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| LOS FAMILIARES DE VICTIMAS INCLUYERON MARIA PUGA, VIUDA DE ANASTASIO HERNANDEZ ROJAS; TRINIDAD CESENA, MADRE DE FRANCISCO CESENA, Y SHENA GUTIERREZ, ESPOSA DE JOSE GUTIERREZ |
PHOTO VIDEO OF THE NOV. 12 ACTION. FOTOS DE LA PROTESTA EN ESTE VIDEO
50 murders by the Border Patrol?
"We will not live in fear; we will not get used to this."
"Just counting back from 2010
to here, there have been 50 murders by the Border Patrol," says
Gutierrez. "To date, no one has been held accountable for any of them,
despite videos and witnesses in many cases. They need to change their
policies on use of force.
"Shooting a child for throwing a rock is unjustifiable. They shot Jose Antonio Elena ten times. He was only 15 years old."
Gutierrez refers to 16-year-old José Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was gunned down in a high-profile case in Arizona in 2012. Elena Rodriguez was found to be unarmed and on the Mexican side of the border at the time of the shooting.
Families of several individuals who died at or near the border in San Diego were also on hand.
"Anastasio Henandez Rojas was
brutally beaten by 14 agents. They beat him with batons, kicked him,
tased him seven times. They fried his brain – he was in the hospital for
one or two days, then he died," continues Gutierrez. "There's video of
that. But last year they closed the case, and no one was held
accountable."
Hernandez was caught attempting
to cross the border illegally in 2010. Though previously deported, he
had been living in San Diego for about 20 years and his wife and family
still resided in the U.S. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide, but no charges were ever filed.
Protesters gathered at Larsen
Field Park in San Ysidro before embarking on their march. They called
for the use of body cameras by border agents, in addition to other
reforms they say the federal government has been resistant to despite
years of pleas. Their sense of urgency was elevated, they say, because
of the ascension of Donald Trump as the country's president-elect.
"Because of the election, a lot
of people are living in fear because of the things Donald Trump has
said he's going to do around the border. We're sending the message that
we will not live in fear; we will not get used to this."
