Rene Perez, a 42 year old homeless immigrant from Guatemala was found on a road in Bedford, N.Y. nearly dead on April 28th. He died shortly thereafter of internal injuries according to a medical examiner but the death of Perez has raised questions with possible answers including police brutality and a pattern of immigrant deaths in the suburban town north of New York City.

Mount Kisco police have acknowledged that three of its officers met up with Perez after the 42-year-old placed a 911 call from a coin-operated laundry. The officers determined that Perez “did not have a police matter,” the Mount Kisco police said.
The county medical examiner classified Perez’s death a homicide. Menzel said the injuries showed that Perez was “struck.”

Perez is the third Guatemalan immigrant to die mysteriously in area over the past few years. Robert Martínez and Santos Bojorguez were both found strangled to death in 2003 in two separate incidents. Both cases are similar to the Perez case in that both immigrants, like Perez, had a history of small run ins with police, linked to alcohol abuse.

The Mayor of Mt. Kisco has said that the three officers who came into contact with Rene Perez and are now under investgation should be placed on modified duty while the investigation continues.

Via / The Journal News, WNBC, and Univision