In 1973, a 12-year-old boy, Santos Rodriguez, was shot and killed by a Dallas police officer. The officer had picked him and his brother up from their grandfather's house and taken them to the scene of a petty robbery. Someone had stolen 8 dollars from a Coke machine and Officer Darrell Cain suspected the two boys, who had a history of burglary and shoplifting, of the crime. When the boys did not give Officer Cain the answers he wanted, he opened the barrel and then placed the gun against Santos's head. The first pull of the trigger resulted in nothing more than a click, while the second killed the boy. The officer claimed it was an accident, and was sentenced to a whopping five years in prison.
This year was the fortieth anniversary of Santos's death, and while the city remained unchanging in its refusal to apologize for his death, Mayor Mike Rawlings apologized on behalf of the Dallas Police Department, the City Council, and the citizens of Dallas. While the apology was forty years late, it was still appreciated by Santos's family, though his mother wishes she could hear it from Rawlings himself.
background info:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/07/40_years_ago_a_dallas_cop_shot.php
actual article:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/09/santos_martinez_apology.php
The thought of an officer killing a 12 year old over $8 is bit discomforting. It bothers me that Rawlings had not made the apology himself even after catching a break of only 5 years in prison. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteortunately the situation was revisited and given appropriate attention