Salinas Police shooting of Mentally Ill Latino Man case deserves another look
Monday, January 17, 2005 at 12:42AM
TheSpook
Bolstered by the recommendations of the 2004 Monterey County Grand Jury
report, a civil rights group intends to move its pursuit of justice in
a Salinas police shooting case forward. Despite absolution from the
county district attorney, who ruled that a police officer was justified
in using lethal force in the May 16, 2003, shooting of Robert Anthony
Carrillo, questions remain. The grand jury thought so, as still do
members of the public. Perhaps another look at the case at a higher
level of the justice system is in order. Maybe it can finally determine
if the conclusions reached in the death of a Salinas resident at the
hands of police were appropriate. Either way, the grand jury seems to
have heard the voices urging further investigation in the Carrillo
case. The grand jury went back 15 years and looked into several
incidents where deadly force was used against mentally ill people.
Among its recommendations was that a county mental health professional
be on hand to assist police when needed. Members of the Civil Rights
Coalition and the Salinas Valley League of United Latin American
Citizens applauded the grand jury's conclusion that Carrillo's death
was preventable. Carrillo's family maintains he was mentally ill when a
Salinas police officer fatally shot him after the suspect had stabbed a
police dog. The K-9, Klief, died the next day. After an internal
inquiry by Salinas police, the district attorney concluded the officer
was justified in shooting Carrillo. Carrillo's family is suing the
Salinas Police Department. [more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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