09-03-2008, 05:53 PM
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| The Bionic Hobbit!
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,158
Tokenz: 7,710 |  6 Mexican cops jailed in Oregon man's death
Quote:
Mexican prosecutors are taking the unusual step of jailing six policemen from the resort town of San Jose del Cabo for what they say could be 30 days or more while they investigate how and whether a vacationing Oregonian was beaten to death in officers' custody, according to U.S. officials.
Steve Royster, spokesman for the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, said Tuesday that last week's death of 38-year-old Sam Botner of Yoncalla was "a grave concern." The State Department is monitoring Mexico's investigation, he said.
Botner, a father of three who was vacationing with his wife after returning from a commercial fishing trip, reportedly suffocated on his own blood Aug. 27 in a San Jose del Cabo jail. He was arrested in a condominium parking lot that day when he reportedly got into a fight.
Botner's wife, Kym, said she believes her husband was beaten to death while handcuffed and in police custody. After viewing postmortem photos, Kym Botner said someone at the jail "just mutilated" Sam.
"His nose was totally off the side of his face," she said. "The handcuff marks were horrible."
Typically, authorities are given just two days to investigate before deciding on charges, said the State Department's Royster. It was unclear Tuesday why Mexican authorities had extended the process in this case.
Officials at the Mexican Consulate in Portland said they were waiting to hear about their government's position on the case.
Sergio Hayakawa-Leon, coordinator for the Portland office's protection department, said the office had not received autopsy reports or any video footage related to the case. But he said it wasn't necessarily the Mexican Consulate's job to get involved in the death of an American citizen.
"Our duty is to get involved in the Mexican national issues in the United States, not the American citizens' issues in Mexico," Hayakawa-Leon said.
The equivalent of the attorney general's office in the state of Baja California Sur, which is investigating the case, didn't have any other details available late Tuesday.
But Baja California Sur state deputy prosecutor Omar Barajas told The Associated Press that the police officers gave contradictory statements about the man's incarceration. One confessed to kicking him in the face. Others said the victim hit his face on the ground when they pushed him to the floor to subdue him.
Surveillance video and witness statements indicate that officers struck the victim, Barajas said.
| 6 Mexican cops jailed in Oregon man's death - Breaking News From Oregon & Portland - Oregonlive.com
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