VivirLatino

It has been well over a year since Rene Perez, a homeless immigrant from Guatemala was found dead. George Bubaris, a former police officer in the area was accused of second-degree manslaughter, unlawful imprisonment and official misconduct and was found not guilty.

There was evidence of a pattern and practice of immigrant deaths in the area that pointed to law enforcement. Mt. Kisco is an upscale neighborhood with a new influx of immigrants, the perfect breeding ground for racial violence.

The county medical examiner had ruled the death a homicide, saying that the man, Rene Javier Perez, had died of internal abdominal injuries. Prosecutors said that Mr. Bubaris had inflicted those injuries by punching Mr. Perez.

The prosecution, Mr. Quinn said, also contended that Mr. Perez’s injuries were sustained within the two hours before his death. “We introduced evidence to show that the injuries were inflicted 6 to 36 hours before” he died, Mr. Quinn said.

Just as important, he said, was the fact that the defense established that the injuries were “equally consistent with a fall” as with a beating. Mr. Bubaris, 31, who resigned from the Police Department after he was charged, originally came under suspicion because he was the last person seen with Mr. Perez.

Mr. Perez, 42, was homeless, had a history of alcoholism and a long arrest record for petty crimes, according to medical and court records.

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