Demonstrators want retired NYC cop arrested
Ten days after a Queens grocery store clerk was shot to death by a retired police officer, about 50 demonstrators demanded the immediate arrest of the ex-cop last night and asked that the case be presented to a grand jury. Chanting "No justice, no peace," the protesters called for the arrest of John Malik, 60, a former detective who says the fatal Oct. 18 shooting of Manuel Chametla, 18, was accidental. Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona), who joined the demonstrators outside the Queens County Courthouse in Kew Gardens, said he disagreed with prosecutors' reasoning for not arresting Malik. "I hope there will be charges against this individual," he said. "I would like justice for my son," said Chametla's father, Noe Chametla, 46, of Jackson Heights. "He was a very nice person, very outgoing." Manuel Chametla, a Mexican immigrant who came to this country about two years ago, was shot in the chest as he worked behind the counter at the Astoria Food Mart. Malik told police his registered .380-mm pistol, which he carried on his hip, dislodged and fired when he reached for his beeping pager. A law enforcement source said that the night of the shooting, prosecutors told police not to arrest Malik because more investigation was needed. [more]