Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As a result of the horrific mass shooting that took place at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo was chosen as one of the first locations to announce a new nationwide initiative to combat unlawful acts of hate.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney for New York's Western District Trini E. Ross alongside local, state and federal law enforcement were at the Frank E. Merriweather library announcing to East Buffalo residents a new initiative, "United Against Hate". The initiative will connect federal, state, and local law enforcement with marginalized communities in order to build trust and encourage the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents.
"We are proud that Western New York is one of the first offices since the Attorney General announced this initiative to hold this event. We all need to look for hate and expose it so we can stomp it out. This event, United Against Hate is designed to bring us together in a meaningful way to unite us against hate, because there is strength in numbers together. We won't be defeated in our efforts. We will support each other. During the hard times we will lift each other up and we will celebrate our victories together," said New York's Western District Attorney, Trini Ross.
"Our job in the Civil Rights Division is to protect our country's most vital rights," said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. "The right to vote, the right to constitutional policing and the right to be free from violence and discrimination, that is motivated by hate. A critical aspect of our work is investigating and prosecuting federal hate crimes across the country so that all people are able to live without fear of being attacked or harassed because of where they're from or what they look like."
The mass shooting on Jefferson Avenue, claimed the lives of ten black people and injured three others. Clarke noted that the U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating this massacre as a hate crime and as an act of racially motivated violent extremism. In July, a federal grand jury returned a 27-count indictment against the shooter charging violations of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act and other federal offenses.
"Earlier this month at the White House's United We Stand Summit, Attorney General Garland announced that this initiative would be rolled out nationwide to all 94 US Attorney's offices and we are excited to stand with US Attorney Ross as we launched this program in Buffalo today," said Assistant Attorney General Clarke.
A lot of discussion with the community and law enforcement ensued during the three-part interactive presentation, which focused on arming the community with information on hate crimes and how to identify them, as well as informing the community on how to contact law enforcement.
Assistant Attorney General Clarke said after the presentation, "Folks walked out of this room today, knowing who they need to have on speed dial to report hate crimes or hate incidents in their community. They walked away with a better understanding of what a hate crime is and what a hate incident is. That to me is success."
Attorney Ross said after the presentation, "I don't believe we're trying to have the community help law enforcement, we're trying to involve the community, in their own safety and issues that they're facing in our community. So we're reaching out to them, giving information that hopefully will be beneficial to them being able to do that protect themselves when they see something to say something, but also giving them a forum to talk to the law enforcement officers to understand that perspective as well. So it is a mutual relationship between the community and law enforcement for us all to get where we want to be and that is, communities without crime."
"We've got your back. We're not only prosecuting the individual tied to this heinous crime, we are making sure that we do the important work, the important work. So this community can stand up to hate going forward and this Justice Department has the Buffalo communitie's back," added Assistant Attorney General Clarke.
In addition to presentations promoting individuals to speak up and report hate crimes, the Attorney Ross announced the appointments of two new civil rights coordinators in the Western District of New York, John Fabian and Katie Hartford, "These are the people with the knowledge, passion and the know how to take care of hate crimes when they come to our doorstep. I trust them. I selected them. I believe in them," said Ross.
When asked about the process of the case against the now 19-year-old gunman, Attorney Ross says, "The process is moving forward."