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South Bay | Police State and PrisonsJustice for the Custodio Family Now
The San José Police Department is again being charged with police brutality and racial profiling: Filipino organizations, youth groups, and a growing movement for police accountability rallied outside the San José Superior Court "Hall of Justice" demanding justice for Marlo, Romel, and Marilou Custodio, three Evergreen Valley residents being charged with resisting arrest during a February 5 incident. Speakers at the press conference included Marlo himself, an attorney working with the family (Richard Honda), an uncle, and members of MALAYA, Silicon Valley DeBug, MAIZ, the Filipino Youth Coalition, the National Hip Hop Congress, and other organizations. Their statements are below, in MP3 format.
"Eight police officers participated in the beatings and two officers observed. Examples of use of excessive force include: One officer slammed Marilou's head against a police car three times. Marilou suffers post-traumatic anxiety due to the police beating. She is a single mother. Five officers swarmed, tackled, and brutalized Romel. Already pacified, Romel was still tasered with three weapons for 40 seconds (over the usual time limit) and had to seek medical treatment for physical injury and taser burns. One officer choked and tasered Marlo even while he was following police orders; afterwards, another officer kneed Marlo in the face" (from a flier circulated at the press conference). San Jose's police force has been under the spotlight lately--with major news media stories on racial profiling of the Latino population, a well-publicized and successful Copwatch on Cinco de Mayo, and a strong effort to survive the painfully-slow process of the Human Relations Commission in order to institutionalize *some* kind of oversight for the SJPD.
"SJPD you can't hide--we charge you with genocide"
"SJPD Respect Our Families!"
The press conference began with Rowena from MALAYA, a Filipina organization, and continued with lawyer Richard Honda, pictured above.
Check out what the community has to say about yet another incident of police brutality against communities of color in San Jo. "We are tired of being victimized... we are tired of all the abuse, all the racial profiling that is going on," says David Madrid from Silicon Valley DeBug.
Several organizations are supporting the Custodio family in their navigation of the "justice" system. Representatives of MAIZ and the Filipino Youth Coalition spoke about how police brutality affects our communities.
A copwatcher's message: standing together across racial lines to combat racial profiling and police brutality
Annie from MALAYA speaks with outrage at a human rights violation and voices the demands of the family. Marlo Custodio (age 18) gives thanks for community support.
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