Los Angeles, CA – On May 21, over 50 people gathered in the city of Bellflower, in the southeastern region of LA county, to demand justice for Edgar Ortiz. Oritz, who was 32 years old, was shot and killed by a member of the LA County Lakewood Sheriff's Station on March 3, in front of his family, during a mental health crisis.

The protest began with a rally at Edgar Ortiz’s home with a large turnout with impacted families from around LA who have lost their loved ones to police violence. The family’s attorney, Angel Carrasco, attended and provided logistical support. Centro CSO led the march with a large sound truck and two big banners and the loud crowd, chanting for justice, marched through the busy streets into Lakewood.

One banner called for “Justice for Edgar Ortiz'' and the second demanded that LA sheriffs stop killing Black and brown people and called for the booting out of Deputy Sheriff Villanueva, a member of the Banditos gang within the sheriffs. The banner also raised the demand for community control of the police.

The long march arrived at the LA Sheriff's Lakewood Station and was met with a phalanx of fully-armed deputies with helmets and rifles. The youth, parents and children began chanting and shouting to the deputies: “Asesinos, murderers!” and other chants.

The angry marchers started a rally led by Centro CSO. Edgar’s mother Maria Ortiz spoke first, crying and demanding justice. Edgar’s sister spoke powerfully, calling for systemic change to a system that allows for a rogue, corrupt and undemocratic Sheriff Villanueva to maintain power and terrorize Black and brown communities

If you would like to join the monthly Police Brutality committee, contact Contact CSO at 323-943-2030, [email protected], or @CentroCSO on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more information.

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