California LULAC Demands Probe By State Attorney General
Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Alleges Cover-up by Vallejo Police in Shooting of Latino Suspect
Washington, DC - The California Chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has sent a letter to Xavier Becerra, California State Attorney General demanding an investigation into the shooting death of Sean Monterrosa on June 2, 2020 when street protests were being seen nationwide following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police.
“The law does not allow officers to act as judge, jury and executioners,” says Yvonne Gonzalez - Duncan, State Director. “We call for an immediate investigation into the shooting of Monterrosa at the hands of a repeat offending officer. We need accountability now!" adds Gonzalez-Duncan.
In the letter to Becerra, LULAC states about Monterrosa’s shooting, “There are compounding events regarding the apparent Vallejo Police Department cover-up and withholding information from an incense public. The historical repeated shootings by this Police Department’s officers, some with multiple instances, without accountability is reason enough to have an independent investigation. The insidious actions by the Vallejo Police Department engender community distrust of any internal Police Department investigation.”
Leonard Gonzales, Chair of the California LULAC Civil Rights Task Force says a delay is unacceptable. "The community's interest in saving lives now is a more critical effort by the Attorney General's office than a protracted 3-year review of the Vallejo Police Department undertaken in June 2020 before this horrendous shooting of Mr. Monterrosa.”
Vallejo is the third deadliest city per capita in California when it comes to officer involved shootings. Eighteen different shootings have taken place in the last decade and not one officer has ever faced charges of excessive use of lethal force.
“This 22-year old Latino with some other individuals in the middle of the night was confronted by police outside a Walgreens that had been the target of looters,” says Andres Rodriguez, National Vice-President for Young Adults. “We call upon Attorney General Becerra to examine closely the Vallejo PD police practices and hold them accountable for training their officers to de-escalate situations before opening fire, especially from inside moving unmarked police vehicles. Vallejo PD officers who open fire at citizens before de-escalation efforts should be fired without paid leave and charged if the investigation shows they used unnecessary lethal force,” concludes Rodriguez.
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About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit https://lulac.org/