Academy Award nominee Jonathan Stack (Angola Prison Rodeo; The Farm) teams up with filmmaker Jon Osman to create this documentary based on the brutal murder of cousins Antonio Rosario and Hilton Vega, two Puerto Rican young men who were shot by two NYPD detectives in the Bronx in early 1995. One detective was Mayor Giuliani's former bodyguard. Carefully researching the events and questioning witnesses and investigators, the film builds a steady, powerful argument for a cover-up at the highest levels. The story follows Margarita Rosario as she is transformed from a mourning mother and aunt to a powerful community activist, questioning the police officers' actions. "I will never stop fighting until I see these two detectives behind bars," she says. "I fight not only for my son, but for all our sons."

In the compelling documentary Justifiable Homicide, filmmakers Jon Osman and Jonathan Stack investigate the 1995 killing of two Hispanic teens by NYPD detectives during a stakeout in the Bronx. The assistant district attorney who presented the case to a grand jury calls the shootings “problematic,” and the facts are indeed troubling.

Forensic evidence and testimony from witnesses reveals that Anthony Rosario and his cousin Hilton Vega were shot repeatedly while lying facedown. And although they had weapons in their possession, they never fired a shot. One of the detectives, Patrick Brosnan, was then Mayor Rudy Guiliani’s former bodyguard and was visited by the Mayor while in the hospital immediately after the shooting. New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board asked that the case be reopened, but its recommendations were rejected by the police department.

Carefully reviewing the evidence, Osman and Stack build an impressive argument for what appears to be a case of police misconduct. But Justifiable Homicide has an intensely personal side as well, for the film is also the story of Anthony’s mother, Margarita Rosario, as she seeks justice for her son and other victims of human rights abuses by police.

Stack is the director of the Oscar-nominated documentaries The Farm and The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo. Osman, an NYU film school graduate, makes his feature debut with Homicide. The film premieres at the Human Rights Watch film festival on June 19. HRW spoke with the filmmakers recently on the telephone.

HRW: With all the cases of alleged police brutality in New York, what made you choose to tell this one?

Stack: The thing that was compelling about Margarita was that she wasn’t a victim. It’s really about her transformation, how she was transformed from a housewife into a political activist instead of giving in to the sorrow or loss of her son. She takes her pain and converts it into energy and political activism. It gave us a way to tell this story about what was going on in New York, that had an ending that gave you a sense of hope through her realization that she wasn’t alone. In transforming herself she helped to transform the city.

HRW: How did you research this case?

Osman: Well, I began researching this case long after it occurred. I met the family in 1997, and they already had lots of information. I met Margarita at a rally.

HRW: What cooperation did you get from the NYPD?

Osman: Not very much. Our ideal film was to have the officers tell their side, tell the audience what they felt and what they went through. We didn’t want to have a film that was one-sided. We tried very hard to get the officers to talk. They’re still welcome to talk.

Stack: The film was an investigation. Margarita had made it her mission to find the answers. And we also had access to the research that the city had done through the Civilian Complaint Review Board. We spent an incredible amount of time and effort trying to hear the other side of the story. It was frustrating: we never got to hear from the officers who pulled the trigger.

Osman: We did finally get Thomas Scotto (the president of the detectives union), who spoke on their behalf.

HRW: What did you learn from making this film about how the system works?

Osman: I didn’t think that a situation like this was possible. What I did learn in the process is that our democratic ideals are in jeopardy. I’m not into politics—I’m a filmmaker. Margarita’s son and nephew were shot. Regardless of what you believe happened, the NYPD closed the case in seven days. The average person looks at their files, and it just doesn’t seem thorough. As a citizen that concerns me, that things like this occur in a democratic society. But I do have faith in our system—we do have checks and balances—but I think when it comes to the police force the people deserve more checks and balances.

Stack: I learned that the system has an energy of its own that can sometimes work against the principles that are the very reason for existence. I do not believe that the police officers set out to kill the kids that day. It doesn't make any sense. Yet, as soon as it happened, the system immediately began to protect them. I think the opposite. As soon as there's a civilian shot by a police officer there should be an independent investigation. Most citizens understand the dangers of law enforcement and accept that shootings will occur, but we also need to have faith that the men and women who are meant to protect us don't work against us.

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