On Aug. 20, Oscar Santiago-Rivera, a 51-year-old Puerto Rican man, was picked up by the police outside Lou’s Lodge in New Haven, Conn. The next thing his family knew, Santiago-Rivera had died at the hospital during surgery.
Immediately after this news came out, the police tried three tactics to shift the blame for Santiago-Rivera’s death. First, they claimed they were told Santiago-Rivera had a knife on him. Second, they said he was injured in a bar fight before they arrived. Third, they insinuated other health problems were the cause of his death.
However, the owner of Lou’s Lounge told the New Haven Independent that he never told the police that Santiago-Rivera had a knife. Furthermore, the owner stated that no fight had taken place at the bar. The police story falls apart further as Santiago-Rivera died during surgery for a ruptured spleen, which can be caused by a blow to the left side of the body. If there was no fight in the bar, how was his spleen ruptured?
Santiago-Rivera’s family worked with a number of local organizations, including New Haven Against Police Brutality, Unidad Latina en Acción and the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and called for a protest march to follow his funeral on Aug. 30. The unpermitted march took to the streets from the church where the funeral was held to Lou’s Lounge, across the street from a police substation.
As more than 50 people rallied to demand justice for Oscar Santiago-Rivera, his brother Doel Santiago called for justice. “Should we just let them be free to kill somebody else?”
Santiago-Rivera’s nephew, Juan Rodriguez, told Liberation News, “If it was anyone else, they would be arrested. …They use the badge as a license to kill.”
The New Haven Police Department has a long and savage history of brutality, harassment, ruthlessness and lethal violence, particularly in working-class Black and Latino communities. The strong presence in solidarity with Santiago-Rivera’s family shows the NHPD and the city administration that the police will be held accountable when they kill members of the community.
As Juan Rodriguez put it, “If we speak up and unite, we will be able to make a difference.”
Justice for Oscar Santiago-Rivera! Jail killer cops!
