12 different suits allege police abuse against Blue Island Police

Police Beat Down & killed 74 year old Latino Man last month

Twelve separate police misconduct cases were filed in federal court Thursday against south suburban Blue Island and members of its police department. The lawsuits come two weeks after 74-year-old Antonio Manrique died after being tackled by undercover Blue Island police officers in an apparent case of mistaken identity, prompting an uproar in the town's Hispanic community. No suit has been filed in that case, but the plaintiffs in Thursday's cases came forward as a result of the publicity and community meetings generated by it, said attorney Blake Horwitz, a specialist in police misconduct who filed the actions. Meanwhile, Blue Island Mayor Donald Peloquin has accepted an offer by the Justice Department's Community Relations Service to provide mediation services. It has already conducted meetings with city officials and residents. The 12 lawsuits include allegations that police handcuffed an epileptic man, applied a TASER electric shock to his groin, maced him in the face and denied him medication or treatment for his illness. The man was never charged with resisting arrest or doing anything to provoke the alleged behavior by police, Horwitz said. In another case a man was choked, beaten and had his wrist broken by officers, court papers allege. Though charged with six offenses, all were dropped. Another case charges that police held a loaded gun to a man's head for no reason. The man was never charged. [more] and [more]