Puerto Rico: Outrage over murder by police

Puerto Ricans are enraged over a case of police brutality committed over the weekend. Javier Pagan Cruz was fired from the police force and arrested yesterday in the shooting death of Miguel Caceres Cruz in the coastal town of Humacao. Pagan Cruz currently sits in a Bayamon jail as an FBI investigation has recreated the incident where Caceres Cruz was shot several times despite being unarmed and showing little resistance.

An amateur video showed what happened on Saturday and we include it below.

(Please note that the video is graphic and NSFW!)

Neighbors and family members of Caceres Cruz continue grieving and have expressed outrage at the police’s conduct:

“‘I see the police and my body shakes’ said one neighbor.

‘I don’t know why the police have failed to do their job right. They’re losing their credibility and the people’s confidence,’ said the widow of Caceres Cruz.”

The death of Caceres Cruz highlights a steady increase in reports of police brutality in Puerto Rico with over 1000 complaints received over the past five years according to the head of the island’s police.

Sources (Spanish)- El Vocero, El Nuevo Dia, Primera Hora

Sources (English)- International Herald Tribune, YouTube