LAST CHANCE FOR JUSTICE! * CALL: Bill Lan Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General * NUMBER: 202-514-2151 * DEMAND: Federal criminal civil-rights charges against * ALL of the officers who brutally beat and killed Jonny Gammage For a sample letter to the Justice Department demanding justice, click here. Click here for more info. Sponsored by: Pittsburgh NAACP, CCPJ, Citizens for Police Accountability, UCCAW and the Urban League ************************************* Open Letter to Judge Mccloskey and District Attorney Zappala A Message from Mrs. Gammage	Check the women of the CCPJ.

Updated CCPJ Fact Sheet


Wayne Babish, speaks out about the Brentwood police.

The Non-violence web site.

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Infinite race.
"Killer Cops: Out of Control Around the Country" , an article by Manning Marable.

A must-see: Police riot in San Francisco

Open Letter to The People of Allegheny County From the CCPJ (Campus Coalition for Peace and Justice)

Jonny Gammage, an African-American man and cousin of Pittsburgh Steelers Ray Seals, was murdered at the hands of five police officers on Highway 51 on October 12, 1995. He was brutally beaten and his breath was crushed out of his body. The prosecutors called as their star witness, Whitehall Police Sgt. Keith Henderson, one of the cops who participated in the murder. This cop clearly represents the defense. In testimony, he defended his actions and those of his fellow officers. Henderson painted Gammage as the aggressor, and said he would have shot him if he had had a clear view. He said his fellow officers did nothing wrong. Why is he a star witness for the prosecution? Henderson's testimony contradicts the testimony of Frank Belajac, a tow truck driver, who testified that he saw the attack that led to Jonny Gammage's death, and that he fears retaliation by the police. But many of us are not surprised that the DA's office would not prosecute Henderson for his crimes, nor seek felonies charges against the other four. After all, as a former Pittsburgh police officer and homicide detective, Colville has a conflictof interest in this case and his office should not be the prosecution!

What the D.A. Has Done Disregarded the findings of the coroner's jury who unanimously recommended that all five cops be charged with criminal homicide. Continued to use Henderson as a witness in spite of the fact that he defended the cops' actions in the pre-trial hearings. Failed to charge the two city police, Lattner and Cenci, who were on the scene before Gammage died. Failed to file charges against Keith Henderson and Shawn Patterson, two cops who participated. Allowed for the defense to badger another of his witnesses, County coroner Cyril Wecht, without objection. This led to Judge Cashman declaring a mistrial when Wecht demanded that the cop, Milton Mulholland, tell the jury what he had done. See the Open Letter To D.A. Colville for more info.

Write a letter to the editor of the Post-Gazette to complain about their pro-defense and anti-Gammage bias in covering this case. See some sample letters.

Call Mike Pintak and Fred Honsberger's shows on KDKA radio between 9:00 am to noon and 3:00 to 4:30 pm at 333-9393 and tell them the same thing.

Call the D.A. office (412-350-4400) and express your concern at his handling of the case. Question his ability to be objective since he was a former police officer. Demand that all five officers be charged with criminal homicide and that the jury be selected from Allegheny Country or one with similar demographics

Call the disciplinary board of the PA Supreme Court (565-3173) and file a complaint.

Call U.S. Attorney Frederick Phieman's office (644-3500) to express concern that Jonny Gammage's civil rights were violated because he was black and all officers who killed him are white.

Circulate the petition demanding that a special prosecutor be appointed in the case since the DA is not seriously pursuing criminal charges against the cops.

Invite a member of the Campus Coalition for Peace and Justice to speak to your organization about the killing of Jonny Gammage.

For deeper information -

Richard Lyons Interview	Poem and songs about Jonny Gammage	Related Sites	Police Brutality Across the Nation	Tow-truck driver's testimony	Fact Sheet on the Jonny Gammage case	June 29 March Against Police Brutality	Back to PShell's home page

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