Families and friends of victims of police killings speak out for truth, justice & dignity
PRESS CONFERENCE
Date: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 at 10am
Location: 1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, #204 (between Guy & Mackay) MONTRÉAL
Speakers to include:
- Lilian Madrid, mother of FREDY VILLANUEVA, 18, who was shot and killed by Montreal police in 2008
- Julie Matson, Montreal resident and daughter of BEN MATSON, 49, who was killed by Vancouver police in 2002
- Josiane Millette, girlfriend of JEAN-FRANÇOIS NADREAU, 30, killed by the Montreal police on February 16, 2012
- Bridget Tolley, daughter of GLADYS TOLLEY, 61, who was killed in 2001 after being struck by a Sûreté du Québec police cruiser on the Kitigan Zibi reserve
MONTREAL, October 18, 2012 -- For the third consecutive year, the Justice for the Victims of Police Killings Coalition is commemorating the national day of protest against police brutality in the United States, which is held every October 22 since 1996.
Close relatives and friends will be addressing the media together this FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 at 10am at 1500 de Maisonneuve West, #204. The families and friends are uniting together in one voice to remember all of those who have lost their lives to police violence and abuse, as well as to support each others efforts for justice and accountability.
Lilian Madrid, Julie Matson, Josiane Millette and Bridget Tolley will also announce a commemorative vigil in front of the headquarters of the Montreal Police Fraternity at 480 Gilford on Monday, October 22, beginning at 6:30pm.
The site of the Police Fraternity was chosen because the police union systematically defends police officers who brutalize and kill. It will also be the site of the announcement of a police ethics complaint against Fraternity President Yves Francoeur, denouncing his false and misleading comments made in front of a parliamentary commission in Quebec City this past March.
The Justice for the Victims of Police Killings Coalition’s goal is to remember the victims who lost their lives to police violence and abuse, and
 to support their families and friends.
The Coalition is currently comprised of the family, friends and allies of Mohamed Anas Bennis, Claudio Castagnetta, Ben Matson, Quilem Registre, Gladys Tolley and Fredy Villaneuva, and is in contact with the close friends of Jean-François Nadreau.
The recent Stéfanie Trudeau case has raised collective awareness about a phenomenon that is not new, and known unfortunately all too well by the relatives of the victims of police misconduct. On the one hand, there is the existence of a subculture of police violence encouraged by systemic impunity; in addition, there is a hatred fueled by several police officers against minority groups that takes the form of racial, social or political profiling.
As police continue to investigate the police, the quest for truth and justice by the families of victims of police killings remains fraught with pitfalls.
The Coalition demands the end of police brutality and impunity, an end to racial, social and political profiling, as well as access to all information that will shed light on the deaths at the hands of the police.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Date: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 at 10am
Location: 1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, #204 (between Guy & Mackay) MONTRÉAL
Contact: 438-875-7243 - 22oct.mtl@gmail.com - www.22octobre.net
Press release from the Justice for the Victims of Police Killings Coalition.
Media Advisory - For Immediate Release
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