June 5, 2020

Contact: Daniel Ball, dball@bds.org

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

BROOKLYN DEFENDER SERVICES CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE END OF NYC CURFEW

(BROOKLYN, NY) – Brooklyn Defender Services released the following statement in the wake of widespread police violence on the fourth night of a citywide curfew:

“As public defenders who witness daily the many ways our laws are weaponized against Black and brown people, we demand Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio lift the curfew immediately. With every passing night that this ill-conceived curfew is imposed, more and more New Yorkers suffer the lasting trauma of experiencing or witnessing police violence against those protesting and mourning the deaths of Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so many others at the hands of police. This, alone, should be enough to persuade Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio to lift the curfew. In addition, Black and brown essential workers are under attack as they deliver food or travel to and from their healthcare jobs. Many businesses are shuttering early, knowing that their workers, many of whom may be undocumented, will not be kept safe from police by an asterisk in the curfew order. End this curfew now.”

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Brooklyn Defender Services provides multi-disciplinary and client-centered criminal, family, and immigration defense, as well as civil legal services, social work support and advocacy, for tens of thousands of people in Brooklyn every year.