Paterson, NJ – A protest was held in Paterson to demand answers for a man who was shot and injured by police. Larry “Sincere” Bouie was unarmed when he was shot by Paterson police in front his two young sons.
Activists are pushing for the release of the body camera footage and the name of the police officer who shot 41-year-old Bouie.
Larry “Sincere” Bouie and Tasha Wade were in the car with their two sons when the vehicle’s battery died near a police station on Saturday. Bouie tried to find help and ran into his brother, who was selling merchandise on a nearby street. His brother declined to assist the family because he was working.
Soon after, Bouie became emotional, Wade told the Paterson Times on Sunday.
“He was wilding and going crazy,” she said. “We tried to call an ambulance and calm him down, but couldn’t calm him. Then police came. She got out of the car, he was still acting crazy, she pulled out her gun, and she shot him.”
Bouie was unarmed at the time of the shooting, his brother and Wade say. He is now in critical condition at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center.
A screenshot of a Black Lives Matter petition. Source: Huffington Post
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the shooting on Sunday. As very few details have come out about the shooting, Larry Bouie’s family and activists are demanding answers.
The Black Lives Matter organization held a protest on November 1 to demands answers in the shooting.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Alexis Miller, a leader in Paterson’s Black Lives Matter chapter, told The Huffington Post. “We want people to know that Sincere is not the only person this is going to happen to, or has happened. And that it’s important to support all local organizations who are fighting this fight.”
Black Lives Matter activists have started a petition asking investigators to release the name of the officer involved in the shooting, along with any police camera footage that’s available. The group is also asking Paterson’s city council to invest in training for officers on how to deal with people with mental health issues and to create a Civilian Complaint Review Board for greater transparency and accountability.
“As simple as that is,” said Zellie Imani, another lead organizer for BLM Paterson, “we often see that it’s the most difficult thing for a police department to give a community.”
Paterson, NJ, about an hour from New York City, has had its fair share with police misconduct. In 1995, protests shook the city after a white officer shot 16-year-old Lawrence Meyers, who was unarmed, in the head. In another repulsive case from 2013, Paterson police officers severely beat Alexis Aponte and Miguel Rivera after an altercation in a bar. An officer punched Aponte. several times while he was handcuffed and then dragged him down the street.
The city has also paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle lawsuits alleging police misconduct.
