On Wednesday, June 23, 2021 we joined hundreds of community members in honoring the life of Angelo Quinto.
His family laid him to rest exactly six months after he succumbed to injuries sustained during his fatal interaction with Antioch police officers. May he finally rest in peace.
However, justice delayed is justice denied.
We continue to hold his family – Tita Cassandra, Tito Robert, Bella, Tita Deanna – in our hands, minds, and hearts. His family knows that they aren’t alone through this tragedy despite being called “liars” by their local Police Officers Association (POA).
Our peaceful assembly ended with with public demands addressed to the Antioch Police Department (APD). We lost Angelo six months ago.
His family still has no answers from the APD. They know what the public knows – what can be searched on Google – and we both know that is morally despicable. Angelo’s family deserves closure – they have the right to know the official cause of his death.
Angelo’s final autopsy report does not list a cause of death. We in the community know that he was killed by the brute force of a knee-to-neck restraint used by the police that night. The same lethal hold that killed George Floyd.
Nothing will bring Angelo back. However, there is respite and power in strategizing and organizing to ensure that no one else succumbs to aimless, depraved, and wicked police violence. Assembly Bill (AB) 49, The Justice for Angelo Quinto Act of 2021 would ban all positional asphyxia in California. Our Coalition continues to drive this state bill through the legislative process, where it is currently being heard in the State Senate Committee process.
Send healers to rehabilitate our communities. Reallocate funding to services that strengthen our social safety net. Believe that most people just want to survive and feel love. Know that we will provide for each other.
Nothing will bring Angelo back to us, but we will continue to advocate and organize through the Justice for Angelo Quinto! Justice for All! Coalition to ensure the passage of AB 490 and prevent future ruthless murders.
Help us pass AB 490 and a series of other police accountability bills in California!
Contact us to receive updates on our future virtual organizing sessions: angelica@leadfilipino.org.
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