Former Puerto Rico Police Officer Sentenced for
Obstructing Civil Rights Investigation
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U.S. Department of Justice January
12, 2015
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Former Police of Puerto Rico Officer
Angel Torres Quinones was sentenced today to serve 46 months in prison for
obstructing the civil rights investigation into the fatal beating of Jose Luis
Irizarry Perez, 19, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta
for the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez for
the District of Puerto Rico and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI
San Juan Field Office.
Torres Quinones pleaded guilty to
obstruction of justice for providing misleading information to the local Puerto
Rico prosecutor who initially investigated the police-involved beating of
Irizarry Perez. Five other former Puerto Rico police officers, who also pleaded
guilty, are currently awaiting sentencing for their roles in the beating of
Irizarry Perez and subsequent obstruction of the investigation. According to
documents filed in connection with the guilty pleas, two former Puerto Rico
police officers violated the constitutional rights of Irizarry Perez by striking
him with their police batons while another former police officer physically
restrained Irizarry Perez during an election evening celebration at the Las
Colinas housing development in Yauco, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 5, 2008.
U.S. District Court Judge Juan M. Perez
Gimenez issued the sentence, which will be followed by three years of
supervised release. During the three-year term, the defendant will be under
federal supervision, and risks additional prison time should he violate any
terms of his supervised release.
“The department will continue to
ensure that those who cover up civil rights violations are brought to justice,”
said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “Like an officer who
unnecessarily uses excessive force, a police officer who obstructs a civil
rights investigation violates his oath to the people he serves.”
“Today’s sentencing brings a measure
of justice to the family of Jose Luis Irizarry Perez,” said U.S. Attorney
Rodriguez-Vélez. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners
will hold accountable those who abuse their power and official positions at the
expense of constitutionally guaranteed civil rights.”
This case was investigated by the
FBI’s San Juan Division and is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel
Gerard Hogan and Trial Attorneys Shan Patel and Olimpia E. Michel of the Civil
Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Contreras for the District
of Puerto Rico.
