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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.
