Demonstrators decry use of deadly force by Five-O cops

A small group of protesters gathered outside the 50th Precinct on Dec. 11 to demand jail time for the officers involved in the death of Miguel Espinal, who was fatally shot while fleeing police during a chase last week.

Standing beside three other women holding signs, Sarah Devincenzi, an organizer with the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, made a short speech across from the 3450 Kingsbridge Ave. precinct. She used most of her speech to recount the chase leading up to Mr. Espinal’s Dec. 8 death. (See the speech here.)

While details of the incident are still emerging, news sources have quoted authorities as saying officers from the 50th Precinct attempted to pull over Mr. Espinal, who was driving with a passenger in a Nissan Z, at West 242nd Street and Broadway. After he did not pull over, instead driving into Yonkers, Officers Romeo Francis and Garthlette James pursued him until he crashed into a median on Saw Mill Parkway. As Mr. Espinal, who was unarmed, attempted to run away, one of the officers fatally shot him, though it was not clear which one did so. Police said the shooting took place “during a struggle,” but details were not clear.

Ms. Devincenzi, whose group has been active in Black Lives Matter protests prompted by last year’s death of Eric Garner at the hands of police, raised questions about several aspects of Mr. Espinal’s death.

“We don’t know if it was for tinted windows — that is very serious in this city, especially if the driver is someone of color — or if it was supposedly for driving erratically,” she said of the attempt to pull over Mr. Espinal. “We’ll never know the truth.”

Authorities say Officers Francis and James tried to pull over Mr. Espinal, 36, for driving erratically. His 25-year-old passenger reportedly suffered injuries in the crash and was released after being briefly taken into custody.

After her speech last Friday, Ms. Devincenzi led protesters in chanting, “Indict! Convict! Send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell!”