Don't Call 911, Group Protesting Cop Shooting Urges Brooklynites

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Local activists want you to stop calling 911 and call them instead.

When friends and neighbors rallied earlier this month to honor the memory of Saheed Vassell — the bipolar man shot dead by police officers who mistakenly believed he carried a gun — their outrage was directed toward cops, but also the three people who called them.

Now Equality for Flatbush organizers are working to create a web of resources for those who feel calling the police isn’t an option.

“The police just rolled up and executed him, no questions asked — That's how we're dealt with,” said the group's founder, Imani Henry. “We can't call 911, we get killed if we call 911."

Equality for Flatbush has spent years gathering an informal network of social workers who respond to local mental health crises in their neighborhoods, Henry told Patch.

When a Bed-Stuy woman was seen wandering the streets, clearly in distress, a former classmate reached out to Henry and asked for help. A social worker arrived, spoke to the woman, and got her away from dangerous traffic.

“It was done by a community of black and brown people,” Henry said. “We don't need police, we can do it ourselves.”

To help get this message across, Henry’s organization recently released its guide for people who need help, not police. The guide was republished after community members gathered at Montgomery Street and Utica Avenue — where Vassell was shot dead on April 4 — to honor Vassell and shame those who summoned the NYPD.

“A family is grieving, a mother’s heart is bleeding, a son will never have his dad again," a Crown Heights woman said at the rally. “This is what your 911 call did ... His blood is on your hands.”

Equality for Flatbush's guide suggests reaching out to someone who knows the neighborhood and the people in — such as a community leader, neighbor or Equality for Flatbush — or a mental health professional before calling 911.

It also recommends strengthening your own ties in the community by joining block association or forming a cop watch group.

“Whoever called 911 did not know Saheed.” Henry said. "He was well-loved, known and respected.”

"You didn't know,” he said. “So why did you call?"

In the months that follow Vassell's death, Henry will continue to build on this work with social workers and community members to raise awareness that there other ways to help a person in distress without involving police.

“We're not going to let people die in our neighborhoods anymore,” Henry said. “Stay tuned.”

Police did not immediately respond to Patch’s request for comment.

Photo by Kathleen Culliton