10 minute read
City Voices
FIRST PERSON
Searching for justice for Travis Monroe
Advertisement
WILLIAM S. COLEMAN III AND JENNA FITZGERALD
There could never be something more painful than the loss of a loved one.
Every day someone will get a call that a relative has passed or has gone missing.
Christie Berry, the mother of Travis Monroe, a 17-year-old young Black teenager, who in 2006 never returned home from a night out with friends, has experienced this nightmare. Christie Berry has been fighting to seek the truth and justice for her son Travis since that October night in 2006. In a heartfelt SUBMITTED PHOTO article she wrote for the Incity Times, she discussed the injustice she has experienced, discrepancies within his investigation conveniently labeled as “Administrative issues,” issues with chain of command, following appropriate protocols, prejudice, victim-blaming — which is apparent in the language used in police reports to pull accountability away from whomever did this to Travis and place it on Travis himself — and the way those within this system are protected more than those this system were sworn to protect.
Travis was a good student who attended Burncoat High School. He had dreams of becoming a lawyer and was well respected by his peers and friends. Travis was often looked at as the mediator between his peers if there was a problem.
Travis was never a problem child. He did not drink or do drugs, made good decisions, and was a great son whose life was cut short at 17.
Someone knows something about what happened to Travis Monroe. We are asking you to please come forward and clear your conscience to allow his mother, his family, friends and community justice and closure.If you know anything at all of what happened to Travis that night in 2006, say something.
We reached out to both the Worcester Police Department and The office of District Attorney Joe Early Jr for an official statement on
WORCESTER MAGAZINE’S LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
Letters to the editor are a great way to share your thoughts and opinions with thousands of readers and online viewers each week. There is no word limit, but we reserve the right to edit for length, so brevity is your friend. If handwritten, write legibly - if we cannot read it, we are not running it. A full name and town or city of residence are required. Please include an email address or phone number for verification purposes only. That information will not be published. Make sure your letter makes it into Worcester Magazine in a timely fashion — send it in by the Monday of the next issue. Please note that letters will run as space allows. Send them to Worcester Magazine, 100 Front St., 5th Floor, Worcester, MA 01608 or by email to WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com.
the Travis Monroe case.
The District Attorney’s office and the Worcester Police Department, through Walter Bird of the City Manager’s office, have both stated that this is still an open investigation and they invite anyone who has any knowledge of what may have happened to Travis to come forward and contact them.
There are many unsolved homicide cases in Worcester County. Help fromthe public is needed to bring justice and closure to the
Christie Berry, the mother of Travis Monroe, a Worcester teen who was found dead in the roadway on Fales Street on October 1, 2006, with a large collage of photos and mementos of her son, which was put together by neighbors and friends for her.
FILE PHOTO/BETTY JENEWIN
families of lost ones.
If you have any information or know someone that does, please contact the Worcester Police Department or the District Attorney’s Office.
WPD: http:worcesterma.gov/ police/investigations/unresolvedcases. You can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or send an anonymous web-based message. Calls can also be made to theWorcester PoliceDetective Bureau at (508) 799-8651.
Worcester County District
Attorney’s office: Phone:(508) 755-8601 or https://worcesterda. com.
WORCESTERIA
Temper COVID antibody expectations
VEER MUDAMBI AND VICTOR D. INFANTE
RAY OF LIGHT: As of Aug. 19, Worcester had 5,716 confirmed COVID-19 cases, having gone up by 69 from the previous week. For once though, this was tempered by the first bit of hopeful coronavirus news to come out of Worcester in a while. Researchers at Worcester’s UMass Medi- cal School announced last week they had discovered antibodies that could protect the respiratory system from COVID-19. Since severe lung damage and reduced capacity are one of the hallmarks of the virus, this is understandably welcome news. We’ve all seen the infamous crushed glass lung X-rays. The antibodies are the result of research from 16 years ago meant to combat the 2004 SARS outbreak. However, SARS faded before clinical trials could begin, but the antibodies were frozen. As SARS and COVID are both coronaviruses, the project was reopened earlier this year. MassBiologics of UMass was able to build on the previous research for this latest breakthrough, antibodies that coat mucosal surfaces (like the respiratory tract) to prevent pathogens from binding to host cells. In short, it could be a key step toward an effective vaccine. Don’t get me wrong, this is great. But let’s not get too excited thinking a vaccine is right around the corner and we’ll all be heading out to the bar in a couple of months. This is promising news but we have heard a lot of that during this pandemic and none of it has yet to pan out. The novel coronavirus still has plenty of novelty, unfortunately. The medical community is learning about this virus as we fight it. While we’ve learned a lot, it’s by no means everything, especially considering how much we thought we knew that turned out to be wrong. In the beginning, we thought it was most harmful to the elderly and young people would only get flu-like symptoms. That was wrong. We thought that young children couldn’t get it or spread it. That was wrong. We thought having it once granted permanent immunity — also wrong (though you might have a three-month grace period so there’s that). Again, this news is reason for hope — but possibly seeing the light at the end doesn’t mean we’re out of the tunnel. (VM)
