PETITION CLOSED

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Tell Brooklyn DA: Indict Officer Marchesona for Taser death of Iman Morales
  1. Signatures
    209 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. Kings County District Attorney (Charles Hynes)
  2. Created By
    JUSTICE COMMITTEE
About this Petition Petition Letter

Iman Morales, a mentally ill man, was killed by a New York Police Department officer on September 24th, 2008. Mr. Morales was tased while standing on the ledge of a store front awning 10 feet high without an inflatable bag to break his fall. The officers ignored his mother's cries for an inflatable bag, and made no attempts to catch Mr. Morales who fell to his death after being tased.  It is against NYPD procedures to taser someone in an elevated position. Sergeant Marchesona, who fired the taser that killed Iman was promoted to Detective six weeks after the killing. The Justice Committee is working with Iman’s family to demand Sergeant Marchesona be charged with criminally negligent homicide for the death of Iman Morales. Join the calls for justice!

Recent Signatures

Indict Officer Marchesona for the death of Iman Morales!

Greetings DA Hynes,

It is with deep concern that I write to you about the death of Iman Morales, who died as a result of a violation of NYPD guidelines. I call on you to indict NYPD Officer Nicholas Marchesona for the unnecessary killing of Iman Morales. An acknowledgement that department guidelines were violated was reported in the press:

"The order to employ the Taser under these circumstances appears to have violated guidelines, reissued June 4, 2008, which specifically state that 'when possible, the [device] should not be used . . . in situations where the subject may fall from an elevated surface," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. (foxnews.com, 9/26/08)

You are well aware of the flawed decision that caused Iman’s death:

DA Charles Hynes said, "We never thought this was anything other than the conclusion reached by the NYPD that the action taken failed to follow departmental guidelines leading to a tragic mistake."(gothamist.com, 10/4/08)

You yourself viewed the horrible last moments of Iman’s life.To add insult to the terrible injury of Iman’s death, the officer who pulled the fatal trigger was subsequently promoted:

Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, said Wednesday that no disciplinary action was taken against Officer Marchesona, who has since been promoted to detective. He declined further comment. (New York Times, 2/25/09)

It seems as if the life of Iman has bee devalued because it was a police officer who caused his untimely death. This is unacceptable. We all deserve to have the wheels of justice turn for us, especially in the case where someone loses their life. This is true regardless of whether a ‘tragic mistake’---one committed by police officers---caused that death. Mr, Hynes, as a District Attorney you claim to represent ‘the people’ and should be aware of this.

I call on you to fulfill the obligations of your office to represent the people and indict Officer Nicholas Marchesona for the death of Iman Morales.

[Your name]

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