BY DEBORAH LIATOS
CORONA, New York - Family, friends, and neighbors immediately organized protests demanding justice after José Antonio Sánchez was killed by Richard Soto, a New York police officer. Sánchez was a 56-year-old cook and comedian originally from the Dominican Republic.

Librado Sánchez, as he is known in this neighborhood in Queens, was shot and killed by Soto February 22 at 2:30 a.m. during a raid by plainclothes cops on El Caribe restaurant where Sánchez was working as a cook.

The police stated they raided the restaurant, which was shut down in August and September for operating a cabaret without a license, because they found that the club had reopened and was again letting patrons dance. The police also said the restaurant was selling alcohol without a liquor license. The cops claim that Sánchez was brandishing a knife when Soto shot him.

A memorial to Sánchez of flowers and signs for justice in front of the restaurant, shut down by the police after the killing, has served as the gathering point for several protests that then marched to the 115th police precinct. The day after a demonstration of 300 people on March 2, both New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Police Commissioner Howard Safir defended Soto's actions in the killing of Sánchez.

The police account is contradicted by many witnesses who say the cops entered without identifying themselves, turning over tables and causing disorder.

"All the witnesses are saying the same thing - that he didn't have a knife in his hand," said one of Sánchez's nephews, José Martínez. "The police are just assassins."

An independent forensics expert has determined the cook's moves were not aggressive. Bullet holes through Sánchez's left forearm indicate the cook "was in a defensive position," said Steve Hoffner, a lawyer for the Sánchez family.

Another lawyer, Gustavo Medina, said the family intends to file a civil suit.

Many participants in the March 2 protest told the Militant that this was the first protest they had participated in. Francisco Rodríguez, a relative of the Sánchez family, said, "Before this I took an outside approach to police brutality. I thought it was exaggerated by family members and friends. Now it is not just in the news."

José Fernández, a 26-year-old worker and a patron at El Caribe restaurant, was also attending his first protest. "They should bring the police to court. We need more protests."

At a March 3 meeting to protest police brutality, Edwin Sánchez, a nephew of José Sánchez, said, "My uncle was a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The cops arrested more than 40 people, everyone there. They didn't let anyone outside. They didn't call an ambulance to see if he was still alive. They didn't call the family. They changed their stories" about the direction in which the bullet went.

"We want a thorough investigation," Sánchez told the Militant. "I want my uncle's name cleared."

Families of other victims of police brutality have also been involved from the beginning in the protests against the police killing of Sánchez. At the March 2 rally, the father of 18-year-old Anthony Rosario, who was killed by cops in the Bronx in December 1995 along with his 21-year-old cousin Hilton Vega, told the Militant, "Police brutality is on the rise. We have names of victims on our house and will add José Sánchez." He, his wife Margarita, and other families of victims of police brutality are encouraging people to attend a "Rally For Racial Justice" March 31, at 5 p.m. at City Hall in Manhattan.

Altagracia Mayi, the mother of Manuel Mayi, a 19-year-old student killed by a racist gang in 1991, was one of the many speakers at the March 2 rally. "We will not rest until we get justice," she told participants in front of the 115th precinct. A march for justice for Manuel Mayi is scheduled for Saturday March 22 at 2 p.m. at the corner of 108th St. and 36th Ave. in Queens.

Relatives of Anthony Báez also participated in the protests. Báez, 29, was killed by police officer Francis Livoti in 1994. Livoti was acquitted in Báez's death last October. On Feb. 7, 1997, a deputy police commissioner convicted Livoti of using an illegal choke hold and recommended he be dismissed. Police Commissioner Safir made the final decision to fire Livoti February 21, denying him a police pension.

Mirta Calderón, the mother of Aníbal Carrasquillo, another youth killed by the police, also came to the protests against the killing of Sánchez.

Families of victims have organized Parents Against Police Brutality to fight for justice and solidarize with victims of new cases of police brutality. The organization is urging people to join in both the March 22 and 31 protests.

Meanwhile, Safir announced March 3 that the New York Police Department would begin using hollow-point bullets, which are more lethal than those currently in use. A hollow- point, or dumdum, bullet expands on contact with human flesh. The cops assert these bullets are safer for the "public" because they ricochet less. A day after Safire's announcement, Mayor Giuliani stated he wanted to study the issue further before approving the change. But, Chief of Department Louis Anemone told reporters the police had already earmarked $500,000 to buy 9 million of the deadly bullets.

Deborah Liatos is a member of Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Local 25.  
 
 
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