Hi there,

Please don’t turn away from this message. Democracy Now! is a free source of independent news for tens of millions of people around the world, but less than 1% of our global audience donates to support our critical journalism. Let’s pick up the percentage! Today, a generous contributor will DOUBLE your donation to Democracy Now!, which means if you give $10, we’ll get $20. Please don’t miss out on this opportunity to double your impact. Democracy Now! doesn't accept advertising income, corporate underwriting or government funding because nothing is more important to us than our editorial independence. We rely on you for support—and we’re counting on you right now. I hope you’ll give as much as you can today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thanks so much.
-Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

NEW YORK TORTURE

Listen
Media Options
Listen

The crisis in the New York police department sparked by the allegations of a brutal torture of a Haitian immigrant deepened yesterday. The two top officers of the station house at the center of the controversy were reassigned and ten other officers were placed on desk duty. One officer, Justin Volpe, faces charges of aggravated sexual abuse and first-degree assault.

Still, community leaders demanded more action yesterday and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has been closely identified with the police, was scrambling to contain the political damage to his re-election bid later this year. Abner Louima, a 30-year-old security guard and recent immigrant from Haiti, alleges that officers arrested him early Saturday morning, took him to a bathroom in the police department, pulled his pants down, and shoved the wooden handle of a toilet plunger up his rectum and then into his mouth, all the while shouting racial slurs.

Taped statements:
• Abner Louima, a 30-year-old security guard and recent immigrant from Haiti, spoke yesterday from a hospital bed.
• Dr. Jean Claude Compas, the personal physician of Abner Louima, speaking at a news conference yesterday in Brooklyn.
• Mrs. Vincent, who worships at the same church as Abner Louima, says she was shocked when she heard his name on the radio this week.

Related Story

StoryOct 04, 2023A New Occupation Force? Haitians Denounce U.N. Vote to Deploy U.S.-Backed, Kenyan-Led Troops
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top