns, we should be very grateful if you couldprovide Amnesty International with information on the following:

1) We understand that police departments in New Jersey are required toprovide information to county prosecutors on citizen complaints and thatthis information is then forwarded to the Attorney General'soffice. Does your office disseminate information publicly about thenature and incidence of such complaints and their disposition? Is theinformation analysed and has it been used to initiate any remedialmeasures either statewide -or with respect to specific agencies?

2) Are there statewide guidelines on the use of OS spray, and if so, maywe receive a copy of these? Are there procedures in place for statewidemonitoring of the use of OC spray by local or state police anddetention/correctional agencies?

3) Are there procedures in place to tackle the "code ofsilence" and to ensure that officers who witness abuses, or who failto report misconduct, are held accountable? Have any specific measuresbeen taken following the Earl Faison investigation?

4) We are aware that measures are now in place to monitor the incidenceof alleged "racial profiling" in traffic stops by the NewJersey State Police. Have any similar measures been instituted withregard to other police agencies in New Jersey which involve monitoringtraffic or pedestrian stops? Are there tracking systems in place toenable agencies to identify and monitor officers involved in repeatedallegations of abuse of force/racism or other misconduct or to identifypatterns of concern?

5) Apart from criminal inquiries, do any jurisdictions in New Jersey havetheir own independent oversight bodies who review, investigate or auditcitizen complaints against the police?

6) Amnesty International has received a number of representations fromconcerned parties in New Jersey regarding the state's failure toprosecute the officers responsible for the ill-treatment and death ofEarl Faison. Concern has been expressed that the charges on which theofficers were convicted under federal civil rights law (which arereported to carry likely maximum penalties of five yearsimprisonment under federal sentencing guidelines) did not reflect theseverity of the crime.

While Amnesty International is not in a position to comment on the meritsof the decisions taken by prosecutors in this case, we believe that it isof paramount importance to ensure that law enforcement officialsresponsible for such egregious abuse are dealt with according to the fullforce of the law. We should be grateful for your comments andclarification of why no decision was made to bring more serious chargesunder state law.

I thank you in advance for your time in providing any information youroffice may have with regard to the above questions. In the meantime,Amnesty International urges you to take all necessary measures to ensurethat torture and ill-treatment by police officers in New Jersey will notbe tolerated and that those responsible for abuses, and any officers whofail to report or who cover up such incidents, will be brought to justiceand appropriately sanctioned.

Amnesty International urges that, if not already adopted, internationalstandards on the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment and on the useof force by law enforcement officials are fully incorporated into policecodes of conduct and training and strictly enforced. Such standardsshould include the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials,adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979, and the Basic Principles onthe Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted byThe Eighth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment ofOffenders in September 1990.

We should also like to take this opportunity to thank you for passing onour previous inquiry to the appropriate department. We have now obtaineda copy of the revised guidelines on the use of deadly force.

Yours sincerely,
Javier Zuniga
Program Director - America
cc: Director Donald Wactor
Orange Police Department

= = = = =
Amnesty to Orange, NJ Police Director Donald Wactor

Director Donald Wactor Ref.:TG AMR52/08/01Orange Police Department593 Lincoln AvenueOrange NJ 07050-2016USA 02 March 2001

Dear Director Wactor,

As you may be aware, Amnesty International is a worldwide, voluntaryorganisation which seeks to promote the observance of international humanrights standards, including those relating to the treatment of people inthe custody of law enforcement officials.

I am writing to express deep concern about the case of EarlFaison who died while in the custody of Orange police officers in April1999. We are aware that in December 2000 five Orange police officers wereconvicted of conspiring to violate Mr. Faison's federal civil rightsafter evidence was presented at a federal trial that officers hadrepeatedly kicked and punched him and one had sprayed him in the nose andmouth with pepper spray as he lay handcuffed in a station stairwell.

I enclose a copy of a letter which Amnesty International has today sentthe Attorney General of New Jersey, in which we raise a number ofquestions in relation to this and other cases of alleged police abuse. Asthis letter mentions, we are also concerned about reports that TerranceEverett, a suspect held around the same time as Earl Faison, was beatenwhile in the custody of Orange police officers.

I should be very grateful if you could inform me whether this case hasbeen investigated by your department and, if so, of the outcome of thisinvestigation and whether any officers have been charged with offences. Ishould also be grateful to know if the Earl Faison case and thesubsequent trial of Orange police officers has led to any wider review byyour department of the. use of force, use of OC spray, and allegationsthat officers failed to report misconduct or covered up abuse.

We urge that you send the strongest message that torture andill-treatment by Orange police officers will not be tolerated and thatthose found responsible for misconduct, or who fail to report or cover-upabuses, will be appropriately disciplined.

Yours sincerely,

Javier ZunigaProgram Director - America
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT
1 Easton Street, London WCIX 0DW United Kingdom
Tel: Int. Code: 44(20)74135500. UK code: 020 7413 5500. Fax: Int. Code:44(20)79561157. UK Code: 020 7956 1157
E-Mail:amnestyis@amnesty.org . Web:http://www.amnesty.org

People's Organization for Progress, PO Box 22505, Newark, N.J. 07101
Call: The Newark Coalition for Neighborhoods (973)-643-7711 or (973)-801-0001