Prayer Vigil Focuses on Victim of Beating

Supporters of a Haitian immigrant whom a New York police officer allegedly sexually brutalized one year ago held a prayer vigil. Meanwhile, a report said a legal dispute could delay the case from coming to trial. The rally and prayer vigil for Abner Louima was sparsely attended, with supporters, press and police present in almost equal numbers. Louima, a former security guard, was allegedly beaten and then sodomized with a stick by an officer after being arrested outside a Brooklyn nightclub. Five white police officers face federal charges in the racially and politically explosive case. Among the speakers at the rally was the Rev. Al Sharpton. Louima, who spent 64 days in the hospital recovering from injuries that included a perforated bladder, appeared but did not speak. Families of other victims of alleged police brutality were also present. The New York Times reported that a legal dispute involving a possible conflict of interest on the part of two lawyers for the accused officers had dominated two months of pretrial proceedings. The lawyers are partners in a new firm that has a contract to represent all of the city’s police officers.