On Friday, I was live on Mega TV News , discussing some of the problems with having an investigation led by people hand picked by Gov. Luis Fortuño as to what went down against student protesters and the media outside the Puerto Rican Capital on June 30th. I believe my exact quote was:

” If Fortuño wants Puerto Rico to be a state so badly then he should have no problem with the Federal government investigating his police force”

Indeed this weekend, testimony began to come out from the students and others who were outside the Capitolio on June 30th. An ad-hoc commission at the Puerto Rican Bar Association heard testimony that pointed to the brutality of the island police force, brutality that can be seen as a continuation of the actions against students in Puerto Rico during their two month long strike.

From the Puerto Rico Daily Sun:

Elvin Reyes Meléndez, a 21-year old student at the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao was affected by pepper spray used by the riot squad to break up the demonstrators. “After 20 minutes, I saw wounded people stretched out on the ground, covered in blood and breathing with difficulty,” said the student who participated in the demonstrations convened by the National Confederation of University Campuses.
“What was not captured on film was how tear gas was shot from a helicopter and how more than 25 police, gestured for us to approach them so they could yell obscenities at us,” he said.

And here lies the complicated nature of colonial justice. It makes no logical sense to trust lap dogs of the pro-statehood governor to carry out a fair investigation against a police force that was carrying out orders of the governor. As in all cases of police brutality that happen on United States territory, smaller, lower courts do not bring the justice that communities seek and need. As in all cases of police brutality on U.S. soil, the federal government and it’s Department of Justice is considered the end all and be all especially when it comes to looking at civil rights violations committed by the state against people.
Given the fact, however, that Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States, it could be argued that the police actions are an extension of colonial violence and thus should be looked out by an independent and international investigation.