Blue Island Mayor says city not ignoring Police Beating death
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74 Yr. Old Latino Man Dead in Confrontation with Blue Island Police
Mayor Donald Peloquin defended his administration amid fresh criticisms of the city a month after a 74-year-old Hispanic man died after an encounter with two Blue Island police officers. He denied that city officials were trying to minimize the death of Antonio Manrique, who was tackled by the officers on the street near his home and died of his injuries in the hospital on Oct. 10. Officials say the incident was a case of mistaken identity. Peloquin was particularly upset by a letter that U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) wrote to a local newspaper criticizing the way the city handled the incident. "No one in this city has not been touched by" Manrique's death, Peloquin said during Tuesday night's City Council meeting. "We will take appropriate measures after the investigation is completed." The city also has been hit with a dozen civil lawsuits alleging other acts of police brutality. [more]