Activists protest Rivera’s treatment
Shivering on the sidewalk outside the emergency room where Joaquin Rivera died and was robbed while waiting to see a doctor, Puerto Rican civil rights activists Sunday called for the "overhaul of an inept healthcare system."
Shivering on the sidewalk outside the emergency room where Joaquin Rivera died and was robbed while waiting to see a doctor, Puerto Rican civil rights activists Sunday called for the "overhaul of an inept healthcare system."
"Joaquin died in a place he trusted, without the dignity he deserved," said Joe Garcia, president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights. "This is Joaquin's last human rights act - helping to bring national attention to the need for healthcare in our community."
Rivera, 63, a popular city high school counseling assistant, musician and community activist, was pronounced dead on Nov. 29, an hour and 19 minutes after he checked in at the Aria Health-Frankford Campus, complaining of pain in his left arm and chest.
Police have arrested two of the three people involved in stealing Rivera's watch after he lost consciousness. That episode, recorded by security cameras, has been widely circulated on the Internet.
Rivera was buried on Saturday.
About 20 members and supporters of the Congress for Puerto Rican Rights gathered for the 10 a.m. press conference outside the emergency room entrance at 4900 Frankford Ave. Inside, the waiting area was deserted except for security guards.
Rivera helped to found the Congress for Puerto Rican Rights in 1981, said Victor Vazquez, who flew in from Miami for the funeral.
"Here we have a man who dedicated all of his life to the community through his music and social activism," Vazquez said. "That he would be treated with such reckless disregard in an emergency room...is a travesty."
Vazquez and other speakers called for an investigation into the circumstances of Rivera's death and the delay in discovering it - an inquiry that the Pennsylvania Department of Health has already launched.
Vazquez also said the group will push for an investigation by the federal Office of Civil Rights.
"We kept quiet until today," he said. "Now is the beginning of our campaign to get compensation for the family and the community."
He said updates on the campaign will be available on the group's website, www.ncprr.us.
Contact staff writer Marie McCullough at 215-854-2720 or mmccullough@phillynews.com.