University of Florida students to protest shooting of unarmed Ghanan student

*Students and community to hold third rally to demand justice and a Grand Jury investigation into the shooting of an unarmed and disabled Ghanan student at the University of Florida.*

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On March 2nd, Ghanan international graduate student and teaching assistant Kofi Adu-Brempong was shot in the face with an assault rifle by officers of the University Police Department. Adu-Brempong was mentally-distressed, and the police were called in response to noise coming from his on-campus apartment at Corey Village.

Adu-Brempong is 5’5’’, less than 150 pounds, and severely disabled from a childhood case of polio. The shooting occurred less than a minute after the officers entered the apartment. In an interview with Adu-Brempong by the Gainesville Sun after the incident, Adu-Brempong said that UPD began firing a high-powered assault weapon at him without ordering him to stand down or making an arrest. "They should have told me to put up my hands,” he said. When evidence emerged that the shooter was UPD Officer Keith Smith—who had previously been implicated in throwing eggs at African-Americans while off-duty—student groups formed the Coalition for Justice Against Police Brutality and organized two successful rallies to demand justice for Adu-Brempong.

Both protests were successful in mobilizing hundreds of students, faculty and community members, who occupied both the Emerson Alumni Hall and Tigert Hall—the Administration building—for several hours, demanding justice from UF President Bernie Machen, UPD, and the State Attorney William P. Cervone. In the days following the most recent protest on April 6th, President Machen met with six members of the Coalition and stated that he did not necessarily oppose any of their demands, but that he would wait until the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation report was released before endorsing the demands.

Because the UF Administration has taken insufficient action and State Attorney Cervone has not dropped the charges on Adu-Brempong, the Coalition is calling for another rally of students and community members on April 20th. This rally will begin in the Plaza of the Americas on the UF campus at 3:30 PM. Its focus will be directed at pressuring State Attorney Cervone to drop the charges brought against Adu-Brempong, and calling on him to empanel a Grand Jury to investigate Adu-Brempong’s shooting by UPD Officer Smith. Barring swift action by the UF Administration to meet the Coalition’s demands, the April 20th rally will also heavily emphasize pushing for Administration’s total cooperation in rigorously pursuing justice.

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*Who: The Coalition for Justice Against Police Brutality: Students for a Democratic Society, the Student Labor Action Project, the Alachua Democratic Black Caucus, the NAACP and hundreds of concerned students.*

*What: Rally to demand justice for the shot graduate student, Kofi Adu-Brempong.*

*Where: Plaza of the Americas on Newell Dr, Gainesville, FL, 32601*

*When: Tuesday, April 20th, 3:30 P.M.*

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For More Information:

Dave Schneider- (407)-267-1419

Justin Wooten - (352)-213-6519