- Police Brutality Watch

Latino community leaders and other activists on Thursday called for an independent investigation in the death of Jose Antonio Rodriguez, who died after being arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers earlier this year. During a tense community meeting attended by 70 people at the LAPD Academy in Elysian Park, community leaders urged police officials to address Rodriguez's death the same way they have handled the recent televised beating of car theft suspect Stanley Miller. "We need a thorough and fair investigation," said Arturo Ybarra, a member of the Latino Community Forum, a group that meets regularly with police to discuss Latino issues. Lenore Solis, another member of the Latino Community Forum, made the same request. "All I've wanted ... is just to find out what happened," Solis said. "Tell us what happened, because the rumors are rampant in the community." [more]