The Raza Press and Media Association is proud to provide this update on the case of our Mesa Directiva member, longtime collaborator and militante of Union del Barrio Francisco Chavo Romero. The Oxnard Police Department is continuing its persecution because he has led a struggle against police repressiion for over 20 years.
ALERT! UPDATE – ROMERO VS. OPD – Friends, family, comrades: (Please take a minute to read) – The judge (commissioner) Anthony J. Sabo, denied our pre-trial motion to dismiss my whack-coward Oxnard Police Department charges (traffic violations) I was cited for back in October 2013 for marching with my people, protesting police brutality!
In his decision, Judge Sabo states “There is no evidence that he (Romero) was selected for prosecution based on an intentional discrimination for his membership in a class identified by the equal protection clause.” Further, he states ” There was no showing that Defendant was targeted for prosecution for any other reason other than, to the Defendant’s misfortune, officers were able to identify him and observe his actions on video.”
Law Office of James P. Segall-Gutierrez filed a motion to continue the trial set for April 8th, so that we can appeal this decision. Again, I gather, that my fines for me marching, which were $1,000 total, does not add up to the over $20,000+ in city and district attorney fees to prosecute me, the costs for having all 13 cops subpoenaed, the overtime for the march (which was about $13,000), etc.
Rest assured, the City of Oxnard, the Oxnard Police Department, are clearly retaliating against me for nearly 20 years, under the banner of Unión del Barrio/Committee on Raza Rights, and with the righteous fighters of the Colectivo Todo Poder Al Pueblo, waging struggle against police brutality. More importantly, this is an attempt to silence our community’s fight, led by the heroic families, their allies, of those slain by Oxnard Police Department to expose the structural political and economic repression, the militarization of our barrios, and the mass incarceration and criminalization of the comunidad in general.
So, now, we go to the appeal court, and if denied, we go to the state supreme court. If this pre-trial motion is ultimately denied at that level, then we head back down to the actual trial. We have several defenses there too. We will attack at each one of those. If ultimately, all of those are denied, then it means I might have to pay the fine. If means I have to spend a few days in jail in refusal to pay, so be it! The point here, is that we are fighting, existing, resisting.
This latest stage of the fight against brutality, for me, begun, when the Oxnard Police Department beat and chocked to death, of one of my former students, ruled a “Homicide-via-Ashpyxiation” which means “killing by depriving of oxygen”. Since then, there have been others – and we must, MUST, continue our fight to bring about REAL- CONCRETE-STRUCTURAL CHANGES! We must move beyond protest and mount a sustained, audacious and radical change!
ONE THAT DEMANDS, among other things, that police departments DO NOT take up 50-60++% of the budget, ONE THAT DEMANDS, that if a cop uses force in any way (beating, shooting, etc.) they are automatically detained, arrested and drug tested (no more “paid administrative leave” -aka vacation). ONE THAT DEMANDS the de-miltarization of our barrios NOW – No more war on “gangs”, or war on “drugs” – which are are really a war on the poor, working class. ONE THAT DEMANDS, that requires cities to hire convicts and felons, those that are always looking for jobs, BUT, are constantly denied because they have to “check the box”. JOBS, with dignified wages, minimum $15+ per hour, with medical benefits, UNION jobs with worker protections! Imagine. Then, after imaging, get down with us to fight for these demands!
These, among other demands is what we are organizing and fighting for. Join us. ORGANIZATE Y LUCHA! Stay tuned, an organizing Summit on this is coming up.
So, if in the end, the Oxnard Police Department and City of Oxnard get away with charging me with these Whack-Lame-Coward citations, maybe we can have a MARCHA DE LOS NO IDENTIFICADOS! We all wear masks with a FAKE $1 bill in our hands, 1,000 of us and we turn them in to this PIGS! Then, when I get out jail, for refusing to pay these PUERCOS, we will have a FIESTA! Cumbias y baile de lucha! Nos vemos en la pista del baile, y las trincheras de lucha!
Among many others, ROBERT RAMIREZ, PRESENTE! MICHAEL MAHONEY, PRESENTE! ALFONSO LIMON, PRESENTE!, MEAGAN HOCKADAY, PRESENTE!