FREE//GRATUITO
Published by Acción Latina Vol. 46 No. 15
Julio 28 - Agosto 10, 2016
A day to remember Mario Woods Un día para recordar a Mario Woods Gwen Woods abraza al ministro James Calhoun luego de su discurso en la Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church. Gwen Woods hugs Minister James Calhoun on July 22 after his speech at the Mario Woods Remembrance Day ceremony at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church. Her son Mario was killed by SFPD officers in 2015. Photo Natasha Dangond
Bayview honors memory of Mario Woods, police honor themselves Adrián Pintor El Tecolote
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he skirling noise of a police whistle filled the air on the morning of July 22, splitting the stillness as attendees bowed their heads for a moment of silence. Approximately 70 San Francisco residents and police officers—both on and off duty—gathered at the Golden Gate Yacht Club in the Marina to remember officers killed in the line of duty. “Today’s event is to honor and remember those police officers and those firefighters who have put their lives on the line and who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow man,” said Martin Halloran, president of the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association (POA). Names of deceased officers from San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose’s police departments were read aloud, before Craig Floyd, president and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, addressed the mostly white audience. “Wake up America, our police officers are the good guys,” Floyd said angrily. “As a private citizen of these United States who has never worn the badge, never faced the risk that our officers face daily, I am sickened by the hatred and the violence that has been directed at America’s law enforcement professionals.” It was only a few weeks ago on July 7, when U.S. Army veteran Micah Xavier Johnson killed five police officers during a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas, Texas. Ten days later, Gavin Long, a veteran of the Marine Corp., killed three officers in Baton Rouge. Floyd seemed to blame the recent police deaths on the people across the nation, who protest fatal shootings of black and brown men by law enforcement. Floyd dismissed those protests, incorrectly associating them with Johnson and Long. “This hatred, this violence by weakminded individuals is based largely on a false narrative,” Floyd said. No one attending the event acknowl-
Bayview rinde homenaje a Mario Woods, el SFPD a sí mismo
edged that the day also belonged to Mario Woods.
Adrián Pintor
Mario Woods Remembrance Day In January, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors dedicated July 22 to Mario Woods, the birthday of the 26-year-old black man, who was shot more than 20 times by SFPD on Dec. 2, 2015. The POA made its views about Woods’ day of remembrance clear, purchasing a $15,000 full-page color add in the San Francisco Chronicle, with a photo of police officers saluting and a caption reading: “It’s they who are deserving of special civic remembrance.” On the other side of town from the Yacht Club, at the Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Bayview-Hunters Point, candles lit the afternoon darkness, illuminating the silver heart-shaped nylon balloons and vivid colored flowers along the sidewalks between Fitzgerald and Gilman Avenue. More than 100 people gathered around 5 p.m. to observe the first official Mario Woods Remembrance Day across the street where Woods was killed. “My purpose today is to stand up for justice,” said Darrell Rogers, a member of the Justice 4 Mario Woods Coalition. “Today is his birthday and City [and] County of San Francisco decided that they were going to use this day to honor him.” Woods’ death further galvanized a community frustrated by the SFPD’s tactics in dealing with people in crisis situations. The event, hosted by the Justice 4 Mario Woods Coalition, attracted family, friends and other coalitions. Woods’ mother, Gwen Woods, said she would have given anything to talk to her son, who would have turned 27 that day. “In the end, we have this pain to deal with,” she said through tears. “I would just love to talk to him one more time. I would love for him to say ‘Mom what are we going to do today?’ or, ‘Where are we going to eat?’” “It wasn’t just a day for Mario Woods,”
l ruido del silbato de policía llenó el aire la mañana del 22 de julio rompiendo la quietud mientras los asistentes inclinaban la cabeza para guardar un momento de silencio. Aproximadamente 70 residentes de San Francisco y oficiales de policía —tanto activos como fuera de servicio—, se reunieron en el Golden Gate Yacht Club en la Marina para recordar a los agentes muertos en acción. “El evento de hoy es para honrar y recordar a los oficiales de policía y los bomberos que han expuesto sus vidas y se han sacrificado por sus semejantes”, dijo Martin Halloran, presidente de la Asociación de Oficiales de Policía de San Francisco (POA). Los nombres de los oficiales fallecidos
See remembrance, page 6
El Tecolote
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miembros de los departamentos de policía San Francisco, Oakland y San José, fueron leídos en voz alta, antes de que Craig Floyd, presidente y director general del National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, se dirigiera al público, en su mayoría blanco. “Despierta América, nuestros oficiales de policía son los buenos”, dijo Floyd con rabia. “Como ciudadano de estos EEUU que nunca ha portado una placa, ni ha encarado el riesgo que nuestros agentes enfrentan todos los días, estoy asqueado por el odio y la violencia que se ha lanzado contra los representantes de la ley de los EEUU”. Hace apenas unas semanas, el 7 de julio, el veterano Micah Xavier Johnson mató a cinco agentes de policía durante una manifestación pacífica del movimiento Black Lives Matter en Dallas, Texas. Diez días más tarde, Gavin Long, un veterano de la MariVea CONMEMORACIÓN, página 6
Martin Halloran, presidente de POA de San Francisco lee los nombres de los oficiales que serán recordados por su valor en el Evento Conmemorativo de la Policía, el 22 de julio. Martin Halloran, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association reads the names of the officers that will forever be remembered for the courageous acts at the Law Enforcement Remembrance Event on July 22. Photo Adrian Pintor