Juan Vega
Name: Juan Vega
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Race: Hispanic/Latino
Date: 11/03/2000
Location: Palmer Street and Kedzie Avenue
Chicago, Illinois, 60647
County: Cook
Agency: Chicago Police Department
Cause of Death: Asphyxiated/Restrained
Intended Use of Force: Less-than-lethal force
Media summary: Juan Vega suffocated in the back of a police squadrol while officers Edward Ranzzoni and David DiSanti ate dinner and took two hours to take him to a hospital. According to police, two other officers had responded to a report that Vega was walking in traffic on West Fullerton Avenue. The officers said Vega was slurring his words and babbling in Spanish. After learning Vega lived in the vicinity of Palmer and Kedzie, the officers drove him there, but ended up calling a squadrol to transport Vega to detox because they couldn't communicate with him. Ranzzoni and DiSanti determined Vega posed a danger to himself and placed him in the back of the squadrol, where he reportedly slipped under a restraint device in the squadrol and asphyxiated. Police said the two officers were suspended without pay for 30 days over the incident. In 2002, the city agreed to settle a federal lawsuit for $1.8 million.
Unique ID: 572
News article: Link
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