Autopsy Shows Police Shot Latinx Teen In The Back 5 Times
Andres Guardado, 18, was shot five times in the back by a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy last month, according to an independent autopsy report his family released Wednesday.
“Our son did not deserve to die this way,” the teen’s parents said in a statement, per NBC News. They said the autopsy report confirmed “what we have known all along, which is that Andres was unjustifiably killed by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.”
The family is demanding that the sheriff’s department release the official medical examiner’s report, which the sheriff’s department has put under a “security hold.”
LA County Sheriff’s Department Cmdr. Chris Marks said in a press conference Wednesday that the hold will stay in place until the investigation concludes. Marks said sheriff’s investigators have not yet interviewed the officer who shot Guardado, but the officer is “scheduled to be” interviewed.
“Andres was a good boy, he was our son and he had so much life ahead of him,” his parents said in the statement. “We want answers.”
Police shot and killed Guardado on June 18 near an auto body shop in Gardena, a city in LA County. The sheriff’s department claimed Guardado “produced a firearm” and ran away from police, who then ran after him and shot him dead.
The teen’s family disputes that account. Their attorney told reporters last week that they do not believe Guardado had a gun and don’t know “how and why” police found a handgun at the scene or “who it belonged to.”
Guardado was a student at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and was working two jobs while dreaming of becoming a registered nurse.
Last month, California Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters and Nanette Diaz Barragán urged California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to investigate Guardado’s shooting.
“Another day, and another Black or Brown kid has been shot in the back by police,” the congresswomen wrote. “These killings must stop. We demand it. The American people demand it.”
Becerra’s office told HuffPost that in Guardado’s case, which it noted is being investigated by local authorities, it is “not aware of information at this time indicating that an additional separate investigation and review by our office is required.”
Guardado’s autopsy report was released amid nationwide protests against racism and police brutality that have been ongoing since police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
Last week, the families of two other young Latino men — Sean Monterrosa, 22, and Erik Salgado, 23 — demanded justice after law enforcement shot the men dead in the San Francisco Bay Area just days apart in June. The men’s loved ones rallied to demand legal consequences for the officers involved. Both families also called for Becerra to investigate the shootings.
“We are sick and tired of murderers being on the force and still getting paid, yet no convictions,” Michelle Monterrosa, Sean’s sister, said in a video after the rally that was provided to HuffPost.
“We want justice. We want convictions, too,” said Amanda Majail-Blanco, Salgado’s sister. “They robbed them of their future.”
Related...
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Community Wants Answers After LA Deputies Fatally Shoot Teen Who Ran From Them
Families Demand Justice In California Police Killings Of Young Latino Men
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
