{"id":2800,"date":"2022-01-28T04:35:06","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T04:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2800"},"modified":"2022-01-28T04:35:06","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T04:35:06","slug":"kenneth-chamberlain-jr-seeks-accountability-and-closure-in-fathers-killing-by-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2800","title":{"rendered":"Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. Seeks Accountability And Closure In Father\u2019s Killing By Police"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/span>\u00a0Percy Lovell Crawford<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The burden that Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. and the Chamberlain family have carried has now hit a decade. Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. was fatally shot by White Plains police officers following an inadvertent Life Alert activation that led to cops being dispatched for a welfare check on him on Nov. 19, 2011.<\/p>\n

The film, \u201cThe Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain<\/a>,\u201d produced and directed by David Midell, provides insights into the events that led to Chamberlain\u2019s death. While the award-winning film sheds light on the situation, Chamberlain\u2019s son and namesake continues to push for accountability from the city and the officers involved. No criminal charge was laid against the police officers involved.<\/p>\n

In June 2020, the Second Circuit of Appeals\u00a0ruled<\/a>\u00a0a federal judge was wrong to dismiss parts of a lawsuit against the police for excessive use of force.<\/p>\n

Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. opens up about his father\u2019s killing, gives his thoughts on the film, and explains his perfect case scenario in the aftermath of his father\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\n
Zenger<\/strong>: When I\u00a0spoke with David Midell<\/a>\u00a0about the film \u201cThe Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain,\u201d he told me that you felt it was too late to get justice for your father, but instead, you were seeking accountability. Could you elaborate on that?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nChamberlain Jr: Yes, that was the conversation that I had with him. A lot of times when I speak with people, the question that they ask is, \u201cWhat does justice look like for Kenneth Chamberlain Jr? What does justice look like for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr?\u201d And I say, after a decade-long fight and still fighting, there is no such thing as justice because justice is immediate. So, I said the only thing we can hope for now is some sort of accountability in his killing. That\u2019s what I will continue to push and continue to fight for.<\/div>\n
\n

Zenger<\/strong>: There are no signs of you giving up this fight, but I\u2019m sure this has been an exhausting process for you?<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: Most definitely. There are times when I get zero sleep. You still have your personal life and you have to lead even in the midst of all this. But that\u2019s what these governments are hoping for. That you become so exhausted that you shut down, you say you can\u2019t do it anymore. You need a strong core group of people who can help push you on those days that you feel like you just want to stop.<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: Was it difficult to watch the movie?<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: It takes me on a rollercoaster ride because Frankie Faison does such an excellent job of portraying my father. It\u2019s like I was looking at him, even when I was on the movie set. It\u2019s just that powerful, and each time I have the same reaction, especially at the end. The tears will start to fall.<\/p>\n

A lot of that is due to the fact that there has been no closure. There\u2019s been no accountability. And with no accountability you can\u2019t have closure. We have a city that\u2019s still continuing to refuse to admit any type of wrongdoing in his death. Of course, when we watch this film, it just brings up those feelings. Even if we hear about another killing, it brings up those feelings, because we\u2019re dealing with trauma now. I tell people, trauma is very real. I actually apologize to people when they watch the film, and they say, \u201cWhy?\u201d And I say, \u201cI want to apologize for any trauma that this may trigger in you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: The most disturbing issue for me was this situation could have been handled so differently. The actions that led to your father\u2019s killing and the way things are being handled now could be handled better.<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: Yes definitely. Police officers sometimes forget that their job is to defuse a situation and not create one. In this particular situation, they did everything\u2026 I always say it wasn\u2019t a crime until they made it one. When he said he was OK, they could have left it alone right there.<\/p>\n

I was speaking to someone who watched the movie and they said, \u201cThis movie could have been over so many times already.\u201d The first time he said, \u201cI didn\u2019t call you.\u201d That is the feeling with that it could have been handled so many different ways, and that\u2019s something else that we are pushing as well. How do these officers respond to mental health calls, and not have an armed response to someone who is in a mental health crisis?<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: I did not know your father, but I feel Frankie Faison through his amazing acting abilities made us feel like we knew Mr. Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. To see the product he put out, how did his performance make you feel?<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: Surprisingly enough, he didn\u2019t get any insight from me. He didn\u2019t ask me one thing about my father. He read the script. Now, David [Midell] definitely got information from me about my father, especially surrounding the killing. All the information he received is available through freedom of information. So, it\u2019s not like he was given anything that was confidential.<\/p>\n

To watch Frankie\u2026 and one thing that he did tell me when I was on the set was, \u201cIt seems like I\u2019m out of it, but I\u2019m in the role. I don\u2019t want you to think that something is wrong, but I\u2019m in the role. When I\u2019m on this set, I am Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.\u201d And he was awesome.<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: I love the attention this film is receiving and all of the awards it is generating because it continues to shed light on your father and the unjust treatment he received, as well as the obstacles you faced in seeking accountability.<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: I could remember when the film was being done, and upon its completion, I began to say, \u201cThe world will know!\u201d I began to hashtag that. I stopped saying, \u201cJustice for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.,\u201d and I started writing, \u201cAccountability for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.,\u201d and then underneath I would put, \u201cThe world will know.\u201d That is what\u2019s happening now.<\/p>\n

When people say they didn\u2019t know about the case or the killing, I say, \u201cYeah, because the city of White Plains was almost effective at doing their job.\u201d They didn\u2019t want you to know. Had I not been as relentless as I am, you wouldn\u2019t know about him. Again, that is part of the playbook that they use. They want to overwhelm families, they want to drag things out in court, and by the time they decide to sit at a table or discuss things with you or make you believe that they will be some type of accountability, the statute of limitations is up, so you can\u2019t do anything (laughing).<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: I am sure you have upset a lot of people along the way because you are relentless in your pursuit.<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: Yes. That\u2019s why I often introduce myself by saying, \u201cMy name is Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. I am a hero to some and troublemaker to others.\u201d It depends on what side of the fence you\u2019re standing on.<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: Was listening to the Life Alert audio and actually hearing your father\u2019s voice one of the more difficult parts of watching, \u201cThe Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain?\u201d<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: I\u2019m 55 years old now, I was 45 when my father was killed. I told people when I heard that audio, that was the first time in 45 years that I\u2019ve ever heard fear in my father\u2019s voice. I never heard fear. That\u2019s not to say that he wasn\u2019t scared of things, and things didn\u2019t make him nervous, but I never heard fear until I heard the audio.<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: And he could sense that it was going to end badly.<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: Yes\u2026 and one thing that he did that was smart, if you listen to the audio, he was detailing everything that was happening to him. He was telling you, \u201cOh, they got shotguns ya\u2019ll. They got tasers. They are coming in here to break in here and murder me.\u201d And that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

Zenger<\/strong>: In a perfect world, what would be the end result of your mission and what you\u2019re pushing for right now?<\/p>\n

Chamberlain Jr: Wow! In a perfect world, I would have my dad back and we would all live happily ever after. \u2026 But outside of that, as far as the film goes, if nothing else, let it be a teaching tool of what not to do.<\/p>\n

I also want to really force real dialogue. I don\u2019t want to look at training and stuff like that because that\u2019s usually the knee-jerk response when things like this happen. \u201cWe\u2019re going to give our officers more training.\u201d No! What we need to see is accountability. That means the same way they would charge you and me if we were to commit an egregious act like that, they would charge the officers the same way. That would be my perfect world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: Zenger News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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