The San Jose People's Power
Communities Come Together for Unprecedented March Against Tasers
Story by Young Rebel // Photo by Charisse Domingo

Often when someone loses a loved one, they isolate themselves and try to deal with the pain in their hearts by themselves. On 9/11/2007, another chapter was written in the story of the people of San Jose who just won't accept this traditional way of mourning and are intent on letting the world know their story.

Long marginalized, a diverse group of mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers came together to speak out against police terrorism and kick off the campaign to ban tasers. Silicon Valley De-Bug, Asian Law Alliance, YUCA, Coalition for Justice and Accountability and MALAYA were just a few of the groups who came out for the powerful march and speak out. The Custodios, Jesse Cardenas and Lisa Martinez, each of whom have had to deal with the indignity of family members being brutalized by the San Jose Police Department, joined Noreen Salinas in honoring her slain father, Steve. “You guys know what I'm talking about. You know my father,” Noreen proudly stated towards two trailing motorcycle officers during the march. Steve Salinas, of indigenous descent, was murdered by the San Jose Police Department on May 25th, 2007 after being tased multiple times. Tasers are widely considered as a torture device and statistics show that it is usually used on unarmed people.

Such was the case on February 5th, 2007 when Marlo and Romel Custodio were tased after Marlo was confronted in an upper-class neighborhood. In addition to these atrocities, their mother was also assaulted later during the incident. For this, they have all been arraigned on bogus charges and in Marlo's case specifically, the victim of harassment ever since. “268 deaths, when's it going to end!” voiced a concerned community member at City Hall who was referring to the number of deaths by taser in the U.S. since 2001.

The tight knit group of about 70 were tactical in taking their fight right to the source, speaking out in front of the District Attorneys office, police station and City Hall. Once inside the City Hall, Noreen spoke and released balloons representing the deaths and struggle of police brutality victims, including her father. The march received attention from various news sources, police officials and even manufacturers of these perceived torture devices, TASER International. “The advantages to TASER® technology are dramatic reductions in injuries to both suspects and law enforcement officers,” says Steve Tuttle, vice president of communications at TASER International. In reality, since tasers have come into full use, shooting deaths have actually increased, in addition to additional deaths by tasers. As writer Junya correctly points out in the San Jose Police Departments OWN records, “In 2004, five people were fatally shot by police - twice the average and near a ten-year peak. Two of the three people fatally shot after Tasers were deployed in 2004 were first shocked with Tasers, even though they were unarmed.” With community meetings about the police becoming more common and media coverage intensifying, it seems the people are making big strides in finding justice for the people. It is apparent it will be a long fight, but in judging the spirit of San Jose there is no quit near.
  
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