Family Wants Justice for Belleville Man Killed By Police

The family of a Belleville man killed by police responding to a domestic complaint demanded justice during a rally Friday outside town hall.

Hours after Dante Cespedes was buried in Kearny, about 30 people, including the slain man's wife and sister, gathered at the corner of Washington and Belleville avenues to protest the 24 police shots that riddled the father of two earlier this month, according to North Jersey.com.

There were about 12 uniformed Belleville Police officers present during the rally, but none interfered with the protest, the article said.

Cespedes, 40, appeared intoxicated when he lunged at officers with knives inside his Lake Street home early July 9, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said after the incident.

The officers, who were at the home to serve Cespedes with a temporary restraining order after he allegedly assaulted his wife, reacted by shooting the New York chef 24 times, the prosecutor's office said.

Cespedes had been arrested three times in the past two years for two domestic incidents and an aggravated assault on a police officer charge, according to NorthJersey.com.