4PM THIS SUNDAY: Call for justice, community vigil for Nicolas Morales to be held in Immokalee!

Second Vice President James Buchanon of the Lee County NAACP addresses Southwest Florida media, calling for an independent federal investigation of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in the wake of the killing of farmworker Nicolas Morales.  Behind him, a banner reads Golpear a uno es golpear a todos – “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

Brent Probinsky, lawyer for brother of Nicolas Morales: “What we saw… by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office is poor training, a lack of concern for human life, incompetence, brutality, and indifference.”

CIW’s Gerardo Reyes Chavez:“Let us take these steps today and into the future and build together the Immokalee community and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office into a more modern, more humane model of policing.”

Lee County NAACP Second Vice President James Buchanon: “That’s why we are here: to make sure everybody feels comfortable in Southwest Florida knowing that somebody here that is going to fight for their civil rights.”

This Sunday at 4pm in the Immokalee Zocalo, Nicolas’s family will join CIW, the NAACP, faith leaders and allies from across Southwest Florida  in calling for justice during a vigil honoring Nicolas’s life!  RSVP HERE

This past Sunday, just over a week after the release of the video of the brutal killing of Nicolas Morales at the hands of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office – and the announcement that the State Attorney’s Office had declared the fatal shooting to be “legally justifiable” – the Southwest Florida community came together to send an unmistakable message: This injustice will not stand.

In a statement on behalf of the Immokalee Community, the CIW’s Lupe Gonzalo and Gerardo Reyes Chavez called not only for justice for Nicolas and his family, but real and lasting change for the Immokalee community:

Today, we are calling for three steps to be taken without delay:

(1) Launch a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into Nicolas’s shooting by Corporal Pierre Jean and mauling by a police K-9.   Accountability is the necessary first step toward justice for Nicolas and his family, and healing for the Immokalee community.

(2) Form and implement Crisis Response Teams, pairing police and mental health professionals, to respond to calls where mental health is a potential issue.

(3) Establish transparency and genuine community participation by establishing an Immokalee-specific Citizens’ Review Panel with meaningful powers. 

Read more >>

The CIW was not alone in calling for change.  Farmworkers in Immokalee were joined at Sunday’s press conference by the President and Second Vice President of the Lee County NAACP, Rev. Tony Fisher of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples, and Brent Probinsky, legal counsel for Nicolas’s brother, in speaking out against both the brutality on display in the dash camera video and the shocking exoneration of the deputy by the State Attorney.

WINK News, an essential staple of Southwest Florida’s local news, joined a number of local TV stations in carrying the press conference’s powerful message:

Immokalee community wants Collier County Deputies held responsible for death of Nicolas Morales

People in Immokalee are calling one everyone in Southwest Florida to hold the Collier County Sheriff’s deputies who were responsible for the death of Nicholas Morales.

Gerardo Reyes Chaves is with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. “The police should serve and protect, not shoot us. Understand us, yes. Get closer to us, to our community,” Reyes said.

The State Attorney’s Office cleared both of the Collier County deputies involved in the shooting.

The sheriff’s office released the dashcam video from that night. The Attorney for Nicholas Morales’ family the dashcam video released last week confirmed their fears.

Brent Probinksy is the family’s attorney.

“What we saw is, by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office is poor training, a lack of concern for human life, incompetence, brutality, and indifference,” he said.

But, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers says the fight for answers, justice and transparency is far from over.

Now, they are demanding a federal investigation. Also, they’re hoping that the sheriff’s office implements a mental health crisis response team and an Immokalee-specific citizens’ review panel to prevent other deaths caused by deputies.

“We need to be able to live in peace and work in peace and be protected instead of living in fear,” Reyes Chaves said.

The Lee County NAACP is requesting that the Collier County Sheriff’s release all of the videos and audio recordings from that night. And, that the State Attorney’s Office reports be released as well.

James Buchanan is the Second Vice President of the Lee County NAACP. “That’s why we are here. To make sure everybody feels comfortable in Southwest Florida knowing that somebody here that is going to fight for their civil rights,” Buchanan said.

They hope justice will be served.

WINK News has reached out to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office about the demands from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and The Lee County NAACP but we have not yet heard back.

The Naples Daily News also covered the community’s response to the shooting:

… “Let us take these steps today and into the future and build together the Immokalee community and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office into a more modern, more humane model of policing,” said Gerardo Reyes Chavez, of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.  

The coalition is demanding a federal investigation into the death of Morales Besanilla, the implementation of crisis response teams at the sheriff’s office and the formation of an Immokalee-specific citizens’ review board.  

“The State Attorney’s failure to carry out a serious criminal investigation makes a federal investigation by the US Department of Justice an urgent priority to determine accountability, mete out consequences as appropriate, and establish a baseline of trust in law enforcement in the Immokalee community,” a statement from the coalition reads.  

Brent Probinsky, a Sarasota attorney representing Morales Besanilla’s family, said plans are still in the works but he could report the incident to the U.S. Department of Justice to push for a federal investigation.  

The coalition recognizes that the sheriff’s office does have some crisis intervention and de-escalation training for its deputies, but more training and different approaches to policing in the community are needed, according to the coalition’s statement.  

A separate citizen’s review panel for the sheriff’s office specifically for Immokalee residents is also necessary, according to the coalition’s demands.  

“Given the unique nature of the Immokalee community — it’s extreme poverty and socio-cultural marginalization — within the broader context of Collier County, the current Citizens’ Review Panel is insufficient to adequately address the need for community participation in the investigation and correction of the use of force by CCSO personnel,” a statement from the coalition reads.  

The coalition held a news conference over the weekend in Immokalee to publicly announce the demands.  

“These three actions taken together form the beginning, not the end, of a process of transparency, accountability and community participation that will allow us together to clean and bind up the wounds ripped opened when Nicholas Morales was shot to death that night,” Reyes Chavez said.  

This Sunday at 4pm, Nicolas’s family, the Immokalee community, and allies from across Southwest Florida will gather to demand justice for Nicolas’s family and an end to police brutality for the Immokalee community through real and meaningful change at the heart of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. 

Make sure to spread the word:  Click here to RSVP and share the news about the vigil!