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. According to Frontera NorteSur News “police from surrounding communities poured into the agricultural city. Anti-riot gear and automatic weapons were deployed. An onlooker, 23-year-old Constantino Garcia Tienda, was struck by a bullet fired by an unknown shooter and killed.”
On May 9 the cops shot and murdered innocent Osman Hernandez, a fieldworker who reportedly was swinging a knife (actually a common lettuce harvesting tool) around in the air near the Mi Pueblo market. Hernandez’s family is bringing a multi-million dollar wrongful death suit against the City of Salinas.
On March 20 Angel Ruiz was shot and killed by three cops who claim they believed his Airsoft pellet gun was a “real firearm.” Immediately after the killing the media attempted to link Ruiz with a string of crimes and bring out his previous history effectively painting him as a criminal and justifying the killing.
On May 25, the Salinas community and greater area rallied and marched beginning at the East Salinas “Closter” park. The opening rally was presented with Aztec dancers to bless the occasion. It was clear from the presence of the crowd that the anger throughout the community was prevalent. 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. A vast majority of the crowd were youth.
Speakers from the stage demanded an independent federal investigation on the police officers who are responsible for the deaths of innocent people. Others have condemned the politicians for “selling-out” their community and not speaking up on their behalf. 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. Spanish chants throughout the march included “La Policia, la Migra la misma porqueira,” “Policia Assesina fuera!” (“The police and ICE are the same bulls–,” “Killer cops out now!”).
As the march of about 1,000 went throughout East Salinas, more and more community members joined the march. The anti-police brutality sentiment will continue to grow as organizers stated from the stage at the end of the closing rally. 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.
