June 5th, 2020 – New York, NY

Contact: Elianne Ramos; Chief Communications Officer; [email protected]; 212.739.7513

New York, NY – The following is a statement from Juan Cartagena, President and General Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, on the on the murder of Sean Monterrosa by Vallejo, CA Police:

It has been a little over a week since George Floyd’s life was viciously extinguished by a system of justice that far too often condones police officers serving as judge, jury, and executioners when engaging with Black people; and we are aghast again to learn of the multiple killings by police, including that of twenty-two-year-old San Francisco resident Sean Monterrosa, that have taken place since Mr. Floyd’s death unleashed a wave of uprisings demanding the respect of Black lives, unseen in our nation’s streets for generations. 

It is reported that an unarmed Mr. Monterrosa was in a half-kneeling position when a Vallejo, California police officer fatally shot him through the windshield of his police vehicle. This was undeniably an execution, regardless of what the circumstances were, given that the man posed absolutely no threat to the officers.  

Mr. Monterrosa’s death comes as we continue to bear witness to the violent beatings and assaults of unarmed civilians by law enforcement agents in municipalities around the country. We stand with our communities in taking action to demand an end to the war on Black lives and also stand with the family of Sean Monterrosa, and all families of those, known and unknown, who have fallen victim to state violence, in calling for justice.  

That is why we continue to vociferously condemn these barbaric acts of violence and call for the following:

• The immediate opening of a criminal investigation against and disciplining of the responsible officer;
• The Convening of a special prosecutor to fully investigate Monterossa’s killing;
• Implementation of de-escalation tactics in all police encounters with civilians;
• A formal apology to the Monterrosa family and the community of Vallejo, CA to help begin a healing process;

We will continue to advocate for all people harmed by state violence and ask those who have yet to seek justice to not hesitate to reach out.