The Puerto Rico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) renewed its call for justice for Daniel Maldonado Díaz, a 42-year-old Army veteran who was shot by a police officer while going through an emotional crisis at his home in Utuado, releasing a video with testimony from his mother on Veterans Day. Nilda Margarita Díaz Huertas, who witnessed her son’s death on May 26, 2025, said: "The same bullet he put in my son’s heart, he gave to me. That’s how he killed my heart."
Sergeant Julio C. Nieves Rosado shot Maldonado Díaz in the chest during a police intervention at his residence in Utuado’s Barriada Nueva on May 26, 2025. The lawsuit, filed in May 2026 to coincide with the first anniversary of his death and Memorial Day on behalf of his mother and sister, Carmen Jarmín Maldonado Díaz, is in the discovery phase.
It argues officers did not try to establish dialogue before lethal force was used, and that Maldonado Díaz was unarmed and did not resist when he was shot in his sister’s presence. The defendants include Police Commissioner Joseph González Falcón and Nieves Rosado, in their official and personal capacities. The suit cites Puerto Rico’s Constitution, the U.S. Constitution and federal civil rights law, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
It also asks the court to order the Puerto Rico government and the Police to comply with the general orders of the Police Reform and to create an interdisciplinary team trained to handle emotional crises. "It is inadmissible that a veteran going through an emotional crisis meets a lethal-force response from authorities whose duty is to protect his life," said Fermín Arraiza Navas, the ACLU of Puerto Rico’s legal director.
Executive director Annette Martínez Orabona said the state must guarantee veterans access to physical and mental health services and respect their civil and constitutional rights.