FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan 13, 2021

Black Lives Matter Paterson Calls on AG to Re-open the Investigation into Jameek Lowery’s Death

Paterson, N.J. – BLM Paterson calls on the NJ Attorney General’s office to reopen the investigation into Jameek Lowery’s police – involved death.

Jameek Lowery, a 27-year-old Black man from Paterson, New Jersey, died by the hands of police over three years ago and his family has seen no justice.

On January 5th, 2019 Jameek Lowery arrived at the Paterson Police HQ at 3:45 AM , in “visible distress” and frightened for his life. Police dispatchers called for an ambulance to take him to St. Joseph’s Hospital. Three officers dragged him from the headquarters lobby to the ambulance.

Jameek said he thought the police officers were going to kill him. He tried to get out of the ambulance. However, the officers would not allow him to leave. The officers handcuffed Lowery’s arms to a stretcher and strapped his waist and legs.The officers forcibly restrained Jameek’s head and got on top of him holding down his waist with their own bodies. While doing so, the officers used their hands to punch and strike Jameek about his body and face and choked him around his neck.

Prior to arriving at the hospital, Jameek’s body went limp, he lost consciousness, and stopped breathing. Medical staff revived Lowery at the hospital, but he suffered brain damage, as well as kidney failure, and died two days later.

We call on Acting NJ Attorney General Andrew Buck to stand up for what is right, reopen the case previously investigated by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s office and file criminal charges against the officers involved in the death of Jameek Lowery. Since Jameek’s death, a number of Paterson police officers have been indicted for misconduct and falsifying police reports. In light of these recent indictments, Jameek Lowery’s death deserves to be reopened.

“Jameek Lowery wasn’t just another statistic, he was someone’s son. He was my brother and someone’s father”, said Jamilyha Lowery, the sister of Jameek Lowery. “My family deserves closure, the community deserves answers – the truth- and Jameek Lowery deserves justice.”

Jameek Lowery should still be alive today. Sign the petition to demand AG Andrew Buck reopen the case and charge the officers who killed Jameek.

http://www.justice4jameek.com.com

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Black Lives Matter Paterson is a collective of organizers, activists, and artists in Paterson who work to combat anti-blackness and racialized oppression in all of its manifestations as experienced by Black and African diasporic people.