SW WA League of United Latin American Citizens mourns the loss of yet another young man of color by police in an altercation.

The loss of a life, for any reason, is a tragedy.  When circumstances are unclear and no real answers will ever be forthcoming it is enraging.

We hope that in the future the Vancouver Police Department and policing in general find ways to use less lethal force so that the individual in question can have a fair trial to determine guilt.

Instead we have a judge, jury and executioner in the position of policing.  

This once again supports the need for body worn cameras and dash cams on our police officers so that a better understanding of the circumstances that lead to death by homicide of our communities of color can be reviewed.

We know this to be true in actions by police in Clark County over and over again.  We watch as non-hispanic individuals get arrested and brown and black men are shot dead.

We know alternative options such as the BOLAWRAP are available for use as non-lethal options.  Among the real-world incidents, it has been used during mental health calls, on a man with a knife, and during a hostage standoff.  It is a deterrent, and a tool that can work in the favor of police by taking a restraint to an assailant while keeping him alive.  It is a lifeline for our communities of color in that regardless of crime or guilt, they are at a minimum still alive to be judged by a jury of their peers versus the police.  SW WA LULAC would be happy to work in coordination with the Clark County Sheriffs Department and the Vancouver Police to study this as an option.  What cannot be accepted is more death by police.

We believe it is time for a truly INDEPENDENT Incident Investigative Team comprised of various individuals that are not vested in the outcomes as is our current program that utilizes Clark County Sheriffs Department and police from across the area.  Using police to investigate police is a failure at its best and a coverup at its worst.