15 Years and Still No Justice from Courts for Malik Jones - 4th Appeal Sought for Black Man Killed by New Haven Police

From [HERE] Fifteen years after Malik Jones was shot to death by a police officer, his mother says she is still searching for “justice.” Supporters led a rally and march Sunday from where Malik Jones was killed on Grand Avenue to his gravesite, demanding the formation of a civilian review board designed to investigate shootings like Jones’ and hold police accountable. “No justice, no peace, with racist police,” they chanted as they walked toward Evergreen Cemetery, where Malik Jones is buried.

In early August, an appeals court overturned a $900,000 settlement in favor of Emma Jones, leaving her uncompensated for the death of her son. The lawsuit had alleged that the town's custom, policy or usage of deliberate indifference to the rights of black people caused the killing of Jones in violation of his constitutional rights. [MORE]

Previously, in 2003, a federal jury in Hartford awarded Jones $2.5 million in punitive damages against the police, but that was thrown out four years later by the U.S. District Court. The Court held that municipalities are immune from punitive damages. “When the (August) decision came down, I felt the exact same way I felt on the day of the murder,” Emma Jones said.

In 1997, Malik Jones was stopped by police officers in East Haven. He led police on a chase to New Haven where East Haven officer Robert Flodquist smashed the glass of Jones’ car and shot him several times at close range. At the time, Flodquist said Jones had given him a “go to hell” look. Flodquist was later named East Haven Police Department spokesperson, a position he held until his retirement.

“He has a murder on his head. I wonder how he sleeps at night,” supporter Patty Newton-Foster said of Flodquist. “I hope every time he closes his eyes, he sees Malik’s face.”

The message, according to Kerry Ellington, is that the case of Malik Jones “is not an isolated incident.”

“There is a human rights crisis that’s going on in our communities,” she said. “No one should be sentenced to death without trial.”

Ellington points to a study conducted by the Malcom X Grassroots Movement indicating that 120 African Americans were killed by police between Jan. 1 and June 30 this year. Of those, according to the study, 36 percent were unarmed.

Malik Jones’ killing resulted in the passage of an anti-racial profiling law in Connecticut, but the actions of the appellate court, which decided in favor of the East Haven Police Department overturning a lower court’s settlement, show the state’s unwillingness to address the issue, according to Jewu Richardson.

“A $900,000 settlement would be them acknowledging that there is a problem,” Richardson said. “They’re saying that they’re innocent.”

Richardson, too, was shot by a police officer. He was accused of vehicular assault and shot “at point-blank range” in 2010, he said. He expects his case to go to trial in the near future.

But the fact that he survived leaves him with a responsibility, he said.

“Malik is not here to speak. Sean Bell is not here to speak,” he said, referring to the 2006 shooting death by police in Queens, N.Y., of 23-year-old Bell the morning before his wedding. “I have an obligation. I have to speak for those people.”

The appellate court’s decision in favor of East Haven did not rest on the allegedly racially motivated killing of Malik Jones, but agreed with town attorneys that the East Haven Police Department itself was not racially motivated in its basic procedures.

But Emma Jones said it “sets a standard,” and that she will be taking the case to the state’s Supreme Court if need be.

The case will be reviewed by a three-judge panel which could disagree with the appellate court’s ruling. But on the chance it does not, Emma Jones has begun the process of obtaining a Supreme Court hearing.