ICE SHOOTING
shooting, and the City Council held an
emergency four-hour hearing where
Cruz testifi ed. None of the efforts, however,
produced legislation or a city-led
investigation.
Activists have called on Attorney
General Letitia James to investigate
the incident and certify the shooting
and tasering as crimes. Such a certifi
cation would make Diaz-Cruz and
Avendaño-Hernandez eligible for U Visas,
which would allow them to stay in
the US legally, their lawyers said.
Attorney General James’ chief of
staff agreed to meet with the family
and discuss the incident after it happened,
but staffers never scheduled a
meeting, a text conversation between
the staffer and activist Jorge Muñiz-
Reyes reveals.
When reached for comment, a
spokeswoman for James said that only
the district attorney has the jurisdiction
to investigate the crime, though
she declined to explain why the incident
lies outside the attorney general’s
purview. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s
offi ce did not respond to multiple
requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Diaz-Cruz has undergone
extensive facial reconstructive
surgery and has two more surgeries
planned, his mother said, adding
that the medical bills have exceeded
$300,000. The now 27-year-old is at least
partially blind in his left eye, according
COURIER LIFE, F 16 EBRUARY 12-18, 2021
to his lawyer, Gabriel Harvis with
Elefterakis Elefterakis & Panek, and
has lost mobility in his hand and arm.
Avendaño-Hernandez is seeking follow
up treatment for heart irregularities
detected after the tasering, said
his lawyer, Hannah McCrea with the
Brooklyn Defenders Services. He was
released from ICE custody in April because
of COVID-19, and is being monitored
by federal authorities. He is
awaiting a court date on his removal
proceedings, and his habeas corpus
petition is pending, McCrea said.
Diaz-Cruz’s lawyers have fi led a
claim against ICE alleging excessive
force and are preparing to fi le an FTCA
claim alleging negligence. Harvis said
he doesn’t know whether the ICE offi -
cer who shot Diaz-Cruz, now identifi ed
as offi cer Henry Santana, has faced
any disciplinary action, but said there
is a federal investigation underway.
“We do know that there’s some sort
of ongoing review. We don’t know at
this time whether it’s an internal disciplinary
action or criminal proceedings,”
Harvis said.
The Department of Homeland Security’s
Offi ce of Inspector General,
which is conducting the investigation,
declined to comment. ICE also declined
to comment.
During Saturday’s protest, a Sunset
Park lawmaker denounced the NYPD
for apparently aiding the ICE agents in
their efforts to detain Avendaño-Hernandez.
“I was there from the very beginning
to the end of that night, and I
watched the government protect the
institutionalized and racist and terror
organization of ICE,” said Councilmember
and mayoral candidate
Carlos Menchaca. “NYPD didn’t even
try to protect the two that were injured
that day.”
Under the city’s sanctuary city
policies, the New York police force
is barred from cooperating with ICE
for detainer requests, except in case
of violent crimes. However, all NYPD
arrests are shared with the state and
then sent to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and ICE, which often
uses that arrest data to track undocumented
residents down.
Protesters marched from Foley
Square in Lower Manhattan to Attorney
General James’ offi ce in Downtown
Brooklyn to demand government
action. Even if James and local
lawmakers don’t investigate the ICE
shooting themselves, they could look
into the NYPD’s cooperation with the
federal immigration agents, activist
Muñiz-Reyes argued.
“The NYPD was almost as involved
as ICE; they did everything but pull
the trigger,” said Muñiz-Reyes. “It was
New York police that arrived shortly
thereafter, and instead of helping a victim
of the crime, actually assisted the
ICE agents in arresting Gaspar and
driving the ICE agents to the hospital.”
Muñiz-Reyes blasted the lawmakers
and the local and state prosecutors
for their lack of involvement.
“They’re pointing fi ngers at each
other,” he said.
About 200 protesters marched from Foley Square to District Attorney Letitia James’ offi ce
on Feb. 6 to protest governmental inaction after the ICE shooting. Photo by Rose Adams
Continued from page 14
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