Amilcar Perez-Lopez was a 21-year-old man from Guatemala, living and working in the Mission District. Amilcar and his household were facing eviction at the end of March. On February 26, plain clothes SFPD officers Craig Tiffe and Eric Reboli shot and killed Amilcar between two parked cars. In their public campaign to justify the death of Amilcar, the police have stated he was in the process of stealing a bicycle. This claim is called into question by a number of witnesses, some who say the cyclist had stolen Amilcar's phone. Witnesses have reported being intimidated and bullied by SFPD since Amilcar's murder.

Friends, neighbors, and community members held a vigil for Amilcar on March 1. Side by side with praise of Amilcar from his friends and neighbors were calls for justice in his death. Speaker after speaker connected the dots between anti-immigrant racism and the killing of Amilcar. Community members spoke of the inability of San Francisco police to work with Spanish speakers. Amilcar was not an English speaker. A number of the witnesses are also facing eviction.

Neighbors for Justice for Amilcar Perez-Lopez issue a press release on March 2 to denounce a SFPD townhall meeting and demand justice for Amilcar. The night of the killing neighbors were not allowed to leave their homes and witness the aftermath. They were told things like "lock your doors" and "get away from the windows" by the plainclothes officers. Amilcar bled to death in the street, rather than being raced to SF General's Trauma Unit just blocks away.

On March 7, people gathered at 16th and Mission and marched throughout the Mission District to protest the police killing. A banner in front of the march read, “It’s Always Justice When Police Kill.” A chant went out: "¿Qué queremos? ¡Justicia! ¿Cuando? ¡Ahora! What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”

Mission Protest of Cop Killing in SF | Fight For Amilcar Perez-Lopez | Neighbors For Justice 4 Amilcar Perez-lopez | Sunset Vigil Held for Amilcar Perez-Lopez in The Mission | March Against Police Violence! No One Should Die Over a Bike!

See Also: Broken System: A response to non-indictment of Alex Nieto’s killers