Renteria family wants justice
Four indictments
not enough, says
Renteria family
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter
1 ' ' • ' - s
Renteria family members said Fri
day that they were thankful, hopeful
but still unsatisfied with the indict
ments of four men, including the po
lice chief, in the death of Francisco
- Renteria.
Jose Renteria,
Francisco’s
1 brother, said
I through an intcr
f preter that the
family hoped jus
tice would pre
vail.
< “This is a new
era for justice, not
only for the
"" Renteria family
Rentona an(j the Hispanic
community, but for the community in
general,” Renteria said.
He said a police officer, let alone
the police chief, had never been in
dicted by a grand jury in Nebraska
history.
“As a community, we must look
at the grand jury’s verdict as a be
ginning, a new beginning for justice,”
Renteria said. “After all, we under
Indictments
Continued from Page 1
University Police Chief Ken
Cauble told the Daily Nebraskan
Friday that he and Veskma both
were relieved she was not indicted.
“From what I knew about the
situation, 1 didn’t feel she would
be,” Cauble said.
Veskrna will not talk to the
media because she could be a wit
ness in the trial of the four indicted
men, Cauble said.
According to police reports,
Wilke was the next officer to ap
pear on the scene. Four other Lin
coln Police officers later aided him.
Bartle said one officer was pri
marily involved in the struggle and
two others were involved in a
smaller capacity.
A struggle ensued and Renteria,
who does not speak English, was
“placed in the police car in a re
straint position face down,” as
Bartle described. He then went into
convulsions and vomited.
From the indictment, Wright,
who was the captain of the emer
gency team that arrived on the
scene, did not order medical atten
tion for Renteria.
When Renteria was put into an
stand and believe that there are a lot
of good people working behind the
badges of the Lincoln Police depart
ment.”
When asked, Renteria said the
family did not want an apology.
“An apology is not justice,” he
said. “What we desire is for justice
to be done.
“We pray that the death of Fran
cisco will not have been in vain and
will be given the dignity he deserves.
He was an innocent man. And until
proven guilty, so are the persons in
dicted by the grand jury.”
Renteria said the indictments did
not establish a complete trust and
confidence in the police department,
but they were a step in that direction.
He said the family, like the commu
nity, valued life.
“Life is so valued by communities
that we pay our hard, honestly earned
monies so that they may protect us,”
he said. “We place a high degree of
trust and hope in those whose duty is
to protect us.
“When an incident such as the
death of our brother, Francisco, takes
place, there is doubt cast upon those
whose it is to protect us. Our level of
confidence in the system is dimin
ished and our trust is violated.” '
Carlos Monzon, the family’s law
yer, said the family did not wish ill
will on anyone, only justice.
Monzon said the family had con
ambulance, Bartle said, paramed
ics began cardiopulmonary resus
citation. They tried to resuscitate
Renteria en route to Lincoln Gen
eral Hospital.
Bartle said Renteria had two
broken ribs that were connected to
the CPR. However, he said, the
broken bones did not puncture the
lungs and were not a cause of
death.
When Renteria arrived at the
hospital he was beyond the point
of saving, Bartle said.
Alluding to the yet-to-be re
leased autopsy, Bartle said bruises
relevant to a potential cause of
death were found around
Renteria’s neck and on the back of
his head. Bartle said he character
ized the bruises as blunt force
trauma.
Other bruises were found on the
lower torso but would not be con
sidered in a cause of death, he said.
Bartle said a cause of death
would be released this week.
“It certainly wasn’t natural
causes,” he said. “Alcohol had
nothing to with the incident, nor
did drugs.”
“Wepray that the death
of Francisco will not
have been in vain and
will be given the dignity
he deserves. He was an
innocent man. And
until proven guilty; so
are the persons indicted
by the grand jury. ”
JOSE RENTERIA
Francisco Renteria’s brother
sidered filing a civil suit but wouldn’t
say whether they had decided to do
so. The family would wait for the tri
als to finish, he said.
Monzon said the misdemeanor
indictments didn’t go far enough. IF
he were to spit in someone’s eye,
Monzon said he would have been
brought up on the same charges as
were the police officers indicted in
Renteria’s death.
That should offend everyone, he
said.
But when asked whether the,fam
ily was angry, Monzon said no.
