ACLU of Connecticut Statement Regarding State’s Attorney’s Decision Not to Pursue Case Against Wethersfield Police Employee Layau Eulizier for Killing Anthony Jose “Chulo” Vega Cruz

HARTFORD, Conn. – Hartford State’s Attorney Gail Hardy today released a report determining that her office would not pursue charges against Wethersfield police employee Layau Eulizier for killing 18-year-old Anthony Jose “Chulo” Vega Cruz on April 20, 2019.

The following is a reaction from David McGuire, executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut:

“Once again, a Connecticut prosecutor has decided not to pursue justice for a young man of color who was killed by police. Anthony Jose ‘Chulo’ Vega Cruz should still be alive today. It is shameful and unconscionable that State’s Attorney Hardy and the Division of Criminal Justice chose to release this news in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing people to choose between protecting their health and protesting and mourning the state’s choice not to pursue justice for Chulo.

There will likely be headlines claiming State’s Attorney Hardy ‘exonerated’ Wethersfield police for killing Chulo, and it is important to remember that is not true. An ‘exoneration’ is a decision by a court of law, and this report is not that. This report instead reflects the State’s Attorney’s lack of will, Connecticut’s abysmally insufficient police use of force standard, and legislators’ and town officials’ inaction to protect people from police violence.

There is no justice and no peace in this report, and the State’s Attorney’s decision to release it now, during a pandemic and after nearly a year of waiting, shows a callous disregard for people’s health and a shocking insensitivity to their well-being.”