E-NEWSLETTER: July 2016

Civil Rights and Personal Injury and General Practice Law Firm, Dedicated to Social Justice

The Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington is a well-respected litigation firm with an office in Hempstead, Long Island. Our focus is primarily in the area of civil rights, voting rights, employment discrimination, police misconduct, personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death and criminal law. However, the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington is a full- service law firm handling matters in numerous areas of law and providing a wide range of services from contract formation to litigation and trial practice.

RECENT VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS
$7.75 million- Civil Rights and wrongful death action brought by the family of deceased

$4.7 million- Repeated verbal and physical assaults on Yemeni-American employee, while supervisor failed to protect employee and discipline the assailant

$1.277 million- Race based attack and serious injury by violent acts against Plaintiffs, who were lured to an isolated warehouse

$2.8 million- Wrongful death, products liability case involving a tow motor accident at a sewage treatment plant

Commentary By Frederick K. Brewington, Esq. — Hate and Violence Will Not Stop Racial Injustice

The most recent levels of freedom with which people have demonstrated their disdain for their fellow human beings is troubling at best. Amongst the name-calling and hate-mongering, the reality of who we are as a community is being robbed from us daily. The messages — both subtle and overt — that come from the mouths of politicians and pundits, who care more about ratings and polls than they do about the lives and the people they impact, is like pouring salt into the gash which they have helped create. The great danger of these past weeks is that it is becoming the new normal. Day by day, with every unjustified, senseless and violent episode, we are thrusting ourselves backward into a time where we attempt to justify with our mouths those things we know to be wrong in our hearts.

The fact that Black and Brown men (and women) have been the subject of abuse and deadly violence by police and other persons bearing the mark of authority is now undeniable. For those who engaged in deflection and the blame game for decades and centuries, the reality of modern technology has brought the acts of violence and flimsy excuses right into our living rooms, much like the use of high-pressure water hoses and attack dogs came from the streets of Birmingham into our homes in a time not so long ago. So, too, is the fact that there are many law enforcement officers who serve with honor and distinction, wanting only to help and be part of positive change is undeniable. However, the shift necessary within the police culture must insist that negative language, hate-baiting and outright abuse of all kinds cannot be tolerated behind the silent Blue Wall, no less in the eye of the camera phone. There can be no excuses for police officers and government officials to turn a blind eye when they see clear examples that scream out for systemic change. It has been this reality that has led to a level of distrust that is fueled and fanned with every new incident. Likewise, the community and those who are called on as leaders must emerge to help channel the pain, fear and concern into points of education and collective efforts to find solutions. These voices must be welcomed, must be heard and then must be listened to.

Trying to pretend that things just got this way on their own is a fool’s tale. Refusing to admit our failures to address racism, classism, political and social isolation will only widen the wound and encourage the infection that is festering amongst and around us. I know there are those who simply will not admit that what we have created is the product of our willingness to isolate ourselves and build walls of all kinds between us. We have fed — and continue to feed — an unjust system that rationalizes itself as it tightens its grip, only to bring about greater injustices. Remaining silent in the face of such troubling times is not an option. I encourage us all to engage other folks in a dialogue that condemns violence and addresses the fact that injustice breeds contempt, contempt breeds violence and violence only breeds more violence.  Beloved, violence is surely not the answer.

We each have the facility to help impact people’s thinking, their reasoning and to help shape people’s actions. As a person of faith, my prayers will be unceasing, but equally unyielding will be my resolve to engage on this quest to combat the physical and emotional carnage that is certain to tear us apart. I know we are all busy, but please take some time to really involve yourself with others to talk about solutions at the personal level and the community level — solutions that can then help structure the larger conversation. Leaving it to someone else and leaving it for another time may very well mean it won’t get done. As for me and my house, we will speak out! Be well.

556 Peninsula Blvd., Hempstead, New York 11550 | Phone: 516-489-6959 | Fax: 516-489-6958

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© 2016 BY LAW OFFICES OF FREDERICK K. BREWINGTON