FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Dina Paul Parks 212-337-0005, x11

Haitian Coalition Expresses Disappointment in Louima Verdicts; Calls for Maximum Sentence and Retrial 

NEW YORK, JULY 17, 2002 -- The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) is disappointed by the verdicts announced yesterday, July 16, in the retrial of Charles Schwarz, accused of assisting in the torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima in a Brooklyn police precinct bathroom in August 1997. The jury, in this third trial of Mr. Schwarz, found the ex-NYPD officer guilty of perjury for lying when he said that did not lead Mr. Louima to the bathroom that fateful night. It was deadlocked, however, over the heart of the government’s case -- that Mr. Schwarz had directly participated in the assault, holding down Mr. Louima while Justin Volpe, serving a 30-year sentence for the crime, sodomized him with a broken broomstick. As a result, the judge declared a mistrial on those charges. 

“NCHR believes that the evidence presented convincingly demonstrates Mr. Schwarz’s direct participation in the torture,” said Dina Paul Parks, NCHR’s Executive Director. “It is upsetting that all of the members of the jury could not agree to that. We were hopeful that this trial would truly mark the end of this five-year quest for justice in the case for Mr. Louima, the Haitian community and the City, closing this ugly chapter in our past once and for all. Now, that struggle continues. We are calling on Judge Reena Raggi to impose the maximum penalty on the perjury charge and on US Attorney Alan Vinegrad to retry this case -- again.”

It is without question that someone helped Mr. Volpe assault Mr. Louima. Mr. Louima has repeatedly testified that that someone was the person who drove the patrol car that night, Mr. Schwarz. Mr. Volpe claimed, after his own trial, that it was Thomas Wiese. NCHR believes, as was demonstrated during Mr. Volpe’s cross-examination in the trial where he was heard on tape wondering why he should continue “falling on [his] sword,” that there has been an orchestrated effort to make full use of the infamous “Blue Wall of Silence” to confuse both jurors and the public about this case.

“All that we want is justice,” added Paul Parks, “not just for Mr. Louima in this case, but for the Haitian community as a whole in its interactions with the NYPD. While the perjury conviction alone certainly does not achieve those goals, the maximum sentence of five years, especially if Mr. Schwarz serves the full term, will send a message that impunity for police officers who abuse their authority will not be tolerated. We also call on the US Attorney’s office to continue pursuing complete justice for this egregious assault, not only in the case of Mr. Schwarz, but also in the cases of the other actors involved in this crime. NCHR, as part of its ongoing work to foster a better relationship between the Haitian community and the NYPD, will remain vigilant on these matters.”