Church World ServiceImmigration & Refugee ProgramMiami Conference – June 2010

Refugee Protection & Resettlement

CWS/IRP

Pa. Police Accused of Cover-up in Immigrant AttackPa. police plead not guilty to cover-up in probe of immigrant attack by high school athletes

SHENANDOAH, Pa. December 15, 2009 (AP)

The Associated Press Federal prosecutors charged three police officers in a racially tense Pennsylvania coal town with orchestrating a cover-up in the fatal beating of a Mexican immigrant by altering evidence or lying to the FBI in a case against two white high school football players.

A federal indictment announced Tuesday in Washington revealed close ties between the officers and defendants: One dated the mother of an accused player, and another had a son on the team.

The former athletes themselves, ages 18 and 19, are now charged with a federal hate crime in the beating death of Luis Ramirez in a park on a night in July 2008 as they headed home from a party.

State prosecutors who tried to win murder or ethnic intimidation convictions against the athletes had alleged that the attackers yelled racial epithets at Ramirez and that one gripped a piece of metal to give his punches more power.

The federal indictment brought praise from those who had long argued that the case was blatantly a hate crime and were outraged when the suspects won acquittals on the most serious charges.

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"This is what our family, friends, and ongoing supporters have prayed for," said Crystal Dillman, who had two children with Ramirez, in a statement released by the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund. "I truly believe in my heart that Luis can now rest a bit more peacefully knowing that these criminals and accomplices are being charged.“

The indictments accuse 19-year-old Derrick Donchak and 18-year-old Brandon Piekarsky of a hate crime. Donchak is also accused of conspiring with police to cover up the crime and giving false statements to police.

The indictments also charged Police Chief Matthew Nestor, Lt. William Moyer and Officer Jason Hayes of conspiracy and falsifying documents "with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation." Moyer is further accused of witness tampering, destroying evidence and lying to the FBI. ...

Shenandoah, a blue-collar town of 5,000 about 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia, is best known as the birthplace of big band musicians Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and the home of Mrs. T's Pierogies. Football, along with the town's many block parties and ethnic festivals, is a major attraction. Home games at Shenandoah Valley High School typically draw thousands of fans.

It's also got a growing number of Hispanic residents drawn by jobs in factories and farm fields. Hispanics are believed to comprise as much as 10 percent of the population. Ramirez, a 25-year-old native of the small central Mexican town of Iramuco, was in the United States illegally working at various jobs. ...

Reaction around town to the indictment ranged from staunch support of the police to gratification that the federal government had stepped in. ... ———Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures

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Advocacy Plan GridProtection Issue "Asks" Targets/Authorities Actions

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Additional Resources

CWS Protection Training Pack & Manual Online http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=resource_protection_manual

ODI/HPN Article on Protection in CWS Programs in Kenya and Afghanistanhttp://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?id=3098