Miami-Dade Police Officers "unprovoked attack" on Jorge Venegas 1/19/08 : Miami IMC

Laiza Fernandez <lmferz@yahoo.com> wrote:

Subject: Miami-Dade Police Officers "unprovoked attack" on my husband, Jorge Venegas, on 1/19/08

I am writing this email because honestly I don't know how this works. My husband was at a pool hall (NEW WAVE) located across Florida International University on Saturday evening. He was there with his father, uncle, cousin and cousin's girlfriend enjoying a night out. He was playing pool and encountered that another civilian was constantly staring at them uncontrollably and not moving when asked politely so a shot at the white ball was made. My husband simply asked the man if there was a problem. The man said no and they continued to play their game. One of the civilians made a phone call and immediately after that they left the premises. My husband went up to the owner of the pool hall and advised him that he had a verbal encounter with the man and advised the owner that he didn't want any problems. The owner replied to him that they had left and that he wouldn't let anything happen. As they continued to play pool the 3 civilians walked in with 3 Metro Dade Police Officers. The officer signally pointed out my husband and his cousin and asked them to step outside. My husband approached the officer and asked him what happened and why was he asked to step out side. The officer began to use foul language and told him that he was being arrested for assault. My husband asked him "Officer who did I assault?" The officer just began to insult him and pushed him from the back. From that moment on the 3 officers brutality beat my husband in front of all the civilians inside the pool hall. He did not resist at any point. They began to beat him with the flash light, the stomped on him and etc. My husband is a man with no record, has been in process to become a police officer, has a job in a bank and is a good man. They treated him as a criminal and a dog. A third officer that showed up to the scene advised his cousin's girlfriend that he was called for back up, but that this did not show in the computer system. I need to get a criminal lawyer to investigate if there was even a 911 call made at all. It seem that the 3 civilians that started this issue are either relatives of one of the cops or a friend and that this was personal call made. When the owner of the pool hall was asked about the video cameras at the premises he said that they didn't record. I cannot let these officer's be able to get away with what they have done. One of the officer's is a sergeant, and that is the way he takes control of a situation by brutality beating a man. I don't think that this is right and that it was legal now they have given him a record and 3 felony charges. When they took him from the pool hall they went to the police station and called him an ambulance to pick him up at the station. He was sent to the ER and Kendall Regional Hospital. Then he was released from there and was taken to TGK and from there to Jackson Memorial Hospital and then to County Jail in downtown. Please help me with this issue. I have pictures of his beating in attachment. I need justice to be done. A man that wasn't afraid of anything is now feeling like less of a man. I need a very good criminal lawyer if you can please help me or advise me on what to do.

We made a call to the Media Affairs office of the Miami-Dade Police Department to inquire about the complaint re; the "unprovoked attack" on Jorge Venegas 1/19/08 by members of the MDPD and they said that they were informed by Internal Affairs that they were investigating the incident and that untill they complete their investigation no information is available.