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Dear friend,
We did it. Thanks to you and over 50,000 Color Of Change members, State’s Attorney Andrew Warren announced that criminal charges against Tampa activists -- Sadie Dean, Jae Passmore and Torrie Grogan -- have been dropped. In less than 10 days, the community came together and sent a very clear message to Tampa city officials -- political retaliation will not be tolerated. Black and brown people have the right to protest state-sanctioned violence.
Sadie Dean faced one count of false imprisonment, stemming from an incident that happened over two months ago. In a statement released today, Warren explained that the "evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt the elements necessary for false imprisonment." The criminal allegations were clearly outrageous and demonstrated the extreme lengths the Tampa police department were willing to go in order to instill fear and criminalize dissent. This is why we need more reform-minded prosecutors -- leaders who can see right through police officers' lies and throw out baseless criminal charges.
Sadly, this is not the first incident of state repression nor will it be the last. For the last three months, Tampa activists have been systematically targeted and harassed by the police. Several community organizers still face criminal charges for their activism, and many of them do not have the weight of a national organization behind them.
Today's announcement is an indictment of Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan's poor leadership.Tampa police officers are dangerous -- and Dugan has lost all control. No one else to blame for this reckless behavior but the police chief. Dugan has been at the helm of this operation all summer long and has done very little to stop the attacks. In fact, Dugan has incited racial violence.
Dugan is not fit to lead. And it is up to Mayor Jane Castor to put an end to this police harassment and abuse of power. We must build on this momentum and turn up the pressure. Dugan must be removed from office immediately. Will you join us ?
Until justice is real,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, Ernie, McKayla and the rest of the Color Of Change team.
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please help keep our movement strong.
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