NAACP President Calls for National Legislation Following Police Shooting at Church Day Care

A few weeks ago, police shot and killed Mark Anthony Barmore, a 23-year-old African American man in Rockford, Illinois. Eyewitnesses say that outside the church day care center, Mr. Barmore encountered two police officers who apparently were looking for him on an allegation of domestic violence. He ran inside the church, and the officers followed him, guns drawn, without a warrant. After Mr. Barmore entered a small boiler room, the police demanded he come out. He slowly exited the room with his hands up. Then, witnesses say, police shot him -- in front of children in the day care center. While he lay face down, police shot him three more times in the back. NAACP President Jealous is leading a delegation of NAACP leaders and staff to launch the NAACP’s investigation into the police killing and is calling for a Department of Justice investigation. The protest rally in Rockford with Reverend Jesse Jackson, President Jealous and State and local NAACP leaders on September 12th will be followed by a major mobilization on October 3rd. The NAACP has also been working with Congress, and specifically House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (MI) to enact legislation to mandate official standards for the use of force for every law enforcement agency from federal marshals to rank and file cops on the beat. Currently, there are as many use-of-force policies as there are law enforcement agencies, and there are as many interpretations of those policies as there are law enforcement officers. This lack of uniformity is one of the core reasons behind the tragedy in Rockford and in too many other police shootings across the Nation. You can help.
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