Los Angeles:
Sheriff’s Deputies Shoot 18-Year-Old in the Back

Jul 13, 2020

It has been three weeks since a Sheriff’s deputy shot 18-year-old Andres Guardado in the back, and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is still trying to block any information about the killing.

Guardado had been working as a security guard at an auto body shop, trying to make some extra money, since both of his parents had lost their jobs in the middle of the pandemic.

There is no video of the shooting. But an independent autopsy paid for by the family and their supporters showed that a deputy shot Guardado five times, all of them in the back. As for the Sheriff’s story that Guardado had a gun, it was so flimsy, the lawyers for the two deputies have already had to try to modify it.

Certainly, details about the shooting wouldn’t have come out, if not for the repeated protests in the community. Finally, the Los Angeles Times was able to reveal the deputies’ names. It turns out that Miguel Vega, the deputy who pumped five bullets into Guardado’s back, had been named in several complaints before, and has an active lawsuit against him over a false arrest.

This is nothing but another case of “shooting first and asking questions later,” backed by all the higher-ups. One more proof that all the protests against police violence should continue and grow.