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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1995)
■ I Many march in protest of reinstatement By Brian Sharp Senior Reporter Jose Renteria walked in the shadow of the County City Building in Lincoln Sunday, his arm resting on his mother’s shoulder. Maria Vega, his mother, held a sign that read: “My son die innocent, where is justice if it exist?” Her son, Francisco Renteria, died Oct. 1 following a struggle with police. Lincoln Po lice Chief Tom Casady was charged in Decem ber with official misconduct relating to his actions during an investigation into the death. That indictment was dismissed by Lancaster County District Court Judge Donald Endacott on Friday. Casady returned to work Friday night. More than 40 family members and friends of Francisco Renteria marched in front of the court house Sunday afternoon. It was the first public appearance by the family since December. Endacott ruled the indictment against Casady was beyond the authority of the grand jury. 'Die grand jury, required whenever some one dies in police custody, was limited to a review of Renteria’s death, Endacott wrote. Casady’s alleged actions were follow-up ac tivities that did not cause or contribute to the death. Jose Renteria, speaking through interpreter Connie Mendoza, said the family was frus trated with the system, but still held faith that justice would be served. The family is frustrated with Mayor Mike Johanns, Renteria said. Johanns welcomed Casady back as Police Chief in a press confer ence Friday afternoon. Criticism also was directed at Special Pros ecutor Robert Bartle. Jose Renteria said the family still had faith in Bartle, but they did not believe he was doing a sufficient job. Carlos Monzon, a lawyer for the Renteria family, had similar criticism in a telephone interview from his home. Monzon said rein stating Casady was premature, as charges may still come against Casady. Bartle said he would decide in about a week whether to appeal the ruling or file the same charge in Lancaster County Court. Monzon said he talked with Bartle shortly after hearing the ruling. Bartle reiterated that he was considering additional charges, but he has been doing that for a long time, Monzon said. Jose Soto, a member of the Community Conciliation Process, said the past few days had “called into question the true purpose of the conciliation process.” The indictment was dismissed on a techni cality, he said, and questions remain unan swered about Casady’s position. “Tom Casady has talked on many occasions about how heavy his badge is,” Soto said. “I don’t know if there is anything, at least in my mind, that can be done to restore that badge and I-— 0 . Gerik Parmele/DN Sebastian Owens walks in front of about 40 other people who gathered in front of the Lincoln County City Building Sunday afternoon to protest the dismissal of charges against Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady in the death of Francisco Renteria. that office to the level that I and this commu nity deserve.’* Similar questions were raised at Friday’s press conference, but both Casady and Johanns said they were unfounded. The Renteria family marched for an hour Sunday. Jose Renteria said the family would continue to be more visible if it continued to see justice denied. In all the legal paperwork and court pro ceedings, he said, it’s important to him that people don’t forget he lost a brother. Report makes board renew hiring goals for women By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter ~ The Chancellors’ Commissions on the Sta tus of Women gave the NU Board of Regents its joint report on where the university stands on the number of wopien being hired on Saturday. The verdict: not so good. In the 25-page report, statistics show a rise in the number of women hired at UNL. How ever, commission spokeswoman Ann Mari May said those numbers had stayed behind peer universities. In 1991, the regents outlined seven goals dealing with gender equ ity. The goal s inc luded: achieving gender representation that led peer universities, hiring women, creating and main taining a hospitable environment for women and establishing effective review channels. The regents voted 5-1 with Regent Drew Miller of Papillion abstaining to recommit themselves to the goals. See REGENTS on 6 Regents tour UNL campus, begin their new agenda By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter " The NU Board of Regents went back to school Friday. Six regents and several UNL and NU ad ministrators received the grand tour of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. The entourage went through physics labs, multimedia centers, a biology 101 class and a preschool classroom on East Campus. The visitors stopped to see honor students living in the residence halls and toured their rooms. The group also stopped for lunch at the Cather-Pound-Neihardt dining room, where the tables were a little straighter and the salad bar was a little cleaner. See TOUR on 6 Police change with times Training has more culture By Paula Lavigne Senior Reporter ~ m GRAND ISLAND — When Francisco Renteria died after a scuffle with Lincoln and Univer sity Police last October, the spot light fell on police training. Issues of cultural awareness and police tactics were called intoques tion, but those issues were reported from council meetings and press conferences and not at the source of the training. For the 122nd Basic, cultural awareness and tactics are more than buzz words. For 12 weeks, they are a way of life. The group of 42 students is in training for law enforcement posi tions in agencies across Nebraska. The group is diverse. From Monday to Friday, officers from Lincoln to Overton, county sheriff's deputies from Douglas to Butler and police chiefs from Mema to Callaway obey the same 11 p.m. curfew and berate the same bitter ketchup. During a two-day visit by the Daily Nebraskan, the future of law enforcement in Nebraska revealed itself as students — from the caf eteria line to the classroom. Just north of Grand Island, a two-story brick home — the Ne braska Law Enforcement Training Center — serves as the training grounds for all law enforcement officers, except Omaha Police and Nebraska State Patrol. The center is lined by bleak, snow-covered fields on the west and by airport runways on the east. Although the icy winds and blowing snow had kept the officers inside for their 6 a.m. physical training the day before, it couldn’t freeze their hearts—or spoil their fun. It’s Valentines Day. *** Before he wanted to be a-Lin See TRAINING on 3 JayCalderon/DN From left, Jeffrey Schaaf, Ron Jones and Shane Schwarz fingerprint aluminum cans during their fingerprinting class.
