Jesse Jackson, Actors Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Susan Sarandon Arrested At Protest Over N.Y. Police Shooting Of Unarmed Man

Jet, April 12, 1999

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was recently arrested with 215 other people as they blocked the entrance of New York City's police headquarters to protest the police shooting of an unarmed West African immigrant.

Also recently arrested during separate protests were famed husband and wife acting team Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and Academy Award-winning White actress Susan Sarandon.

Jackson drew cheers on the 14th day of protests over the shooting of Amadou Diallo, 22, who was shot by 19 of 41 bullets fired at him by four White police officers.

"I look out here today and I see Blacks, Whites Asians, Latinos men and women, moving from battleground to common ground and the moral ground," Jackson told reporters as he stood amid a thousand demonstrators. "This is a great day. A day of joy. A day of hope."

Dee said, "The seizing and shooting and beating reminds me of when there were lynchings all over the country. We've got to start saying, `No further. This must stop.'"

She said of her protest, "I have to do it, I have no choice. Because I've got five grandsons and one son ... I wake up thinking that could happen to them."

Sarandon, who starred in Thelma and Louise and Dead Man Walking, said, "If we're not here today then we're saying what happened is acceptable and normal, and I think that does a disservice to the other police. I think it's time we focused on this issue."

There have been news reports that a grand jury has issued second-degree murder indictments for all four officers involved. But there was no official confirmation and the Bronx district attorney's office refused to comment at JET press time.