San Antonio, Texas — Another young brown person has been shot to death by the police. This time it was a 13-year-old, a young Mexicano, Andre “AJ” Hernandez, who was killed in San Antonio, Texas, on June 3, 2022.
Despite their overwhelming grief, A.J.’s family came together and joined forces with ACT 4 SA, an anti-police brutality organization, to demand justice.
On Thursday, June 9, ACT 4 SA and AJ’s family, along with supporters, held a press conference in front of police headquarters to shine a light on the case.
A.J. was allegedly driving a stolen vehicle when the police pulled him over on June 3. The police say that an officer shot AJ while he was in his car because the cops “feared for their safety” after the young boy allegedly drove the car into a police cruiser.
Speakers at the press conference noted that AJ’s case is especially offensive in light of the recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. There, 19 school children and two adults were shot and killed when police were too afraid to enter the school during an active shooting.
A representative of “All of Us or None of Us”, Steven Huerta, said at the conference, “The police have no problem shooting down brown and black kids in the streets, but yet they were too scared to go into the school in Uvalde resulting in 19 children dying.”
ACT 4 SA is demanding that the body camera footage be released to the family. Ananda Thomas, Director of ACT 4 SA stated that they want the “full footage released” and not just the “edited and narrated versions that the police department typically releases.”
Other discrepancies in the case were revealed at the press conference. Thomas raised doubts about whether the officers were really in danger. She told the press that “eyewitness reports in the news stated that the police cruiser barely had any scratches or dents on it.” AJ was unarmed.
What seems to have happened is that when police attempted to stop AJ’s car, it crashed into a marked SAPD patrol car in the scuffle. It was then that a police officer, “fearing that the other officer would be struck” by the car driven by Hernandez, fired into the car and hit the boy, Thomas reported.
A witness in the neighborhood told the press that the police completely overreacted and hardly attended to AJ after he was shot. (San Antonio Express News June 4)
On June 7 the Express News wrote that “according to the SAPD manual, officers are barred from shooting into a vehicle, except when they are facing the deadly force.”
A dent in a police car can hardly count as “deadly force.”
Lynda Espinoza and other family members did not wish to speak during the press conference, deferring to Tomas. But this writer had a chance to speak to Ms. Espinoza at a fundraiser later that week.
At a hot dog sale, the family had in a park to raise funds for AJ’s burial, Ms. Espinoza was at a loss for words. When asked how best people can help she said the main thing at the moment is to help cover burial costs. Supporters can visit the site GoFundMe to donate desperately needed funds.
“AJ was known for being funny and a jokester,” Tomas concluded at the press conference. “He was a 13-year-old with a full life ahead of him.”
Once again, the actions of the police, as with those who killed Sandra Bland, George Floyd, and countless others, took life away unjustly and unfairly.
This article was written by Teresa Gutierrez, resident of San Antonio, Texas.
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