the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jan 3, 2022
On Dec. 23, 2021, police were called to a clothing store in the working-class neighborhood of North Hollywood in Los Angeles after a person was reported to have attacked a customer with a bike lock.
Body camera footage clearly shows: the LAPD police confronted the suspect, Daniel Elena-Lopez, 24-year-old, armed with nothing but a bike lock and 20 feet away from anyone else, and shot three times using a semi-automatic rifle. Elena-Lopez was fatally injured.
Another bullet went through the dressing room wall and struck 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta. She was changing in the dressing room when the commotion started, and she and her mom had decided to hide in the stall. Valentina was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mom later told reporters, “She died in my arms. I couldn’t do anything.”
So, the police responded with deadly force to a situation that was in no way life-or-death. Two people are dead, when none should be. Because “establishing order” is more important in this system than the lives of two young Latino working-class people.
The family of Valentina is demanding justice from LAPD and City authorities. During a demonstration in front of LAPD Headquarters, the father of Valentina said, “My daughter is dead at the hands of the state. That is true. It is not a tragedy, as LAPD continues to state—it is criminal!”