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Enough is ENOUGH!
The Death of Jonny Gammage
| Length: | 54 min |
| Released: | 2007 |
| Ages: |
College Adult |
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This film, ten years in the making, investigates the death of Jonny Gammage at the hands of Brentwood (Pittsburgh) police officers. It develops into an impassioned plea for ending police brutality.
On October 12,1995 Jonny Gammage, a 31-year-old African-American businessman and philanthropist, was pulled over by five white police officers for no apparent reason. During the ensuing struggle, to which the only witnesses were the police themselves and two civilians. Gammage was asphyxiated. There was shock and revulsion in the community, and thousands, both black and white, took to the streets to protest. Gammage was a cousin of Ray Seals, a Pittsburgh Steeler, so news of his death spread nationwide and he became an icon of victims of police brutality.
Yet despite the marches and rallies in Gammage's behalf, and three criminal trials, the police were never punished. The officers provided the only non-discredited testimony in court proceedings. Two trials ended in mistrials with the police claiming they were following training guidelines for “use-of-force” against individuals resisting arrest. The officer most implicated in the death was exonerated and later even promoted. Eventually a civil jury awarded the family $1.5 million for the wrongful death.
The tragedy of Gammage's killing galvanized voters in Pittsburgh to pass a ballot referendum to establish a long overdue citizen police review board and the U.S. Justice Department to place police under the scrutiny of a federal consent decree. Unfortunately such efforts in cities around the country to hold police accountable are often blocked by political interests. And, as the film points out, Gammage is just one of a long line of victims that continues to grow longer to this day.
Enough is ENOUGH! examines the criminal justice system and the procedural relationships among the law enforcement officers, the Coroner's office, the District Attorneys, and the courts. Interwoven with the story line are interviews with prominent lawyers, politicians and activists such as Prof. Charles Ogletree of Harvard, Louis Farrakhan, Johnnie Cochran, Al Sharpton and many others
On October 12,1995 Jonny Gammage, a 31-year-old African-American businessman and philanthropist, was pulled over by five white police officers for no apparent reason. During the ensuing struggle, to which the only witnesses were the police themselves and two civilians. Gammage was asphyxiated. There was shock and revulsion in the community, and thousands, both black and white, took to the streets to protest. Gammage was a cousin of Ray Seals, a Pittsburgh Steeler, so news of his death spread nationwide and he became an icon of victims of police brutality.
Yet despite the marches and rallies in Gammage's behalf, and three criminal trials, the police were never punished. The officers provided the only non-discredited testimony in court proceedings. Two trials ended in mistrials with the police claiming they were following training guidelines for “use-of-force” against individuals resisting arrest. The officer most implicated in the death was exonerated and later even promoted. Eventually a civil jury awarded the family $1.5 million for the wrongful death.
The tragedy of Gammage's killing galvanized voters in Pittsburgh to pass a ballot referendum to establish a long overdue citizen police review board and the U.S. Justice Department to place police under the scrutiny of a federal consent decree. Unfortunately such efforts in cities around the country to hold police accountable are often blocked by political interests. And, as the film points out, Gammage is just one of a long line of victims that continues to grow longer to this day.
Enough is ENOUGH! examines the criminal justice system and the procedural relationships among the law enforcement officers, the Coroner's office, the District Attorneys, and the courts. Interwoven with the story line are interviews with prominent lawyers, politicians and activists such as Prof. Charles Ogletree of Harvard, Louis Farrakhan, Johnnie Cochran, Al Sharpton and many others
Roxbury Film Festival, 2006.
• Criminal Justice
• Law
