Media Advisory
Contact: Luz Weinberg
Cell: 305.772.7100

Monday, June 2, 2008 – Miami Florida:  National religious figure, Priest Ernesto Pichardo, President of the Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, has retained prominent media and civil rights attorney David Aelion in relation to a Sunshine Records Request pursuant to Florida Statute to the City of Coral Gables to release all records pertaining to a much publicized Santeria ceremony desecration by C.G. police officers dated June 8, 2007.

With guns drawn, twenty-three police officers reported to a home where a traditional and particularly sacred Santeria ceremony was being performed on June 8th of last year in response to a neighbor’s call claiming he heard a goat squeaking.  Coral Gables Police Department’s aggressive response and extended stay at the Gables home rocked the Santeria community of the United States, who had come to believe that the 1993 United States Supreme Court opinion protecting their religious right actually meant something.

Since soon after the incident, Priest Pichardo has been requesting incident documentation from the City of Coral Gables and their police department, via letters, phone calls and personal visits to the department and their internal affairs unit, yet his written and verbal requests have continued to fall on deaf ears and eyes. “This church, or any citizen, or any person for that matter, clearly shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer to get records that every single United States citizen is duly entitled to under the Sunshine Law. The City of Coral Gables, through its lack of cooperation, left me no choice but to engage Mr. Aelion.”

In reference to ordinances filed by City of Hialeah in 1993 specifically targeting prohibitions of Santeria practices, the United States Supreme Court opinion issued in favor of Petitioner Ernesto Pichardo and The Church of Lukumi Babaly Aye, Inc. at that time clearly stated, “Our review confirms that the laws in question were enacted by officials who did not understand, failed to perceive, or chose to ignore the fact that their official actions violated the Nation’s essential commitment to religious freedom.”

    “As a Masters Degree Candidate of Religious Studies, I have a full understanding and appreciation of many religions, and specifically Santeria and the historical 1993 United States Supreme Court ruling. It is outright offensive and insulting to see that the first amendment constitutional right protecting freedom of religion has to be defended still in this day and age. The City of Coral Gables’ Police Department’s actions on June 8th of 2007, and their actions since, constitute a national travesty, and a daring challenge to a 15-year standing ruling from the highest court of the United States, and we plan to proceed accordingly,” said Attorney David Aelion, who submitted a Sunshine Records Request to the City of Coral Gables two weeks ago.

    Aelion is a 1995 Nova Law School graduate and a current Religious Studies Masters Degree Candidate at Florida International University. A successful entrepreneur, Aelion often defends the indigent, taking on pro-bono cases of moral, spiritual and human interest.  He is a deeply spiritual man whose practice of law is primarily guided by his passion and respect for human rights, the general welfare of humanity, and his solid family linage, which includes historical religious, legal and political figures.

David Aelion gained national and international media attention in 1997 when he successfully represented Fernando Carreira, the would-be-reward-recipient boathouse caretaker who led Miami Beach police to world-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace’s killer.