FREE//GRATUITO
Published by Acción Latina
eltecolote.org
Marzo 24-Abril 6, 2016
Vol. 46 No. 6
Coalitions unite behind Nieto family in wake of verdict Coaliciones unidas con los Nieto, en espera del veredicto
Alejandro Galicia Díaz El Tecolote
T
he three coalitions representing Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez and Mario Woods held a news conference Friday, March 18 on the front steps of City Hall to call for an end to San Francisco police brutality. The news conference came just eight days after an eightperson federal jury—without a single black or Latino juror—exonerated Lt. Jason Sawyer, and officers Richard Schiff, Nathan Chew and Roger Morse, ruling that they had not used excessive force in shooting Nieto 59 times. But what had further enraged the community was a Facebook comment in response to a story about the ruling made by officer Morse a few hours after the verdict was announced. “Smiling. Ugh how about burning down his house and tazing (sic) his friend who pressed charges,” read Morse’s post. Morse’s comment appears to reference two incidents, the first stemming from August 2011 when Nieto set a book on fire in his parents home, and the second from a restraining order which was filed after a March 5, 2014 incident where Nieto attacked former friend Arthur Vega with a Taser. “The police department owes us an apology,” said District 11 Supervisor John Avalos. “They owe us many apologies, but the latest apology they owe us is the posting that Officer Morse made. Hours after the voting, he’s posting inflammatory remarks on Facebook as if nothing ever happened, as if he had no guilt whatsoever. There should be some disciplinary action against him.” More than 200 people showed up in support of the Nieto family that morning, many of whom were holding signs and posters with the faces of the young men who have been killed at the hands of law enforcement. As the sun shined over the steps of City Hall, many felt the lingering pain from the verdict. “It impacts me in the sense that this is my community. This city means a lot to me, and this is my family,” Catherine Bocog, a San Francisco native, said through tears. “There’s not a word in the dictionary that I can use to put that feeling, to put those emotions in one word, I just can’t describe it.” The painful ordeal for the Ni-
La madre de Alejandro Nieto, Elvira, se dirige a la multitud en las escalinatas del ayuntamiento el 18 de marzo, durante la reunión de las tres agrupaciones que representan a Nieto, Amilcar Pérez-López y Mario Woods, en la cual anunciaron su fusión. “Quiero agradecer a todos en la comunidad que han estado con nosotros desde el primer día, y que continuamos en solidaridad”, dijo la señora Elvira. Alejandro Nieto’s mother, Elvira, addresses the crowd on the steps of City Hall on March 18, where the three coalitions representing Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez and Mario Woods announced a merger. “I want to thank everybody in the community who’s been with us from day one, and that we go forward in solidarity,” Elvira said. Photo Alejandro Galicia Diaz eto family began on the evening of March 21, 2014, when Nieto, a 28-year-old man, was fatally shot at Bernal Heights Park. According to SFPD, officers shot at Nieto at least 48 times after they thought he had pointed a handgun at them. Nieto was actually carrying a Taser, issued him as a security guard, the night of the shooting. However, according to Nieto’s legal team, Nieto never pointed his Taser at police, and was shot at 59 times. The three coalitions that called the news conference on Friday used the opportunity to announce their merger in an effort to fight for justice. “This is a historic and profound press conference,” said Bay Area Minister of the Nation of Islam, Christopher Muhammad. “This press conference has now married the struggle, the sacrifice, the sacred blood of Mario Woods, Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez, Kenneth Harding Jr. and a host of others that are unnamed but not forgotten.”
Inside /// al interior
• Fight for ethnic
studies continues, pg. 7
• Lucha de Estudios Étnicos continúa, p. 7
Alejandro Galicia Diaz El Tecolote
L
Screenshot of officer Roger Morse’s Facebook comment on March 10, 2016. Courtesy of KeepHoodsYours’ Instagram In the midst of all of the emotions, tears, roars, cheers, jeers and applauses, Elvira Nieto, Alex’s mother, got in front of the See coalition page 5
os tres grupos que representan a Alex Nieto, Amilcar Pérez-López y Mario Woods, llamaron a conferencia de prensa el viernes 18 marzo en la entrada al ayuntamiento para pedir el fin a la brutalidad policía de San Francisco. La conferencia de prensa se produjo apenas ocho días después de que un jurado federal integrado por ocho personas, entre ellas ninguno negro o latino —exoneraran al teniente Jason Sawyer y los oficiales Richard Schiff, Nathan Chew y Roger Morse, dictaminando que no habían usado ejercido la fuerza excesiva al disparar en cincuenta y nueve ocasiones a Nieto. Pero lo que enfureció aún más la comunidad fue un comentario en Facebook en respuesta a la decisión, hecho por el oficial Morse pocas horas después de haber sido anunciado el veredicto: “Sonriente. Uf, qué tal quemar su
casa y tazing (sic) a su amigo que presentó cargos”, dice la publicación de Morse. “El departamento de policía nos debe una disculpa”, dijo el Supervisor del Distrito 11 John Avalos. “Nos deben muchas disculpas, pero la última que nos deben es sobre la publicación de Morse. Horas después de la votación, que está publicando comentarios incendiarios en Facebook como si nada hubiera pasado, como si no tuviera culpa alguna. Debe haber algún tipo de intervención disciplinaria contra él”. Más de doscientas personas se presentaron en apoyo a la familia Nieto por la mañana, muchos de los cuales sostenían letreros y carteles con los rostros de los jóvenes que han perdido la vida a manos de las fuerzas del orden público. A medida que el sol brillaba sobre las escaleras del ayuntamiento, muchos sintieron el dolor persistente del veredicto. Vea NIETO, página 5
• Campos confronts
• Stuggle for transgender
• Campos enfrenta
• Sigue la lucha de
SF’s homeless crisis, pg. 9
la crisis de los indigentes, p. 9
restroom access continues, pg. 10
estudiantes transgénero por acceso a sanitarios, p. 10