Shem Walker murdered by NYPD

Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)
1111 East 35th St, Brooklyn, NY 11210
Email: caribbeaninstitute@gmail.com. www.c-gid.org

July 19, 2009

For immediate release

Contact: Jevon Suralie, Director of Communications

Tel: 646-807-3174. Email: caribbeaninstitute@gmail.com

New York Caribbean Institute condemns Police killing of Shem Walker – Calls on DA to charge suspect

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: The New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) is calling on Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles Hynes, to charge an undercover NYPD narcotics cop with manslaughter, for what it called “The willful shooting to death of Guyanese-American and United States Army veteran, Shem Walker, last Saturday.”

Walker, who was visiting his sick mother, Lydia Walker, at her brownstone home at 370 Lafayette Ave, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, had just finished feeding her dinner, at around 7:45 P.M, and had gone outside for a smoke, when he encountered a man sitting on his stairs. He reportedly asked the stranger leave, and a struggle may have ensued.

However, the trespasser turned out to be an undercover Police officer from the Brooklyn North Narcotics squad, who was purportedly equipped with headphones and allegedly listening in on a drug buy.

The New York Post reported that the two wrestled and fell to the ground, and that the cop broke free, reached for his gun and shot Walker in the head and chest. Walker was taken to the nearby Brooklyn Hospital Center where he was pronounced dead.

Walker’s sister, Jean Nurse, told CGID officials who visited the family Sunday, that she heard the gunshot and rushed to the window, only to see her brother lying on the steps bleeding. She said that she got to the front door within sixty about (60) seconds of seeing her brother lying on the stairs, and observed a uniform Police officer with his gun drawn at the alleged shooter. The alleged shooter then showed what appeared to be a badge and identification to the uniform officer, and subsequently walked away from the scene and disappeared.

Nurse said that she was most hurt by Police officers from the 88th Precinct, with guns drawn, prevented family members from coming outside to render aid to Walker for about eight (8) minutes, until an ambulance arrived. Officers also refused to allow family members to ride in the ambulance. Walker’s brother, Patrick Nurse and other siblings, who rushed over to ensure their mother’s safety, were held at bay in a deluge of rain for several hours before they were allowed in the home.

Nurse complained that although she had given her brother’s name three times to the Police officers, who accompanied her brother to the hospital, they deliberately checked him into the Emergency Room as a “John Doe.” Walker was only officially identified at the hospital when a nurse found a prescription in his pocket bearing his true name.

Walker, 49, was born on March 18, 1960, in Guyana. He grew up in Craig Village, East Bank Demerara, and migrated to the United States with his family at an early age. He served for fifteen years in the United States Army.

Sunday CGID President, Rickford Burke, in a statement said “I join State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, New York City Councilmember Leticia James, Rev. Al Sharpton, as well as other community leaders and elected officials, in condemning this unjustified “murder by cop”, of an innocent man.”

He contended that “The conduct of some NYPD officers who police the Black community portend a predetermined notion that “Black” is criminal and, hence, they must at all times shot to kill.”

“No longer must we as a community tolerate Police officers killing innocent citizens with carte blanche impunity and refuge from justice. We must utilize every possible avenue under the law to seek justice,” Burke added.

“This was a particularly nefarious, as Mr. Walker was killed on his own property. For this reason, we must demand that the perpetrator be held to account in accordance with the law. I therefore urge Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles Hynes, to institute a change of manslaughter in this case, so that justice can take its course. The Guyanese and Caribbean American community would accept nothing less,” the Institute’s President said.

Burke said that is disturbing that the NYPD had not to date officially released any information on the shooting, and declared that “The NYPD’s “Blue wall of Silence” is an immoral and unlawful utility that facilitates the obstruction of an investigation and criminal distortions.”

Burke called on the Guyanese and Caribbean American community to come out and join the call for justice at Walker’s funeral on Monday, July 20, at Full Gospel Assembly Church, 131 Sullivan Pl, Brooklyn (Between Bedford and Rogers Avenues).

The institute also announced that it will co-host a joint press conference with the family and elected officials on Wednesday at 11:00 A.M, on the very stairs where Walker was killed.

Tags: nypd, shem walker