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Bedford Cops Cleared In Immigrant's Death

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May 8, 2007 7:36 pm US/Eastern

Bedford Cops Cleared In Immigrant's Death

Mount Kisco Police Still Subject To Investigation

by Tony Aiello
BEDFORD, N.Y. (CBS) ― The police chief in this northern Westchester County town said Tuesday he cannot rule out involvement by officers in neighboring Mount Kisco in the death of a homeless immigrant.

"Unfortunately, we have not ruled that out yet," said Bedford Police Chief Chris Menzel. "We have not ruled it in, we have not ruled it out. It's one of the unanswered questions we are looking to answer."

Menzel said officers from his department have been cleared of involvement in the April 29 death of 42-year-old Rene Javier Perez, who was found near death on Byram Lake Road in a remote section of Bedford.

Perez, an alcoholic, was well known to both departments. He'd been picked up many times for public drunkenness and other petty crimes. He also was known to call 911 frequently to request a ride to the hospital or other location.

Investigators are tracing the busy final hours of Perez's life, when he interacted with officers from both Bedford and Mount Kisco.

At 8:35 p.m. on April 28, Bedford cops picked up a drunken Perez from a Kohl's department store. Menzel said Perez asked to be driven to Mount Kisco, and his officers complied. Perez was dropped at the corner of Route 117 and Main Street at 8:43, police records show.

At 10:47, Perez called 911 from a payphone at a Mount Kisco laundromat. Officers spent a few minutes with him, but refused his request to be driven to a hospital about a half-mile away. Mount Kisco officers George Bubaris and Edward Dwyer, and Lt. Edward Dunnigan, cleared the scene at 10:55, reporting that Perez did not require police assistance.

At 11:45, Perez was back in Bedford, lying on Byram Lake Road, unconscious. He died a short time later at Westchester Medical Center.

Investigators want to know if Mount Kisco police drove Perez to that remote location. They're also working to determine what caused the trauma that killed him.

CBS 2 has learned Perez died from "internal bleeding due to a torn mesentery." The mesentery is tissue that anchors an organ to the wall of the body.

The medical examiner told Bedford investigators that Perez likely suffered the fatal injury in the last hour or two before he died.

Menzel said investigators are seeking interviews with witnesses and working to acquire surveillance video that might shed light on Perez's final hours.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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