#4741: Dorismond Cop: Race Not Factor (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

Dorismond Cop: Race Not Factor 
 By PATRICE O'SHAUGHNESSY Daily News Staff Writer

  The narcotics cop cleared by a grand jury in the fatal shooting of
Patrick Dorismond said yesterday that raceplayed no part in the
incident.  In his first comments since the ruling Thursday, Detective
 Anthony Vasquez urged people to read the panel's report  before judging
him. "I truly believe that after reading the report, every fair-minded
person will conclude that I acted appropriately under the
circumstances," Vasquez said through his lawyer.Vasquez's remarks came
as Dorismond's family channeled their grief and anger over the lack of
an indictment into  galvanizing black voters on the issues of police
brutality and racial profiling. The pain was still raw two days after a
Manhattan grand jury exonerated Vasquez, who shot Dorismond during a
March16 struggle on Eighth Ave. after Dorismond rebuffed and     
scuffled with an undercover cop who asked him for drugs. Dorismond, 26,
an unarmed security guard and father of two, had no drugs. The slain
man's parents and siblings emotionally addressed a crowded rally in
Harlem, and appeared at a Brooklyn march protesting the grand jury
decision. "I am so angry at the system," said Dorismond's sister, Marie.
 "I don't trust it. ... I trust no one." Her mother sighed and then
screamed in anger, "My son said no to drugs. ... [President] Clinton,
please do something about it. ... I did vote for you, remember?"       
Asked to respond to the denunciations of the grand jury finding, Vasquez
said through his lawyer, "As a  Hispanic-American, I am personally aware
of the skepticism  that some members of the minority community feel
toward the criminal justice system.  "I urge every concerned citizen to
withhold judgment until they have read the grand jury report. ... My
actions were in no  way influenced by the race, color or creed of
Patrick Dorismond." "That's exactly how he feels," said the lawyer,
Philip Karasyk. At the Harlem rally, the Rev. Al Sharpton said no
national candidate has discussed the Dorismond case. "We should not vote
for anybody that does not stand up and deal with racial profiling and
police brutality," he said. "We're putting Bush, Gore, Lazio and Mrs.
Clinton on notice ?we're holding our vote." "Hold your vote!" the 300
people shouted with clenched fists.Sharpton and the family's lawyer,
Johnnie Cochran, called on federal prosecutors to take the case. Later,
at a rally in Flatbush, Brooklyn, people marched to Holy Cross Church,
the site of clashes between police and mourners on the day of
Dorismond's funeral, to decry the grand jury's decision. A large
presence of cops in riot helmets lined Rogers Ave.Police had expected
1,000 marchers but at its peak the protest  drew about 150, and there
was none of the fury that erupted at  the
funeral.