NYC transgender community demands ‘Justice for Islan Nettles!’
photo: Greg Butterfield
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By Greg Butterfield
February 1, 2014
New York — Despite bitterly cold temperatures, more than 100 people
— chanting “Not one more!” — protested Jan. 30 outside
New York Police Department headquarters in lower Manhattan to demand justice
for Islan Nettles. Nettles, an African-American transgender woman, was brutally
beaten in Harlem on Aug. 17. She died from her injuries five days later.
Eyewitnesses reported that a man named Paris Wilson attacked Nettles,
shouted anti-trans and anti-gay slurs, and beat her while she lay helpless on
the ground.
Wilson was charged only with misdemeanor assault. The charges were later
dropped.
Trans community activists say the NYPD failed to question witnesses, gather
evidence or even check on Nettles’ condition in the five days following
the attack.
Community members say this is typical of how police in New York and around
the country look the other way in cases involving anti-trans violence,
especially against transgender people of color.
The protesters are demanding answers from District Attorney Cyrus Vance and
Police Commissioner William Bratton, including a full report to the community
on the status of the investigation and an audit of all NYPD precincts for their
conduct in investigating crimes against trans people.
Activists promised to continue mobilizing to win these demands.
The action was organized by the Transgender/Cisgender Coalition; ACT UP NY;
Luz’s Daughter Cares; TWOCC: Trans Women of Color Collective of Greater
NY; STARR: Strategic Trans Alliance for Radical Reform; LGBT Faith Leaders of
African Descent; and others.