12544: NCHR Press Release: Haitian Coalition Expresses Disappointment i n Louima Verdicts (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dina Paul Parks <DPParks@nchr.org>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 							Contact:  Dina Paul
Parks
212-337-0005


Haitian Coalition Expresses Disappointment in Louima Verdicts; Calls for
Maximum Sentence and Retrial

NEW YORK, JULY 17, 2002  --  The National Coalition for Haitian Rights
(NCHR) is disappointed by the verdicts announced yesterday, July 16, in the
retrial of Charles Schwarz, accused of assisting in the torture of Haitian
immigrant Abner Louima in a Brooklyn police precinct bathroom in August
1997.  The jury, in this third trial of Mr. Schwarz, found the ex-NYPD
officer guilty of perjury for lying when he said that did not lead Mr.
Louima to the bathroom that fateful night.  It was deadlocked, however, over
the heart of the government's case -- that Mr. Schwarz had directly
participated in the assault, holding down Mr. Louima while Justin Volpe,
serving a 30-year sentence for the crime, sodomized him with a broken
broomstick.  As a result, the judge declared a mistrial on those charges.

"NCHR believes that the evidence presented convincingly demonstrates Mr.
Schwarz's direct participation in the torture," said Dina Paul Parks, NCHR's
Executive Director.    "It is upsetting that all of the members of the jury
could not agree to that.  We were hopeful that this trial would truly mark
the end of this five-year quest for justice in the case for Mr. Louima, the
Haitian community and the City, closing this ugly chapter in our past once
and for all.  Now, that struggle continues.  We are calling on Judge Reena
Raggi to impose the maximum penalty on the perjury charge and on US Attorney
Alan Vinegrad to retry this case -- again."

It is without question that someone helped Mr. Volpe assault Mr. Louima.
Mr. Louima has repeatedly testified that that someone was the person who
drove the patrol car that night, Mr. Schwarz.    Mr. Volpe claimed, after
his own trial, that it was Thomas Wiese.  NCHR believes, as was demonstrated
during Mr. Volpe's cross-examination in the trial where he was heard on tape
wondering why he should continue "falling on [his] sword," that there has
been an orchestrated effort to make full use of the infamous "Blue Wall of
Silence" to confuse both jurors and the public about this case.

"All that we want is justice," added Paul Parks, "not just for Mr. Louima in
this case, but for the Haitian community as a whole in its interactions with
the NYPD.  While the perjury conviction alone certainly does not achieve
those goals, the maximum sentence of five years, especially if Mr. Schwarz
serves the full term, will send a message that impunity for police officers
who abuse their authority will not be tolerated.  We also call on the US
Attorney's office to continue pursuing complete justice for this egregious
assault, not only in the case of Mr. Schwarz, but also in the cases of the
other actors involved in this crime.  NCHR, as part of its ongoing work to
foster a better relationship between the Haitian community and the NYPD,
will remain vigilant on these matters."



_______________________________

Dina Paul Parks
Executive Director
National Coalition for Haitian Rights
275 Seventh Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10001
ph:  212-337-0005
fx:  212-741-8749
email:  dpparks@nchr.org
www.nchr.org