In the continuing tradition of police using excessive force and then being unwilling to help those they harmed, Michael Barrera was killed by the Woodland Police Department in Woodland, Ca. As usual, early police reports to the public were full of contradictions.
The police had subdued Barrera and had him face down and handcuffed. He was unarmed. After rendering him completely defenseless and in a position where he posed no threat, they Tazed him twice. As with nearly every victim of police violence, after his death he was immediately slandered. Completely unrelated past transgressions were brought up to justify why they “had” to kill him.
Michael Barrera, 30, left behind a fiancee who is expecting, his sister and a grieving mother on Feb 8. The coroner would not let his mother identify his body. The cops involved were placed on administrative leave while the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department conducts an investigation.
On February 13, Barrera’s family called for the communities surrounding Woodland to help raise his name and demand justice. Nearly 100 people showed up within hours of hearing the call to demand justice and not be quiet in the face of another racist police murder. The indignant crowd marched through the town and fearlessly held an intersection chanting “No justice; No peace; No killer police” and “Justice for Mike!”
Marissa Barrera, Mike’s sister, said, “I’ve had to learn a lot of stuff on my own with his fiancee who is pregnant. We’ve had to go and physically do our own work to learn anything. They have lied to us from the get. They’ve changed stories; they’ve changed where it happened, why it happened, and they’re being shady as hell. We want an independent investigation. We want justice. We want the truth. There are too many inconsistencies and lies and that’s why we are out here fighting and pushing.”
The only way for the community to get answers for the crimes of police terrorism is through a concerted struggle that does not allow business as usual while people continue to be murdered in cold blood. The Party for Socialism and Liberation stands in full solidarity with the Barrera family against continued police terror and impunity. We demand that the killer cops responsible for this murder be held accountable.
#JusticeforBigMike
