Former Prince George’s County officer Jenchesky Santiago.
Former Prince Georges County, Maryland police officer Jenchesky Santiago was sentenced to five years in prison on Jan. 8 after being found guilty of first- and second-degree assault, use of a hand gun in the commission of a crime of violence, and two counts of misconduct in office.
(Screengrab of the incident from the video released by Prince George’s County Police)
“Mr. Santiago violated the rights afforded to Mr. Cunningham and every citizen of Prince Georges County and no citizen should ever suffer such disrespect,” said Prince Georges County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks after the hearing. “Mr. Santiago’s actions that day and the fact that he continues to show no remorse for what he did and believes that the victim should actually apologize to him, shows that he had no business serving in our police department.”
William Cunningham (Facebook Photo)
Santiago’s charges stem from a May 10, 2014, incident in Bowie, Maryland when he approached a vehicle where William Cunningham’s cousin was dropping him off at his home. Santiago claimed the car was parked illegally, but prosecutors later discovered that his statement was not correct. According to reports, Santiago ordered Cunningham to return to the car when he tried to enter his house. Cunningham refused and Santiago pulled out his weapon, put it to Cunningham’s head, and threatened him. Cunningham’s cousin recorded the incident on his cell phone.
The five years was added to the five year sentence Santiago received on Dec. 2, 2014. “Jenchesky Santiago should not be a police officer . . . there’s no question that he failed, that he could lose his badge,” Shaun Owens, Santiago’s defense attorney said. “His conduct still did not rise to the level of criminal activity.” Former Prince Georges County police chief Mark Magaw fired Santiago from the police department on Dec. 18.
According to the Washington Post, Santiago made a prison phone call to his mother Marsisol Ortiz. The recording indicated that Santiago thinks Cunningham should apologize to him for the incident. Cunninghan said Santiago’s reasoning was “outlandish.”
“Day by day I’m really cautious; my movements cautious of where I go, the people I surround myself with, I’m cautious around the actions of the police,” Cunningham said. “I’m glad that this case was handled so well . . . it will take awhile for me to get totally over everything that went on.”
Cunningham’s attorney Gabriel Christian told the AFRO, “For too long African American and minority youth, working class people without strong legal representation have gotten the short end of the stick.”
Clinton, Maryland resident Frank Rollins agrees. “Prince George’s County police are drawn from the society at large and while it would be great to weed out the undesirables (despite their training), but the fact is some people will be officers of the law using authority and the weapon to back it up that shouldn’t be,” he told the AFRO.
