Rally this Saturday to Demand Justice for Kenny Lazo, Killed in Suffolk County Police Custody

*For immediate release*

Contact: Monica Ruiz, 718-637-3335
or Jennifer Gonzalez, 631-805-4182

Rally this Saturday to Demand Justice for Kenny Lazo,
Killed in Suffolk County Police Custody

**Former U.S. Attorney General and 2008 U.N. Human Rights Award Recipient Calls for Investigation and Indictment of Officers**

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark issued a statement today in support of an upcoming rally against police brutality in Bay Shore, Long Island. This weekend will be the one year anniversary of the killing of Kenny Lazo, 24, who was beaten to death in police custody after police pulled him over. The coroner ruled Mr. Lazo's death a homicide, but the District Attorney did not vigorously pursue indictment. The Lazo family has initiated a $155 million civil lawsuit against Suffolk County.

This Saturday at 2pm, family members of Mr. Lazo and their supporters will hold a vigil and rally outside the 3rd Precinct in Bay Shore (1650 5th Ave.) They are demanding swift court action so that the officers responsible are brought to justice.

Mr. Clark, who as Attorney General supervised the Civil Rights Act of 1968, issued a statement that read: "No one is above the law. The uniform of a police officer is not a license to assault or kill those in police custory, it is a pledge to protect prisoners and the public. As I learned of police violence in the South during the early 1960s and in the urban north and west during the riots of the late 1960s, police violence is the most dangerous and destructive of all violence. Who will protect the people when the police violate the law?"

Mr. Clark continued, "If local and state officials are either unable or unwilling to prosecute police officers for the wanton killing of prisoners in their custody, then the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, must investigate and prosecute. I join with you, the loving family of Kenny Lazo and his neighbors and friends in demanding justice and accountability."

The rally will take place this Saturday, April 11 at 2pm in front of the 3rd Precinct at 1650 5th Ave. in Bay Shore, NY.

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