For Immediate Release: February 24, 2021
Contact: Board@leedfilipino
Press Release: LEAD Filipino Demands Justice for Angelo Quinto
San Jose, CA – The Board, organizers, members and families of LEAD Filipino in the strongest terms denounce the actions of the Antioch Police Department (APD) and demand Justice for Angelo Quinto.
Angelo Quinto was a 30-year-old Filipino man (son, brother, cousin and friend) that was senselessly murdered by Antioch police officers on December 23, 2020. He was a former Navy Seal that had recently suffered a head injury.
He was experiencing a mental health crisis when his sister dialed 911 to seek safety and de-escalation for her brother. When the Antioch police officers arrived to the scene, Angelo’s mother Maria Quinto-Collins had returned from work and calmed her son.
The police officers immediately apprehended Angelo, who was unarmed and compliant, threw him onto the floor, and proceeded to handcuff and contort his legs behind his body. While subduing him, another officer crushed Angelo with a knee-to-neck restraint for 5 minutes, ignoring his family’s pleas to relent.
Angelo fell unconscious, blood pouring from his mouth, and died 3 days later on December 26, 2020.
As of February 24, the APD has not released the names of the officers involved.
We stand in solidarity with the Quinto-Collins family and call for a series of immediate actions by the APD:
- That the APD ends knee-to-neck restraints.
- Hold the officers accountable for excessive use of force.
- Require APD to wear body cameras and use dash cameras.
- Invest in mental health response teams.
- Cut the police budget by an amount commensurate with the work they will no longer perform.
LEAD Filipino is a community organization based in San Jose that works to increase the representation of Filipinx Americans in civic leadership and public policy advocacy. The organization provides year-round programs to build community and encourage learning, promote Filipinx Studies, and advance state legislation focused on Education, Electoral Reform, Human Services, and Civil Rights.
To read more about LEAD Filipino, please visit LEADFilipino.org.
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Community Letter: http://tinyurl.com/justice4angeloquinto
Petition: http://change.org/justice4angeloquinto
Facebook: http://facebook.com/groups/justiceforangeloquinto
Instagram: @justiceforangeloquinto
