On Anniversary Of Death, Eurie Stamps Supporters Get Movement

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Tuesday marked the 10th anniversary of the police shooting death of Framingham resident Eurie Stamps. It was also a significant day for activists who have been trying to get more notoriety for the case in recent months.

On Tuesday, the Framingham Democratic Committee and the group #JusticeForEurie asked the City Council to consider a resolution featuring a number of requests — that Framingham adopt bodycams, create a police oversight committee and that the city fire the officer who shot Stamps.

The resolution was presented by Democratic Committee Chair Michael Hugo and #JusticeForEurie member Selvin Chambers III. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan also attended the meeting. Her office has begun reviewing the previous investigation into Stamps' death, and said that some materials have been sent to the FBI's training academy in Quantico, Va., for a closer look.

Framingham District 5 Councilor Robert Case called for the creation of an ad hoc committee to review the Stamps case in conjunction with #JusticeForEurie and Mayor Yvonne Spicer's office. Case said the committee would also explore creating a day in Stamps honor — possibly on his March 2 birthday. The Council voted unanimously to create the committee.

Hugo also said new Framingham police Chief Lester Baker is going to meet with the #JusticeForEurie group. Baker has previously said he had not met with the group, but wanted to.

Stamps was 68 on Jan. 5, 2011, when the now-disbanded Framingham SWAT team raided his home looking for Stamps' stepson in connection to a drug investigation. Stamps, a retired MBTA employee and grandfather, was watching a Celtics game when police burst into his home. Police ordered him onto the ground, and Stamps was lying on his stomach when Duncan apparently tripped and fired his rifle.

The #JusticeForEurie group began talking about the case this summer following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The group held rallies in Framingham and in Cambridge, where Stamps lived for many years.

Here's the full resolution that was brought to the City Council on Tuesday:

Framingham Dems Resolution by Neal McNamara on Scribd