Press
Contact: Steven I. Weiss, (212)740-8019, [email protected]
11/26/02
For
Immediate Release:
Grand Jury Testimony in Police Brutality Case to Begin Today
Grand jury testimony for the police brutality case involving the death of Dominican-American Santiago Villanueva begins today. Santiago “Chago” Villanueva was a factory worker in New Jersey who suffered from a seizure disorder. He was having a seizure at work on April 16th, leading his co-workers to call for paramedics; Bloomfield police arrived at the scene instead and detained Chago. He was declared dead later that day in what the New Jersey Medical Examiner has termed a “homicide” brought about by “mechanical asphyxia”.
Serious concern about the prosecutor’s devotion to seeking justice in this case has arisen following the more than seven months since Chago’s death that has seen little progress in and few public statements about the development of the case.
Relatives and friends of the former musician and artist have staged rallies and vigils since his death demanding that progress be made in the case, with no response.
For more information on Chago, please view a webpage assembled in his memory: http://www.geocities.com/Justice4SantiagoVillanueva