Justifiable Homicide

Early 1995, two Puerto Rican boys were shot in The Bronx by the New York police, who claimed to have acted out of self-defence. They said the boys were caught while preparing a robbery. After seven days, the case was closed. ‘Justifiable homicide’, the police report stated. However, the mother of the shot Antonio Rosario questions this version. Antonio was intelligent, he was about to start his own company, he would soon become a father and had no reason whatsoever to commit a robbery. His mother, suspecting that the police has covered up certain information, calls in a staff member of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), an independent bureau that keeps an eye on the NYPD. Their conclusion: the two officers have used uncalled for, excessive violence. Not long afterwards, the director and the investigators of the CCRB are fired. An independent pathologist also questions the police report. Subsequently, mother Rosario finds out that her son’s case is not unique. She imputes the police blunder to the strict administration of mayor Giuliani, who advocates an aggressive policy against crime. By founding Parents Against Police Brutality, she hopes to prevent that other parents will have to go through the same experience.