http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 3736c.html

(What's wrong with this picture? (Mod Edit) My gosh, is Peru taking lessons from Mess-i-ko? Heaven forbid! Peru, mind your own business!)

Peru officials meet with police in spraying case
Allen: Man remains on life support after incident last week
09:57 PM CDT on Thursday, August 11, 2005
By MIKE JACKSON / The Dallas Morning News

ALLEN – Peruvian government officials met Thursday with Allen police and the family of a man who is on life support after being pepper-sprayed last week by Allen officers.

Edgar A. Vera, 45, a native of Peru, remained in critical condition Thursday at Medical Center of McKinney, a week after tussling with two Allen police officers, family members and police said. Officers used pepper spray, and Mr. Vera stopped breathing before being revived.

The Texas Rangers, with monitoring from the FBI, are leading the investigation, officials said. The Allen department has begun an internal investigation.

Eduardo Rivoldi, Peru's consul general based in Houston, said the case has generated much interest back home.

"Yesterday, the minister of foreign affairs called a news conference to inform Peru the degree of concern and interest of the government of Peru in this case," Mr. Rivoldi said.

Mr. Rivoldi said his role was to help establish a relationship between Allen police and Mr. Vera's family. He also is to gather information about the incident and forward it to his superiors in Lima. He declined to say whether Peruvian officials would or could take any action.

"I'm not in a position to speculate on that," he said.

Luis Pacchioni, Mr. Vera's cousin and a spokesman for the family, said he was encouraged after his meeting with Mr. Rivoldi and Police Chief Bill Rushing.

"I wanted to have assurances that we were going to get to the truth," Mr. Pacchioni said. "The chief of police told the family that he is going to make sure that the investigation is transparent."

Chief Rushing, citing a potential lawsuit, said after four hours of meetings in the afternoon that he couldn't release any more details.

"We acknowledge that our officers used force, but it has to be determined if they used excessive force," he said.

The officers responded to a call about a suspicious person in an Allen neighborhood and found Mr. Vera sitting in a parked car in the 1500 block of Mahogany Drive. Mr. Vera was waiting for a relative to return home, family members said.

Police discovered that Mr. Vera had a warrant for his arrest and tried to take him into custody, police said. The warrant involved an unresolved 2003 ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. The officers said Mr. Vera resisted arrest and struggled with them. After they used the pepper spray, he stopped breathing. The officers performed CPR, and Mr. Vera was taken to the hospital.

The officers, Laura Gilmore and Gino Ruatta, are on paid administrative leave.

Bert Guerrero, one of the Vera family's attorneys, said Mr. Vera was on life support in McKinney.

Mr. Pacchioni said the family is struggling to understand how a confrontation with police could have landed Mr. Vera unconscious and in the hospital.

"You shouldn't be left brain dead for a minor offense," he said.