Sunday
Mar202005
Miami Police Shooting Of Mentally Ill Latino Man Raises Questions
Sunday, March 20, 2005 at 09:50AM 
The family of a man killed by a police officer says that the mentally ill 31-year-old was off medication and was having a manic episode. Caeser Rada's family says the actor was mentally ill, but was unarmed when he was shot and killed Officer Jeffrey Price, 24, shot and killed Cesar Rada, a psychology student and aspiring actor on Sunday night at his home on Southwest 59th Terrace near 89th Avenue. Cesar's family said he was bipolar. His father, Augusto Rada, said he has had to call police in the past for trouble with his mentally ill son. Augusto Rada said Caeser Rada was agitated but unarmed when the officer arrived at the home on Southwest 59th Terrace near 89th Avenue. Police had been called after a family argument had become violent, according to witnesses. A witness said that Caeser Rada said, "Shoot me. Shoot me," as he walked toward Price, who had pulled his service revolver. The witness said Rada kept walking toward the officer until Price's gun was against his chest. Price then shot Rada three times. Rada's father and other witnesses said he was not armed. Rada's father said his son put his hands up and continued walking toward the officer shouting, "What? You going to shoot me? Go ahead, shoot me!" Augusto Rada said he heard gunshots when his son was about three feet away from the officer. The elder Rada said he tried to jump in between the two men to protect his son. "I fell and thought I got shot too," he recalled. "I jumped on top of my son and I looked down. I knew they killed him right there." Rada was shot in the chest and neck area, his father said. [more] and [more]
Reader Comments (3)
THE RIGHT TO LIVE
THE RIGHT TO LIVE
My name is Beatriz Luis Garcia, I am the mother of Leonardo, LEO.
On the afternoon of January 16, 2004, my 17 year old son "Leonardo Barquin", left my house and has not returned. It's horrible for a mother to wake up each day and not have her son, we're not prepared to say goodbye to them first.
He and a friend together jumped the fence of a house, the police say it was for robbery, but when they caught them, they had nothing, they were without cars or bikes, they were walking, it was one o'clock in the afternoon, and they didn't break any windows to enter the house. I think as teenagers, they were up to some mischief, their first mischief, and the devil crossed their path.
If "Leonardo Barquin" was doing something incorrect, he should've been placed in front of a jury for them to decide his sentence. "Jorge Espinosa" couldn't have killed him, or beat him then, he's a murderer, not a police officer, the boy was unarmed.
This Metro Dade police officer named "Jorge Espinosa" with records of "police brutality", shot my son in the back three times and beat him to the point where his casket could not be opened at the funeral because he was so disfigured. After he shot him, he beat him in his face and all over his body. They put more than 60 transfusions of blood in the boy and he died alone in the hospital six hours later because no one called me. In spite of knowing his name, the police never called me and he died alone in the hospital. This murderer's name is "Jorge Espinosa", he is armed and walking the streets because the criminal department determined that the murder was justified. I ask myself if they would've taken different measures with this man's history of police brutality, if my son would still be here? Who's going to answer when this man does it again? But there will be justice, this man will not remain unpunished. This is the first step of many to come, for example my constant denouncement that this man named "Jorge Espinosa" is still on the streets with a weapon in his hand. This murderer took from me the most valuable thing in my life and for the rest of his, I will be here to call him a murderer and to fight for justice for this man, because if God wants to have justice in the sky, he can, but here, on the ground, who is in charge is ME.
UNTIL WHEN?
THIS IS A DENOUNCEMENT
It has now been 18 months since my son has gone and each day is worse. The pain has grown with time, today hurts more than yesterday, the loss of a son has no consolation, and even more when a murderer takes him.
How do you stop this brutality? Who gives this power to the police to take justice in their hands? Or is it that they have the license to kill?
There will be justice and all the weight of the law will fall on this murderer. The laws have to be stricter against police when they commit these atrocities that is why you must denounce the brutalities. Not only is it brutal to kill, but to stop you for a ticket and verbally assault you, we have rights and they cannot do that. It has been 14 months that a Hialeah police officer brutally beat Osiel Santana, he too was unarmed like my son. He died a few hours later in the hospital. Among the things the police say, now they say that he beat himself in spite of being handcuffed. It has been two years now that the Sweetwater police almost beat to death Peter Daniel. Fortunately, this boy is alive but he lost part of his liver and each day he wakes up he sees a scar that runs along his body of almost 100 stitches in length. A few months ago, the case of Cesar Augusto Rada, a young man, 31 years old, who was studying psychology, was a model, was shot in his chest by a police officer standing in front of his house, in front of his father. I ask myself, do the police have this right, always alleging that their lives are in danger? Through this email we can make denouncements, we need to unite. We have to remember that in groups there is power and together we can make a difference and construct a better future for our children. The mothers cannot remain quiet, they have to denounce when their son is mistreated or offended by a police officer, they cannot do that, they are not justice, they don't have the right to abuse and kill our children.
leonardobarquin@yahoo.com
NO MORE POLICE BRUTALITY
YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS, WE LOVE YOU
"Leonardo Barquin", 17 years old, who was unarmed, was a loving boy and a good boy. We all miss him very much, mainly his seven and eight year old brothers. They are the ones who keep me alive. Every night they pray for him and they say that now, in our home, lives an ANGEL. It's very difficult to continue living after this pain, the heart can hurt, it's not an expression, one’s life leaves them.
THE LOVE LIVES FOREVER IN OUR MEMORIES AND THOUGHTS. BECAUSE IN OUR HEARTS, OUR LOVED ONES WILL BE WITH US EACH DAY.
WORDS DO NO EXIST, NOR TEARS, THAT CAN EXPLAIN THIS PAIN.
I ONLY HAVE A PIECE OF MY HEART LEFT.
I LOVE YOU FOREVER, MY BABY.
FROM, YOUR MOTHER.
LEONARDO BARQUIN
APRIL 16, 1986- JANUARY 16, 2004
On my way to work I almost was arrested and beatened up by the Chief of the Traffic Division for the Miami police Department. He was off duty driving his Porche blocking traffic while he was on his cell phone and not knowing who he was I , after waiting several minutes beeped my horn at him only to watch this man go into a total road rage. He cursed constantly , threatned to arrest and beat me up.
He forcefully held against my will for over 45 minutes while he had me sitting on the side walk awaiting arrival of his henchmen who gave me a ticket for blowing my horn but only after they cursed, pushed me to the ground, and attempted to provoke me to say or do something unlawful. I sat through this shame and humiliation while people watched, although they kept their distance the witnesses made hand signs that they would stay there until it was over .
I can not beieve this happens and after filing a formal complaint with CIP (Internal Affairs) and talking to a few people I learned that this is the norm as rather than the exception and I am appalled. I can imagine what people less fortunate than me go through. I am legally very clean and this and a calm attitude on my part helped me to get through it without getting physically hurt or arrested. I was really scared. I thought that they were going to plant drugs or something ... they were really going out of their way to hurt me. The officers were all Cuban and so am I.
I was pushed to the floor and manhandled and they would get 2-3 inches from my face and call me a fucking fagot and asshole and cocksucker too along with many other words non-stop. I could not believe I was in the USA. I am still in shock.
David Olsen from the Miami Herald is running a story next week. I plan to persue justice and get these officers off the department. I am risking my peace as they threatned me with harm if I filed a complaint. I thought about forgetting about it but I am sick to my stomach and I can't take it what they have done to me and I can not allow them to do this to others. I have been told by many people that this is very common within the Miami Police.