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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

CJ Frogozo, cj@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 310 570 2622

Civil Rights Group Responds to DOJ investigation into Police Killing of Zacchary Hammond

NEW YORK, NY

Yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a civil rights investigation into 19-year-old Zacchary Hammond, a white teenager killed by police on July 26th.

Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange Executive Director issued the following statement:

"We send our deepest condolences to the Hammond family as they move through this incredibly difficult time. Black people across the US are all too familiar with the pain of losing a child to police violence.

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"All too often, Black victims of police are not awarded the same assurance of independent oversight and steps toward accountability as is seen in this case. Why hasn't Attorney General Loretta Lynch launched an investigation into the tragic death of Sandra Bland more than one month after she was illegally arrested and found dead in Waller County jail? One year following the police killing of Eric Garner and three years since the police killing of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham, the Department of Justice hasn't charged any the violent and discriminatory police who took their lives.

"It's fair to say that the Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Department of Justice are failing to do their jobs and protect the civil rights of all Americans. Due to dehumanizing and dangerous racial stereotypes, Black teenagers are 21 times more likely to be killed by police, yet they are the least likely to see justice. Every day that the DOJ fails to launch an investigation into Sandra's death or the thousands of other police departments who target and abuse Black people, more and more lives are put at risk."

Color Of Change is the nation's largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over one million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.