THE “I’s” HAVE IT: In last week’s Worcesteria, I made an error, inferring that Worcester City Councilor Kate Toomey was endorsing Paul M. DePalo in the Democratic primary for Governor’s Council. She wrote a polite email to inform me that she is not, that it is Katie Toomey, Register of Deeds, who is endorsing DePalo, and that the councilor is endorsing his opponent, Padraic Rafferty. Obviously, the difference between the two names is a single “i,” but it underscores a couple of important revelations: 1.) As the councilor pointed out in her email, this is important because early voting has already started; 2.) Literally no one else but me is writing about the primary challenge for the Governor’s Council, which makes even the tiniest error significant; and 3.) Before this, I was not entirely aware that Kate Toomey and Katie Toomey were different people. I mean, if you had asked me, I would have thought that it was odd that a city councilor was also the Register of Deeds, but not so odd that I would have pondered it much, all of which goes to prove that more general awareness of the less “glamorous” elected positions is needed, even among those of us who should know better. (VI)
IT’S ALL IN THE TIMING: Sure, everyone says no one cared about the new WooSox hats and jerseys last week, but we’ve seen the web demo- graphics on that story, and know it drew a lot of eyeballs. Blogger and Al Southwick Super Fan Nicole Apostola also noticed that, taking to Twit- ter to note: “Ask yourself: why would the WooSox have a press conference (the second in less than a week) mere minutes before a very important Public Safety hearing about police CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Worcester Historical Museum program revisits Cristino Hernandez slaying
VEER MUDAMBI
In the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the recent shooting just this past Sunday of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin and other incidents, the nation has faced a reckoning on race relations and police brutality, one that’s renewed scrutiny on older cases.
On Aug. 27, the Worcester Historical Museum, together with the Latino History Project of Worcester, will host a virtual presentation discussing one such case — the 1993 killing of Cristino Hernandez by Worcester police. The presentation is free but prior registration is required for the ZOOM link.
Cristino Hernandez, a Salvadoran immigrant, was arrested by two police officers in July 1993 and severely beaten, according to accounts in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the Los Angeles Times. He died of his injuries 10 days later. A portion of the incident was captured on video, sparking comparisons to the infamous Rodney King tape.
The judge at the inquest deemed that there was use of excessive force but cleared both police officers of criminal wrongdoing in the case. An internal police investigation had claimed that Hernandez died of other factors, similar to the argument put forward in the immediate aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. Both officers who had been placed on paid leave were reinstated.
The event is not about making accusations but more about an account of what happened from the Latino perspective. Other perspectives have been presented but the LHPW felt it was vitally important for the Latino perspective to be put forward, as well as remind the public that police brutality has been going on for years and can happen anywhere. It is meant as a reminder of the fact that systemic racism exists and it doesn’t just affect black people, but affects Latinos and other people of color as well.
The event will be moderated by Professor Aldo Garcia Guevara, professor of history at Worcester State University. Speakers will be Santos Escobar and Ricky Escobar, eyewitness and family member, respectively, attorney Hector E. Pineiro, police officer turned civil rights lawyer Joseph Hennessy and Judge Margaret R. Guzman.
The Escobars are father and son and Thursday’s event will mark the first time that either of them has spoken in public about the incident. Judge Guzman and Pineiro knew Hernandez as well, Guzman having once been his public defender while Pinero represented Hernandez’s family following his death.
What happened to Mr. Floyd, “is exactly the way Mr. Hernandez was murdered,” said Maritza Cruz, director of racial and gender equity at the YWCA of Central Mass.,
Protesters march in 1993 to protest the death of Cristino Hernandez after an arrest by Worcester police.
FILE PHOTO/JIM COLLINS
as well as founding member of the LHPW. History has a way of repeating itself, especially when forgotten, she continued. Minority groups, often overlooked in public discourse, are especially vulnerable to this. The goal of the presentation
WORCESTERIA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
body cameras? And what have you seen more #Worcester press outlets/reporters tweeting about today?” She makes a good point. The city and its partners need to make sure these things are spaced, because, honestly, we’re still mostly in lockdown and have very few TV viewing options. If we’ve already seen last week’s “Chopped,” we might as well Zoom in for municiis to give the Latino community a voice for the first time on a deeply scarring event.
anyone defining us.” pal business. That said, there was no shortage of attention on both the meeting and the subject. In addition to the Telegram’s coverage, DefundWPD live tweeted the hearing in exhaustive detail, and former synth player for the darkwave band The Oracle turned political blogger Bill Shaner has put forth a pretty compelling “Case Against Body Cameras.” With an $11 million price tag, there’s sure to be plenty of scrutiny. (VI)
3 UNITS REMAIN IN PHASE IV one Single Level and two Double Level (dbl. level units have first-floor master & laundry) Still time to make selections, 2 units can be completed in 2-3 months
