GRAND JURY CHARGES OFF DUTY NEW YORK CITY POLICE OFFICER IN
SHOOTING DEATH OF HONDURAN IMMIGRANT FOLLOWING A SIX-MONTH
INVESTIGATION

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a grand jury has indicted Raphael Lora on one count of Manslaughter in the 1st degree in the shooting death of an unarmed civilian, Fermin Arzu.

The indictment alleges that Lora, a New York City Police Officer, “with intent to cause serious physical injury to Fermin Arzu, did cause the death of Fermin Arzu by shooting him with a handgun.” Manslaughter in the 1st degree is a Class B felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 25 years imprisonment. Lora was arraigned before State Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett who set bail at $50,000 in the form of a personal recognizance bond.

During the bail application, the People alleged that Officer Lora’s account of what happened was not consistent with forensic and eyewitness evidence. The judge was told that according to Officer Lora’s own testimony, Mr. Arzu, when asked to produce identification, never removed anything of a threatening nature from the glove compartment of his vehicle, and never pointed a weapon at Lora.

Arzu, 41, was shot and killed near the intersection of Longwood Avenue and Hewitt Place shortly before midnight on May 18, 2007. Lora was off duty when the incident occurred.

District Attorney Johnson said this indictment was the result of an exhaustive six-month investigation into the facts and circumstances that led to the fatal shooting of Fermin Arzu. The process involved interviews with numerous witnesses, the examination and analysis of the physical evidence and ultimately, the assessment of that information in the context of the relevant and applicable statutes.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Larry Hartstein and Supervising Assistant District Attorney James Goward of the Investigations Division.