Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"Look At What They Did"
By
Dave Hogarty
Published May 27, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Dave Hogarty
Published May 27, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The funeral of Fermin Arzu was not as much a memorial as an event to condemn his death at the hands of an off-duty police officer - we think. As a husband, father, and uncle was being remembered, community activists and the media were conducting a referendum on racial relations and police conduct. Comparisons were drawn between Arzu's shooting and that of Sean Bell, who was killed in a hail of police gunfire in November of last year. Bell's fiancée (Bell was killed the day before his wedding) actually attended Arzu's funeral yesterday and was escorted there by the Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton also gave the eulogy; he said, "Mr. Arzu came to this country to pursue the American dream. He ended up being the American nightmare."
Someone leaked Arzu's post mortem toxicology reports late last week, that showed the man was intoxicated when he was shot driving from a fender-bender incident in the middle of the night. That reminds us of when Rudy Giuliani was Mayor and Patrick Dorismond's sealed juvenile police records were leaked in the wake of his shooting after the man objected to being propositioned as a drug dealer and was killed by police in a resultant scuffle.
The account of Arzu's death is muddied to say the least. The New York Times describes varying scenarios where a gun was perhaps being reached for, no gun was produced and that was clear, Officer Lora (who shot Arzu) was pinned and dragged as Arzu attempted to flee from an accident scene, Arzu was reportedly drunk, irrational, and unreasonable, and Lora was possibly trying to keep up with a fleeing vehicle when he started shooting. It all sounds like a total disaster to us. One bullet did hit Arzu in the back, killing him, and four other bullets were recovered from his vehicle.
Fermin Arzu will be buried in Honduras. He was a member of the Bronx's Garifuno community, who are descendants of West African slaves transported to the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean and Arawak Indian. He was 46 years old, performed in a group called The Rio Tinto Stars Band, fathered six children and had a fiancée who is a cancer patient.
(AP Photo by Michael Hardy)
Tagged
al sharpton
AP Photo
As
band
bronx
children
death
Fermin Arzu
giuliani
gun
hail
mayor
media
new york
new york times
News: NYC
police
Reverend Al
reverend al sharpton
rudy giuliani
sean bell
shooting
stars
st. vincent
West African
Dave Hogarty
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC still has bullet lodged in neck, attorneys say
Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park on Monday.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 12, 2026 at 11:37 a.m. ET
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
News
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .