Downtown rally held to support Jordan Miles
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The Rev. Thomas Smith, center, of Monumental Baptist Church in the Hill District, and others chant slogans Friday at the City-County Building to protest the U.S. Justice Department decision not to file charges against police in the Jordan Miles case. The Alliance for Police Accountability plans to continue its demonstrations on Mr. Miles' behalf. Protesters called on the district attorney to press charges, demanded the police be fired and announced a protest next Saturday on the North Side.
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About 125 people rallied Downtown on Friday to criticize the U.S. Justice Department's decision not to file federal charges in the Jordan Miles case and to demand that the Allegheny County district attorney's office charge three city police officers with beating the Homewood teenager.
Brandi Fisher, a leader of the Alliance for Police Accountability, said additional rallies are being planned to send the message that police officers cannot "run through our neighborhood and beat our children at will and get away with it."
"If we can't get justice for Jordan, we can't get justice for anyone," Ms. Fisher said during the hour-long event outside the City-County Building. She said Mr. Miles is a straightlaced honors student who was a victim of racial profiling and overzealous police. Mr. Miles has no criminal record.
The encounter on a Homewood street left Mr. Miles, then a student at Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, with a swollen face and other injuries.
"Apparently, his main crime was being black and walking in his own neighborhood. ... What a great reason to be hospitalized!" Tim Stevens, chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project, said at the rally.
The plainclothes officers, part of a special undercover unit, said Mr. Miles appeared to have a bulky object in his pocket and refused to stop when officers told him to do so. Mr. Miles said the officers never identified themselves and beat him without provocation as he walked between his mother's and grandmother's homes.
Police charged Mr. Miles with resisting arrest and other offenses, but all charges were dropped by a district judge. The officers -- Michael Saldutte, David Sisak and Richard Ewing -- were placed on paid leave pending local and federal investigations.
Citing a heavy burden of proof, the Justice Department announced Wednesday that the officers would not be charged with violating Mr. Miles' civil rights. The decision was praised by the police union.
First Published May 7, 2011 12:00 am
