Police Killings of Latinos Surge Amid National Debate On Violence

FEATURING JUAN CARTAGENA – Fermin Vincent Valenzuela, Vinson Ramos, Melissa Ventura, Anthony Nuñez, Pedro Villanueva and Raul Saavedra-Vargas are names we have not heard very much in the media. They are all Latinos who have died over the course of just days. And they have all died at the hands of police officers.

The Black Lives Matter movement has brought the issue of African Americans killed by police to the forefront, and the videotaped deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have drawn thousands of people out on the streets to march.

But while police target blacks more disproportionately than any other racial group, the problem of police violence is broad. This year alone, after African Americans, Native Americans are killed at almost as high a rate. Latinos are killed at a rate of just about half that of blacks, making them the third most vulnerable community.

Juan Cartagena, President and General Counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. He just wrote an article in the Huffington Post called Populous, Multi-Racial And Ignored: Latinos And Police Shootings.