3/9 Rosario/Vega Case Begins after 13 Years!

[nattyreb]

!!!!SPREAD THE WORD!!!!
After 13 years Rosario/Vega Case Goes to Trial

The civil trial will begin for the
killings of Anthony Rosario and Hilton Vega by
two NYPD officers. The trial will be held in
Bronx Civil Court and we NEED to fill the
courtroom starting Monday, March 9th at 9am - 4pm.

We ask that even if you can only attend for one hour this is great!!!
Please come out and support this case. Show DA
Johnson that the Rosario/Vega case is the case of the community!!!

Info about the case of Anthony Rosario & Hilton Vega
On January 22, 1995 two plain clothes Detectives
shot execution style Anthony Rosario and Hilton
Vega. The Detectives were former bodyguards of
former mayor and presidential candidate Rudy
Giuliani. Anthony and Hilton were shot to death
by police officers from the 46th Precinct (the
same precinct where Anthony Baez was killed). The
CCRB investigation showed that all the bullets
were fired from behind the victims; that both
Rosario and Vega had bullets entry wounds under
their arms, indicating that their hands were
raised; and that they had sustained wounds to the
backs of their heads, torso and back. Rosario
was shot 14 times and Vega was shot 8 times.

The CCRB ruled that excessive force had been used
and recommended charges be brought against the
officers; but Rudy Giuliani and the police
commissioner, William Bratton (current LAPD
Police Commissioner) ignored the report. Brosnan
was allowed to retire with a tax-free disability
pension after he claimed he suffered hearing loss
from all the shots fired that night.

In 1999, a floorboard from the apartment where
the youths were shot disappeared from the CCRB
evidence room. The floorboard provided evidence
that Rosario and Vega were laying face down on the floor when they were shot.

To sign up email us at justicecommittee@gmail.com and/or call 212-614-5343

Reality Films - Justifiable Homicide

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Additional Information About the Rosario/Vega Case

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: United States of America –
Police Brutality and Excessive Force in the New
York City Police Department (June 1996)

Antonio Rosario, Hilton Vega and Freddie Bonilla

Antonio Rosario (aged 18) and Hilton Vega (aged
22) were shot dead by police officers on 22
January 1995 inside a Bronx apartment. Two
detectives fired a total of 28 shots, killing
Rosario and Vega and wounding 18-year-old Freddie
Bonilla who was shot once in the leg.

The police had been called to the
apartment by the occupants, an elderly couple who
reported that three men had robbed them the day
before and said they would return that night.
According to the police, the detectives waited
for the men inside the apartment from 8:30pm
until 11pm when the suspects arrived; they waited
for the couple to let them in and then confronted
the men. The police said that they fired at the
men when Rosario went for his gun. Two .45
caliber pistols and one 9-millimeter handgun, all
loaded but not fired, were recovered from the
men. (The robbery story has been disputed by
relatives of the men who say they went to the apartment to collect a debt.)

In March 1995 a grand jury voted not
to bring criminal charged against the two
detectives. However, in July 1995 the CCRB
concluded that the officers had used excessive
force when firing at the men. Although the
details of CCRB findings are not made public, a
source familiar with the investigation told the
press that the CCRB had found that the detectives
were not in danger when the shots were fired;
that all the bullets were fired from behind the
victims; that both Rosario and Vega had bullets
entry wounds under their arms, indicating that
their hands were raised; and that they had
sustained wounds to the backs of their heads,
torso and back. It was reported in the press in
August 1995 that a pathologist hired by the
family for one of the victims had concluded that
the men were lying on the floor when they were shot.

The CCRB sent its report to the
Police Commissioner who publicly criticized the
Board for having carried out an investigation
into the case while a federal inquiry into the
shooting was pending, and he announce that he
would not look at the CCRB report until the
federal investigation had been completed.
However, the CCRB insisted that it had completed
its investigation before the federal investigation was announced.

Amnesty International has reviewed
the autopsy report in the case of Hilton Vega,
which indicates that he was shot in the back from
two sides with different bullets, both coming
from behind. There are four bullet holes in the
floor which suggests that he may have been shot
while face down on the floor and therefore
already disabled. Amnesty International did not
have further evidence about the scene – for
example whether there were bullets holes in the
floor or wall – to establish more firmly whether
he was lying on the floor or standing when shot.

In July 1995 the US attorney’s
office began an investigation to determine
whether the police had violated the suspects’
federal civil rights. The results of this
investigation were still pending in April 1996.

Human Rights Watch: SHIELDED FROM JUSTICE:
Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States (June 1998)

Detectives Patrick Brosnan and James Crowe: The
killings of Antonio Rosario (age eighteen) and
Hilton Vega (age twenty-two) undermined the
reputation of the CCRB when its findings are
repudiated by the police department. On January
12, 1995, Rosario and Vega were shot dead by 46th
Precinct plainclothes detectives inside a Bronx
apartment. A third target, Freddie Bonilla (age
eighteen) was shot by the detectives and
survived. There are several accounts of what
transpired prior to the shootings. The police
were reportedly called to the home of a couple
because the couple stated that they feared they
would be robbed, while the young men were
reportedly attempting to obtain payment in
relation to a marriage scam involving illegal immigrants.

The detectives reportedly shot at
the men between twenty-three and twenty-eight
times. Rosario, Vega and Bonilla were armed but
there were conflicting reports about whether any
of them drew their weapons. According to reports
citing the Medical Examiner’s report, Vega was
hit with eight bullets – in his back, buttocks,
back of the head and front left forearm. Rosario
was hit with fourteen bullets – eight in his back
or buttocks, two in his side, two in his right
arm, one in his hip, and one in his armpit.
Bonilla’s left ankle was shot. According to a
pathologist hired by one of the victims’
families, the men were lying on the floor as they
were shot. And according to the account provided
by Bonilla to a newspaper columnist, the men had
followed the officers’ instructions to surrender
and lie prone on the ground when the officers shot them.

The CCRB found that the detectives
had used excessive force, but when its report was
sent to the police commissioner, he ignored the
CCRB’s substantiation of the charges. This
undermined the CCRB by exposing its lack of
power. Detective Brosnan was allowed to retire –
without facing departmental charges – with
benefits, including a disability pension after he
claimed hearing damage suffered during the
shooting of the young men. The CCRB’s executive
director, Hector Soto, resigned soon after this
and another disputed case. The families filed a
civil lawsuit, a grand jury declined to indict
the detectives, and federal investigations reportedly reviewed the case.