'Sickens Me to My Core': Chamberlain Family, Lawyers Blast Report

A group of family members and attorneys blasted White Plains leadership Wednesday for releasing a report that calls the shooting of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. "totally justified."

Chamberlain, 68, was killed in his White Plains apartment November of 2011 by White Plains police officers. Authorities were responding to a medical call that quickly turned violent, and then fatal, according to authorities.

A grand jury indicted no police officiers in Chamberlain's death last May.

"The report is not worth the paper it's written on," said Damon K. Jones, a New York Representative for Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, Wednesday.

Jones was joined by by Chamberlain's son, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., a representative from the local NAACP chapter and about one dozen others outside of the courthouse on Quarropas Street.

"It's completely one-sided," Jones added. "They just took the word of the White Plains city management. That's not right, that's not fair."

The 83-page report cost $25,000 and was helmed by Dr. Maria Haberfeld, a chair of the department of law and political science at the City University of New York at John Jay College. The analysis was carried out over a four-month period; readers can view the report in full here.

According to findings, police arrived at Chamberlain's apartment at during the morning hours in response to an accidental medical call. Police forced entry into the apartment to check on the man's well-being, and utilized a tazer and bean-bag gun when the former Marine with a criminal record came at them with a knife. Police then fired two rounds at him.

Legal representatives for Chamberlain's family said Wednesday that the police galvanized Chamberlain, calling him the n-word and asking to urinate in his toilet.

Jones assailed local politicos in addition to White Plains police, specifically city Mayor Tom Roach. Jones also urged listeners to reconsider patronizing White Plains.

"If [minorities] aren't going to be respected by the city, we shouldn't do business in the city," he said. "We should take our money elsewhere."

On the heels of Jones' statement came a passionate speech by retired NYPD detective Carlton Berkley.

"It sickens me to my stomach, it sickens me to my core," he said of the report, calling Westchester district attorney Janet DiFiore a "disgrace" and pledging to work alongside the Chamberlain family.

Chamberlain, Jr. also sounded off, looking visibly shaken. He called the report a document that validates murder.

The Chamberlains have filed a $21 million civil rights lawsuit against the City of White Plains.