Statement On The Riverside Sheriff Killing Of Annette Garcia
On Wednesday, January 21, 2009, a Riverside County Sheriff, in cold blood, killed Annette Garcia, a mother of three children. Shot in the back, in front of her family and neighbors, her death is one of dozens of killings of Mexicano/Raza and other oppressed people by so-called law enforcement officers and racist vigilantes every year within the borders of the United States.
Unión del Barrio, an organization committed to the struggle for justice and liberation of all oppressed people, is outraged and stands in full support of Annette Garcia’s family and friends, and the Brown Berets de Aztlán, in their call for the immediate arrest of her killer and in their efforts to end the police terrorizing of the Mexican and Indigenous communities.
We understand that the killing of Annette Garcia is indicative of the complete disregard that the police and racist elements within the United States have for the lives of Mexicanos and other oppressed/poor people. Historically, the murder of Mexicanos/Raza has been a form of terror utilized to keep our communities silent and in fear, as a means to oppress and exploit us. The killing of Annette Garcia is one more example of this strategy of terror and oppression.
We are asking our membership to support the mobilization called for by the Brown Berets de Aztlán and to assist in any way they can.
Unidos Venceremos
Central Committee
Unión del Barrio