Mexico Calls on US to Monitor Investigations of 3 Fatal Police Shootings Oliver Laughland and Jo Tuckman - The Guardian
go to original March 3, 2015

The relatives and friends of Mexican national Ruben García Villalpando commemorate him in the town of Nuevo Porvenir, in Durango State, February 28 2015. (AFP)

Mexico has called on the United States department of justice to monitor investigations into three US police shootings of Mexican nationals within the past month, arguing that the incidents “cannot be seen in an isolated manner”.

The call follows the fatal shooting of Ernesto Javier Canepa Díaz in Santa Ana, California, who was killed on Friday by local police during a robbery investigation, according to local news reports. Details of the incident remain sparse but a spokesman for Santa Ana police said three officers were dispatched to the scene after a suspect’s car was identified. The suspect was shot dead during an altercation but it was unclear how many officers had unloaded their firearms. The spokesman said the district attorney was now handling the investigation and that all three officers had initially been placed on administrative leave.

“The incident is deeply troubling and causes us great concern as it comes just after the recent deaths of Mexican nationals Antonio Zambrano Montes and Ruben García Villalpando,” the Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement.

Zambrano-Montes, an orchard worker living in Pasco, Washington, was shot dead by local police on 10 February after he was reportedly seen throwing rocks at traffic. Video footage of the incident shows the 35-year-old running from police with his arms raised. He was unarmed.

Villalpando, a 31-year-old father of four was shot dead by police in Euless, Texas, on 20 February. The Mexican national was also unarmed and family members claim he had his hands up at the time of the shooting.

Mexican consulate officials have condemned all three incidents, but intervention in Díaz’s case marks the first time the foreign ministry has called for the Justice Department to monitor the shootings.

Read the rest at The Guardian

Video posted on social media shows a scuffle and subsequent deadly shooting of a possibly homeless man by Los Angeles Police in Downtown LA’s Skid Row – putting LAPD in the spotlight again after a host of police shootings that have occurred in recent years. (CNN)

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