“They are not angry people,” he
said. “They are just hurt. And the hurt
overcomes the anger sometimes.”
“Alcohol had nothing
to with the incident,
nor did drugs. ”
■
ROBERT BARTLE
Special prosecutor
Bartle previewed some of the is
sues that would be raised in the
trial. Issues Bartle discussed were
as follows:
• At what time life-saving
medical techniques would not have
saved Renteria.
• Whether certain restraints,
specifically the lateral vascular
neck restraint and the six-and-one
restraint, were used appropriately.
• Whether Renteria was pre
judged by the officers, who re
ported him to be drunk.
• Whether Renteria’s inability
to speak English and the officers’
inability to communicate was a
factor in the death.
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Lawyer John Stevens Berry i
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and co-cousel Jane Burke sale
making It unclear what laws
Reaction
Continued from Page 1
grand-jury system,” Berry said. “A
grand jury would indict a ham sand
wich. Who the hell knows how they
get where they go?”
Jon Enevoldson, Lincoln
Firefighter’s Union president, said
the indictments were shocking but
expected
“This (indictment) was probably
motivated primarily by the public at
mosphere,” he said. “Although the
grand jury is independent, they are
obviously swayed by the public and
political atmosphere.”
Department morale has been hurt,
he said, “because the way we do busi
ness has been called into question.”
Wright was indicted for official
misconduct for not rendering aid and
also for making a false entry into
public record.
Rick Wade, Wright’s lawyer, could
not be reached for comment on how
Wright would plead.
Joel Gajardo, director of the His
panic Community Center, said such
reactions by lawyers and public offi
cials sent a mixed message.
Gajardo said Friday after Special
Prosecutor Robert Bartle announced
the indictments, that Casady had been
defensive from the start.
“I know he has to be defensive of
his (officers) but I think he has to be
respectful of the facts,” he said.
The community is disappointed
that the charges were misdemeanors,
minor charges considering a man
died, Gajardo said.
However, Gajardo said, the fact
that officers were indicted was a posi
tive step.
Marty Ramirez, a member of the
mayor’s multicultural commission,
said Friday that some in the commu
nity were concerned that young His
panics couldn’t trust police. He said
some were learning to call police
Damon Lea/DN
esponds to tho Indictments
s officers Luke Wilke, right,
tress conference Friday. Berry
I the Indictments were vague,
the officers had broken.
“A grand jury would
indict a ham sandwich.
Who the hell knows how
they get where they go?”
■
JOHN STEVENS BERRY
Wilke’s lawyer
“pigs,” and community leaders
needed to prevent that.
informing the community on is
sues of justice and the legal proceed
ings, while keeping mistrust low,
would take a lot of work, Ramirez
said.
As for Casady, Ramirez said
people needed to remember his con
stitutional rights before they judge
whether he should retain his job.
“Regardless of the information
and the indictments he is innocent
until proven guilty,” he said.
Asking for a resignation would be
an emotional response, Ramirez said,
and he would not comment on that
now.
“Chief Casady didn’t create this
situation; it is more complex,” he
said.
Casady has requested administra
tive leave. Wright and the two police
officers were all reassigned to admin
istrative duty.
Soto would not say whether he
believed more action should have
been taken.
“We would expect our top law en
forcement official ... to conduct his
affairs in a manner that is beyond
reproach,” Soto said. “But I have to
trust that is what’s appropriate. I will
trust that our leadership knows what
it’s doing.”
Crew receives
$3,000 check
from Optimists
From Staff Report*
A check for $3,000 will be given
to the Nebraska Rowing Team this
week by the Lincoln West Optimists
Club.
Phil Hood of the Optimists said the
money was an early Christmas gilt
to thank the crew for its help with
Optimist Club activities.
Team president Brad Crawford, a
senior English major, said the $3,000
would pay off the team’s purchase of
three new boats totaling $12,000.
One boat will be named “The Opti
mist”. in recognition of the gift, he
said.
“But we won’t be smashing any
wine bottles against it because (the
boat) will break,” Crawford said.
Hood said the team had been
working with the Optimists for three
years. Members approached the Op
timists looking for a lake for their
practices. The club offered the lake
by its cabin in Branched Oak.
“They needed a place to go to
row,” he said. “We had the water, and
they had the boat”