AP Features, May 11th, 2007
Federal authorities will join the investigation into the killing of a Guatemalan immigrant, a county prosecutor announced Friday, following skepticism by Hispanic advocacy groups that local police would handle the investigation impartially.
The Bedford Police Department is leading the investigation into the death of Rene Perez, who called police in neighboring Mount Kisco shortly before his body was found in Bedford.
On Thursday, Hispanic advocates called for federal involvement, saying the immigrant community does not trust local police departments to investigate each other.
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said Friday she had asked Mike J. Garcia, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to join the investigation. She said Garcia agreed to join the investigation.
A spokeswoman with Garcia's office would neither confirm nor deny he had agreed to help local authorities.
Perez, who was homeless but frequented Mount Kisco, called the police from a coin laundry there on the night of April 28, complaining of stomach pain. Three officers responded, but it was declared that Perez "did not have a police matter." An hour later, Perez was found dying on a roadside in Bedford, an upscale town north of New York City.
The Westchester medical examiner found that Perez, 42, died of internal injuries and labeled the death a homicide.
Police in Mount Kisco, an affluent town, had had hundreds of dealings with Perez, who had a long record of being drunk, getting arrested and making emergency calls.
In Mount Kisco, the three village police officers being investigated were placed on desk duty, acting Chief Louis Terlizzi said.
