Recent police killings have sparked outrage in the Salinas community. There have been at least three police killings of innocent people in Salinas within the last three months.
On May 20 a video was released of police gunning down Carlos Mejia. The police justify the killing by saying that Mejia was intoxicated, carrying garden shears and that he lunged towards the officers. The video shows Mejia only backing away from the police, contradicting the police story. News of the killing quickly spread throughout the community and the video went viral. The following day May 21 a large protest was held against the police brutality.
On May 25, the Salinas community and greater area rallied and marched beginning at the East Salinas “Closter” park. As the march of about 1,000 went throughout East Salinas, more and more community members joined the march. The chants were “No Justice, No Peace.” The opening rally included several family members of the victims who have been killed by the Salinas Police Department.
After the rally the people went for about five miles onto a long, vibrant, excited and popular march with three stops of moments of silence at the places where the young men were shot. Richie Estrata, one of the speakers from the closing rally, made the connection between the racism in East Salinas and the increase of police brutality in the poorer neighborhoods. The community has called for more demonstrations and actions against the SPD.
