Stop ignoring the police killings of Latinos

*This is a very good read, it delves into the history of police violence against Latinos and the reasons that it doesn’t get the same media attention as police shootings against blacks. It’s a comprehensive piece, worth the read. VL


By Aron G. Fountain, Aljazeera Aamerica

The killing of 17-year-old Jessica Hernandez in Denver was one of the most notorious incidents of police shootings last year. Hernandez was shot four times after she allegedly drove a stolen car toward an officer. Her death sparkedpublic outcry and protests, but the national media largely ignored the story.

The lack of national media attention to Hernandez’s death was not surprising. Police kill Latinos at a higher rate than whites. Latinos were the second largest group killed by police in 2015 after blacks. The Guardian documented194 killings but that number could be higher if all deaths were counted and if Hispanic were classified as a race. It is possible that several Latino deaths were added to white and black categories.

But few police shootings of Latinos make national headlines. The lack of national attention and outrage stems from the poor understanding of the history of state violence against them in the United States.

Police shootings of Latinos have generated outrage in Latino communities for decades, but this history tends to be ignored. For example, the Latino community in Denver has organized against police brutality since the 1960s, but the sparse coverage of Hernandez’s death lacked this historical context.

Click HERE to read the full story.


[Screenshot of Pasco incident from YouTube]

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