Friends, family rally for Reynoso

LYNN – Friends, family members and supporters of the late Denis Reynoso marched through downtown Saturday, demanding to know why Lynn Police shot and killed the Iraq War veteran in his home this September.View a photo gallery”If this was somebody on the streets that went in and killed Denis Reynoso, that person would be behind bars right now,” Reynoso’s fiancee, Jessica Spinney, said on Sunday. “Why is this person still able to work? Why is that person able to go home to his wife and children, if he has them, and I’m not? ? I just want an answer why three police officers went into my house and couldn’t control the situation, apparently, and had to use deadly force.”Police said they responded to a report of a disturbance at approximately 11:10 a.m. Sept. 5 on O’Callaghan Way and encountered Reynoso, 29, inside his Newcastle Street home.Police said a physical struggle ensued where Reynoso tried to grab an officer’s weapon. Police said shots were fired during the struggle and Reynoso was shot and wounded.Reynoso died later that afternoon at Lynn Union Hospital, according to a statement from Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office.Spinney said Reynoso was shot three times in the torso, was unarmed and that police found no drugs or weapons in the home. The shooting occurred in front of her 5-year-old child, Spinney said.She and other supporters have repeatedly questioned why police entered the home – and without a warrant – and whether deadly force was necessary.Spinney and others have also said they reject the police statement that Reynoso tried to grab an officer’s gun. They have called the incident “murder” and “police brutality.” They have started a petition demanding “an independent investigation into the murder of Iraq War veteran Denis Reynoso, in his home, by the Lynn Police.”Supporters of Reynoso and his family rallied at the Veterans Appreciation Parade on Sept. 22, wearing T-shirts depicting Reynoso in his military uniform. Saturday afternoon, they held another rally beginning at Lynn Common. Supporters then marched to Lynn Police headquarters where Spinney confronted officers, demanding an investigation and to know what happened.Officers on duty said they were sorry for Spinney’s loss and the investigation was being handled by district attorney’s office, according to a video of the event posted on YouTube.Essex District Attorney Spokesperson Carrie Kimball-Monahan said Sunday that the investigation was currently ongoing.”As we stated at the time of the incident, we are conducting a full and thorough investigation, which involves witness interviews and analysis of all of the evidence in order to make a finding,” Kimball-Monahan said. “At the time we complete the investigation, we will issue a full and complete report to the media and to the public.”Spinney said Sunday she has not been contacted by police or the district attorney’s office, nor has she seen a police report about the event. She said – even though she herself acknowledges she is seeking answers to what happened that day – she believes Reynoso was murdered in an act of police brutality.”I do believe that, I do feel that way,” Spinney said, when asked if she believed the incident was murder. “Getting shot three times is not because of self-defense or because you feel your life is in danger; shooting somebody three times is so you can kill them.”But Spinney said her goal for the rally was not just to provide answers for herself but also to provide answers for the community.”We hope to accomplish having more people be aware of what has taken place in our community,” Spinney said. “If this rally gets bigger and bigger, then hopefully people will be aware of what’s going on in their community and we can get better officers in the future with better training.”Spinney said more than 1,300 people have signed the petition at Change.org, and said another 1,000 people signed as supporters marched through the city Saturday. She said future rallies are planned,