Sam Sutter
Bristol County District Attorney
888 Purchase Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
Dear Mr. Sutter:
I am addressing this letter to you the authority and the individual who has the final say in prosecutorial matters in Bristol County. Although I am the Executive Director of a non-profit organization, I personally voted for you in your bid for District Attorney. This I feel is very important to note. The reason why you got my vote was due in large part to the integrity and fairness that I felt you would bring to the office. In the days that you have assumed the responsibility of office you have demonstrated that you do have and have shown real character in discharging your duties as District Attorney. However, there is an issue that troubles me greatly and that is the case of Mr. Temistocles Ferreira.
Mr. Ferreira was arrested in October of 2006 while on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, while preparing to engage in a performance at the school. He was charged with what appears to be a list of offenses, that when scrutinized are totally out of character for Tem. I have known Tem since my return to New Bedford in 2002 and the interactions that I have had with him have been numerous and have always been positive. Tem, who is a graduate of the state university system (U-Mass, Amherst), elected to comeback to New Bedford, not because opportunities were abundant here, but because he wanted to make a positive difference in the community were he was raised. That decision has made a positive impact on the many youth that he has mentored and touched in the years since his return.
Tem's commitment to the youth and the community as a whole is well documented, in the activities that he has participated in over the years. Activities that he engaged in along with organizations such as the one I oversee. The list is long, but what is constant throughout that list is the common thread of “social justice”. Tem has lent his services as a performer at no cost at our Annual AIDS Awareness Day events throughout the years, worked as guest presenter for youth during our Youth Empowerment workshops. He has stood toe to toe with me and others in the community, to raise public awareness and promote others to assume an active role in making positive change for all those that reside in New Bedford. He has on many occasions spoke on the behalf of others who felt they did not have a voice. The question for me is that in the many years that Mr. Ferreira has been civically engaged, why now is there this incursion with law enforcement? This case is not about someone reaching a breaking point and snapping, on the contrary. I know based on reports from individuals and the newspaper that security and law enforcement on the U-Mass campus has struggled over the years, in an effort to maintain order in an open campus situation. I suggest that this case is more about the same, over aggressive policing. The evening that Tem was arrested there was a shooting incident on campus. Could the State Police along with Campus police in seeking to reduce the risk to the public, reacted over zealously? More than likely they did.
Mr. Sutter, it is more than ironic, that Tem is faced with a situation that is based on the tenets of “social justice”. Tem is a young man who has over the years demonstrated his commitment to both his community and in particularly the youth in the community based on those tenets. In pursuing prosecution against him, it would mar and diminish his capacity to continue to do the same. This in my opinion, which I share with many others in the community, would have a negative impact for the community he has so faithfully served these many years. As the chief law enforcement authority, I employ you to exercise your right to prosecutorial discretion in this matter and recommend that this matter be dismissed without prejudice, in the interest of justice (for all).
Yours truly,
Drae A. Perkins
Executive Director
Treatment on Demand, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment