25 signatures reached
To: Hyattsville
Justice for Leonard Shand
We DEMAND:
Transparency into the investigation Hyattsville conducted –We want the findings of the investigation.
Police should follow all mental health protocols when a person has mental health issues. Chief Awad knew there were mental health issues involved.
Any officer who discharged their weapon during the incident should be FIRED!
A stop to the targeting by police of Black and Latinx workers
A halt of all police contact with those suffering from mental illness.
New leadership!
New policies!
Restoration of public safety and trust to ALL in the community.
Why is this important?
On September 26, 2019, six officers from the Hyattsville police department (along with one officer from Mt. Rainier and three from Prince George’s County) participated in the killing of Leonard Shand. During a town hall meeting held on October 1, 2019, at the University Christian Church, Hyattsville Mayor Candace Hollingsworth, Chief of Police Amal Awad, and City Administrator Tracy Douglas spoke to the community and reported that all the officers involved would be placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of a homicide and administrative investigation.
On April 13, 2020, Chief Awad reinstated the six Hyattsville officers were reinstated to full duty by Chief Awad without benefit of the homicide and administrative investigation being completed.
City Administrator Douglas responded to community concerns about reinstating these officers without benefit of the investigation by stating, "City officials reviewed the events surrounding Shand’s death and found no violations of internal policies…[p]reliminarily, the city police command staff conducted an executive review of the unfortunate death of Mr. Shand and determined that the actions were consistent with departmental policy.”
A police department investigating itself is NOT ACCEPTABLE!
Any policies that justify the firing squad-style killing of a mentally ill man who was forced to run toward the shooters are NOT ACCEPTABLE!
According to the ACLU of Maryland "officers used a flashbang grenade, which inevitably led to the killing of 49-year-old Leonard Shand, according to @PGPDNews. Running away from an exploding flashbang grenade is a natural and inevitable response. The police created a dangerous situation, causing an armed man to run towards them, and then used the inevitable result of their actions as the justification to shoot him. The PGPD Twitter account released photos of bloody knives that the victim was alleged to have been carrying, yet, the the footage released, didi not show anyone to be stabbed. The police left 40+ bullet holes not only left in the victim’s body but in nearby buildings that could have easily hit any other passerby.