Eighth Year Memorial Held for Zoe Dowdell
Zoe Dowdell was killed by New Britain Police on December 14, 2017. His family, friends and organizers from Dare to Struggle organization will be conducting a memorial. Here is Dare to Struggle Press release.
WHAT:The event will start with a memorial service including words from family and friends of Zoe Dowdell. There will also be speakers from Dare to Struggle and the community detailing the lack of justice over the past 8 years and what is needed to get justice.
WHEN: Sunday, December 14th, 3:00 PM EST
WHERE: Central Park, 231 Main St., New Britain, CT, 06051
WHO: Featured speakers will include Zoe Dowdell’s immediate family, friends of Zoe Dowdell, members of Dare to Struggle, and others from the community.
WHY: Zoe Dowdell was murdered by New Britain Police officers on December 14th, 2017. That night, officers drove cruisers and unmarked cars when they tried boxing in the car Zoe Dowdell was driving, which they suspected to be related to a string of local crimes. When Zoe tried to drive away, the officers fired 28 shots at the car, killing Zoe and injuring the two passengers. Kyle Jones, the first officer to open fire, admitted in his deposition that NBPD did not have independent information connecting the individuals in the vehicle to the suspects from the robberies. However, NBPD did know the suspects’ race, and since Zoe and the others in the car were Black, they fit the description; Kyle Jones fired into the car because Zoe and the teens were Black. The State Attorney’s report, released January 3rd, 2019, justifies the officers’ use of force in a blatant disregard of facts and falsely claims the officers’ lives were in danger. To this day, all five of these officers—Kyle Jones, Christopher Kiely, Chad Nelson, Marcin Ratajczak, and Michael Slavin—remain on the New Britain Police force to our knowledge. In fact, Kyle Jones was recently promoted to captain and Marcin Ratajczak was one of the officers who arrested one of our activists on August 5th for protesting an anti-homeless business.
