Hector Santiago distributed a press release to over a dozen news outlets on Monday June 26th that described his arrest and assault during the City Council meeting to extend term limits, his on-going court case, and the silence he observed from city officials.
The raucous display during the council meeting in November to extend term limits for the mayor and council members was well-documented. And the near-chaos of that event was mentioned last week on a WNYC radio show hosted by Brian Lehrer. A caller into the show described how she felt the administration used their “goons” to intimidate residents during the controversial proceeding. It was then that Editor-In-Chief of Black Westchester Magazine, AJ Woodson, cited the incident where Hector Santiago was assaulted and then arrested by the Yonkers Police Department.
Santiago Responds
This discussion of his case appears to have spurred Santiago into publicly responding with an update. The 600-word statement first describes how he was forcibly removed from the city council chambers after yelling, “vote already” towards the council members. In the outer hallway, a member of the mayor’s security detail reacted to Santiago shrugging him away with a closed-fist punch to Santiago’s face. Additional officers then threw Santiago to the floor.
Santiago was arrested and held in the the Yonkers City Jail for 22 hours over the night of Thanksgiving Eve. He has since presented himself in court 21 times for an ever-changing list of minor charges that are still not resolved. A contributing factor to the excess of this process is Santiago’s community and political work that forced every Yonkers city court judge and even the Westchester County District Attorney to recuse themselves from this case. The Orange County DA is charging Santiago and declined to comment on this on-going legal matter.
The Lack of Response
Beyond a recitation of historical facts, Santiago takes aim at the government officials who remained silent after the incident. He is critical that no-one would condemn the violence of that night or call for the officer(s) to be disciplined.
Everyone in an authoritative position is trying to pretend it never even happened, including Mayor Mike Spano
We know of only two officials who responded publicly–YPD Commissioner Sapienza and Majority Leader Tasha Diaz. Commissioner Sapienza appeared to lay the blame squarely on Santiago for the events of that night. And Majority Leader Diaz made no reference to Santiago’s assault while defending her actions as a response to “badgering and harassment at community events.”
What’s next for Santiago?
The criminal case against Santiago creeps on likely into the late summer where, if found guilty, he will only pay a small monetary fine. The result of that case may impact the civil suit Santiago has given notice that he will file against the City of Yonkers for violating his civil rights. Santiago has also announced his candidacy for the third district city council seat to replace incumbent Tasha Diaz.
