WHAT:  Dozens will rally at the 34th Precinct to demand justice for the fatal shooting of John Collado by a plainclothes NYPD officer on September 6th of this year. Collado was shot by Detective James Connelly after he intervened in a dispute between Connelly and an alleged suspect.

According to neighbors, Collado was an upstanding member of the community, and likely intervened in the dispute because the officer did not identify himself as a member of the NYPD. Collado was taken to Harlem Hospital where he later died from his wounds.

“John was the happiness and center of our family. We want a full investigation. We want what happened that day to be exposed and for Commissioner Kelly to admit it was wrong. It was a situation that should not have happened. We want the NYPD to admit their wrongdoing and take the necessary steps to ensure this does not happen again,” said Amareles Collado, wife of John Collado.

“We cannot let this family’s questions as to what really happened go unanswered. John Collado was a loving family man who was totally unarmed, and unaware that one of the parties to this dispute was an armed police officer,” said Jesus Gonzalez, a member of Make the Road New York, a community organization with over 10,000 members which works to reform NYPD practices.

WHERE: 17 Post Avenue, Washington Heights, New York (location of the shooting)

WHEN: 2pm, Saturday, November 5, 2011

WHO: Dozens of community residents, Collado’s wife and family, organizers and advocates

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