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The Richmond Greens Say:
"No more Police brutality"

May 5, 2002 Richmond Police Brutalized Latino Residents on 5 de Mayo

Andres Soto (pictured above on the right, next to Green
gubernatorial candidate Peter Miguel Camejo), a long time Richmond resident and a 20 year career advocate for non-violence, his two sons Che (24) and Alejandro (23), Annett Lerma, a respected social worker who worked many years in the local community organization Familias Unidas, her sister Gina Lerma and children Carlos (16), Junior (10), Andres' nephew Felipe (8), and Gina's daughter Alexis (5) experienced directly or indirectly verbal and/or physical abuse by the Richmond Police Department simply for asking for explanations on a police action in their Latino neighborhood near 23rd and Lowell.

The non-violence-hands-in-air approach of Andres and his sons was met with brutality and unnecessary violence by the RPD including threats to strike with metal flash light, actual strikes with the metal flash light, pepper spraying in the face, ripping off shirts, threats to launch a police dog attack, blows on the back, fractured ribs, contusions.

"While they were pepper spraying me, some of the remaining officers shoved Alejandro (my son) to the ground on top of Gina and her 5 year old daughter Alexis. Alejandro picked up the little girl and returned her to her mother and then was hit in the face with pepper spray. They threw him down on the pavement causing numerous abrasions and cuffed him. Che was pummeled, cuffed, pepper sprayed at point blank and had his face rubbed into the ground."

The RPD ordered the witnesses of this abuse to leave the area under threat of being pepper spray if they did not leave, which they refused to do. They wanted to serve as witnesses to what had just occurred. They did not want to leave and the Richmond Police Department chased these women and children and other witnesses threatening them with pepper spray.

Above: Signs remain posted near 23rd & Lowell (Rheem) in Richmond, where last year the police abused the Latino Community.

Below - Richmond Greens Juan & Daniel at Cinco de Mayo, 2003, where the first number of the "Chapulin Verde" was distributed.

The Soto family was incarcerated until dawn. Denied medical assistance and the right to a phone call.

An attack to one of us is an attack on us all. The Richmond Greens condemn these actions by the RPD with the strongest words.

Basta de Brutalidad Policial!
Stop police brutality in Richmond!
Hold the officers involved accountable!
Train the police force on appropriate protocols for engaging with the public!
Fire the "cowboys" out of the RPD!

Saturday November 10, 2001
Richmond Police Department and CHP officers subjected several demonstrators to unnecessary force at a peaceful rally held on November 10, 2001 at the Chevron Refinery.

A Globalize Justice- Not War (Resist the WTO) march and rally took place in Richmond, CA organized by a coalition of groups, included the Richmond Greens. Some 500 participants marched peacefully through the city of Richmond. The rally ended with the unnecessary arrests of several peaceful participants by the aggressive RPD and CHP officers who did not know how to respect civil liberties nor how to handle legally assembled crowds.