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for larger version       Richards:Cops Should Respect our Youth The Far Rockaway Youth Council will hold a protest against what Donovan Richards terms "youth targeted police brutality" in Far Rockaway on Saturday, September 15, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Richards, who is an aide to City Councilman James Sanders, says that the protest will begin at the intersection of Mott Avenue and Beach Channel Drive (in front of McDonald's) and end in front of the 101 Precinct on Cornaga Avenue. Richards, who has been focusing largely on youth problems for the past several months, says that the protest is in response to his "disgust and outrage" over what he says are " innocent youths being discriminated [against] and treated as common criminals." In support of his belief, Richards says that police sweeps take place every Tuesday and Thursday, as young people enter and leave the local libraries, and on the grounds of the housing developments, where they reside. "The truth is we aren't antipolice, but we are anti-police brutality," said Richards. "Yes, we want the police to arrest those responsible for crimes being committed on the peninsula. However, when you are throwing young men up against the wall, who are leaving a library, the community must take a stand. The youth of Far Rockaway deserve to be able to enjoy their childhoods without worrying if they are going to end up in handcuffs for checking out a book."
The "Respect our Youth Rally", led by the NAACP Far Rockaway Youth Council, is an organized effort to bring this issue to the attention of the community and city officials, Richards added.
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