by Lamont Muhammad

NEW YORK (FinalCall.com)�Shock waves ran through the activist community here when a federal appeals court overturned the convictions of three White police officers Feb. 28 for their roles in the 1997 sodomy/torture of Abner Louima on the bathroom floor of a Brooklyn police station.

The ruling, which left many speechless, will not affect the conviction of Justin Volpe, who confessed to the crime and is serving a 30-year jail sentence.

"The ruling, is a shocking display of how the judicial system continues to fail to protect citizens against police abuse," Rev. Al Sharpton told a press conference held just hours after the decision at his National Action Network (NAN) headquarters here.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the civil rights violation conviction of Charles Schwarz, who allegedly held Mr. Louima down as he was being attacked, must be thrown out. Mr. Schwarz will face a new trial because the court ruled he was denied effective counsel. The court also ruled there was insufficient evidence that Mr. Schwarz and two other officers, Thomas Wiese and Thomas Bruder, obstructed justice in the case (by lying). Those convictions were overturned. Mr. Bruder and Mr. Wiese face no further legal action.

Lt. Eric Adams, head of 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement told a NAN forum in Harlem March 2 that the ruling is a reflection of a structural design in which there is participation on every level of this system.

"We have a responsibility to give you the candid Black man�s version of what is going on. You have a criminal justice system that will not sleep as long as a White male is in jail for killing or harming a Black male," he said, explaining that wheels are in motion to give the officers their jobs back so they can retire with a pension.

The case once was celebrated as the first strike against the "Blue Wall of Silence" in a town that critics say is famous for police who kill innocent civilians, walk away and keep their jobs. The Blue Wall is a practice of police not testifying against police.

In Mr. Louima�s case, who was represented by attorney Johnnie Cochran, Mr. Volpe finally broke down and confessed to sodomizing a handcuffed and pinned down victim with a broken broomstick in the police station bathroom of the 70th Precinct following his arrest in a melee outside a Brooklyn nightclub. Officers Wiese and Bruder were initially accused of conspiring to hide Mr. Schwarz�s alleged role in holding Mr. Louima down. He suffered severe internal injuries, including a ruptured bladder and colon, and spent two months in the hospital.

Mr. Louima and his lawyers settled an $8.7 million civil suit against the city and the police union last July after long, hard-fought negotiations, according to attorneys. The Feb. 28 ruling threw out the convictions based on technicalities.

"I am gratified that three judges had the courage to make the right decision (despite) the politics that have plagued the case from the beginning," said Joseph Mancini, a civilian media spokesman for the Patrolmen�s Benevolent Association (PBA). He told The Final Call he, speaking for PBA President Patrick Lynch, was happy to see innocent men go free. He said he is confident that if the new U.S. Attorney goes for a new trial and "all the evidence is heard, Schwarz will be acquitted."

He described calls for justice from people "like [Rev.] Sharpton," the baggage of people with "political agendas."

Minister Kevin Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No.7 here called the ruling a travesty of law.

"The woman holding the scales of justice may be blindfolded but the judges on that bench can see what they are doing," he said.

Min. Kevin described the moment as an opportunity for people of good will of all colors and religions to come together as a human family.

"Not for a Black issue, but for an issue of human dignity and justice," he said, adding that politicians must be held accountable.

Rev. Sharpton announced plans to pressure federal prosecutors to pursue the new trial ordered on Mr. Schwartz and to pursue winnable charges against all the guilty, arguing that Mr. Volpe could not have acted alone. He will also pressure senators, who will be negotiating the selection of a new U.S. attorney in the Eastern District, to make sure that he or she will be as aggressive with the new case as other prosecutors were with the older cases.

"This is not anti-police. It�s anti-police brutality. The community is against criminals that would take a man in the bathroom, sodomize, assault and rape him and use technicalities to get away with it. That�s what the community is against," Rev. Sharpton told the audience at NAN.