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Shooting Death of Teen by Mesa Cops Captures National
Attention
Attention
A report by ColorLines Magazine shows the Phoenix metropolitan area has the highest rate of fatal police
shootings among the 10 biggest U.S. cities, and is also the most dangerous in the nation for Latinos.
shootings among the 10 biggest U.S. cities, and is also the most dangerous in the nation for Latinos.
By Eduardo Barraza
BARRIOZONA
November 13, 2007
BARRIOZONA
November 13, 2007
The case of 15-year old Mario Madrigal Jr. —the teen who was shot and killed by City of Mesa Police Department in
2003— is drawing national attention thanks to a joint nation-wide investigation of fatal police shootings in America’s 10
largest cities, conducted this summer by ColorLines Magazine and The Chicago Reporter.
Among what the magazine calls “striking findings”, the investigation concluded that “of the many civilians who have been
shot to death by police from various departments throughout the multi-city Phoenix metropolitan area—in the city of
Phoenix alone, an average of more than one per month since 2000, making it among the worst cities in the nation for
police shootings.”
Mario Madrigal Jr, a Westwood High School student received a total of 10 bullet impacts in a lapse of 2.2 seconds. Police
justified the shooting by saying that Madrigal, Jr. advanced branding a knife toward the officers who responded to his
mother’s plea for help. Martha Madrigal, the mother, had called 911 since her son was intoxicated, and attempting to hurt
himself with a kitchen knife. Police officers involved were cleared on October 2003, as the investigation conducted by the
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office concluded there was no wrongdoing.
ColorLines, an award-winning magazine focusing on race relations in the United States, assigned California-based
freelance writer Jessica Hoffmann last summer to work on the incidence of police shootings in Metro Phoenix. In fact,
Hoffman attended the August 25th demonstration in front of the Mesa Police headquarters, on the fourth anniversary of
Madrigal’s shooting death. Hoffman’s piece, titled “Why so high?”, cites Maricopa County —Arizona’s largest urban area—
as “one of the most dangerous places in the nation to be a Latino person interacting with law enforcement.”
Hoffmann revealed to BARRIOZONA that she "was surprised by the fact that no one from the Mesa PD came out to talk to
protestors (or media) the day of the demonstrations. To me, it created a feeling that the community and the police
department are two separate entities, where I would expect the police to be more responsive to community voices and
concerns."
The report states that “among the 27 cities with more than 250,000 people that tracked victims’ ethnicities during this time,
23 out of 137, or one in six, Hispanic victims of police shootings were killed in Phoenix, although Phoenix had just 6
percent of the total population.
"We were very surprised to find Phoenix's rate higher than that of other major cities," declared Hoffmann to BARRIZONA.
"It's clearly an item of concern in terms of the relationshipbetween Phoenix law enforcement and the area's growing Latino
population."
Salvador Reza —a community organizer and day labor center coordinator— who was also interviewed for Hoffman’s story,
said to BARRIOZONA that the information provided in the ColorLines story is factual. “Elected officials are guilty of this
because they never conduct external investigations (on police shootings); you never see independent investigations,”
stated Reza. “At the end, the effect of this is that the relations (between law enforcement and the community) become
deteriorated, especially with the Sheriff department. People prefer to solve their problems by themselves.”
Mario Madrigal, Sr., father of the teen killed by Mesa Police, declared that “the (ColorLines) story demonstrates that what
happened to my son wasn’t an isolated case. What I see here is an alarming pattern that validates my case, and that
should send a strong message to our elected officials and community leaders to reverse it.”
Madrigal Sr. launched a family independent investigation, hiring a team of experts who have worked for four years
collecting valuable evidence. A family’s lawsuit case is currently awaiting trial on a federal court.
Copyright © 2007 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
2003— is drawing national attention thanks to a joint nation-wide investigation of fatal police shootings in America’s 10
largest cities, conducted this summer by ColorLines Magazine and The Chicago Reporter.
Among what the magazine calls “striking findings”, the investigation concluded that “of the many civilians who have been
shot to death by police from various departments throughout the multi-city Phoenix metropolitan area—in the city of
Phoenix alone, an average of more than one per month since 2000, making it among the worst cities in the nation for
police shootings.”
Mario Madrigal Jr, a Westwood High School student received a total of 10 bullet impacts in a lapse of 2.2 seconds. Police
justified the shooting by saying that Madrigal, Jr. advanced branding a knife toward the officers who responded to his
mother’s plea for help. Martha Madrigal, the mother, had called 911 since her son was intoxicated, and attempting to hurt
himself with a kitchen knife. Police officers involved were cleared on October 2003, as the investigation conducted by the
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office concluded there was no wrongdoing.
ColorLines, an award-winning magazine focusing on race relations in the United States, assigned California-based
freelance writer Jessica Hoffmann last summer to work on the incidence of police shootings in Metro Phoenix. In fact,
Hoffman attended the August 25th demonstration in front of the Mesa Police headquarters, on the fourth anniversary of
Madrigal’s shooting death. Hoffman’s piece, titled “Why so high?”, cites Maricopa County —Arizona’s largest urban area—
as “one of the most dangerous places in the nation to be a Latino person interacting with law enforcement.”
Hoffmann revealed to BARRIOZONA that she "was surprised by the fact that no one from the Mesa PD came out to talk to
protestors (or media) the day of the demonstrations. To me, it created a feeling that the community and the police
department are two separate entities, where I would expect the police to be more responsive to community voices and
concerns."
The report states that “among the 27 cities with more than 250,000 people that tracked victims’ ethnicities during this time,
23 out of 137, or one in six, Hispanic victims of police shootings were killed in Phoenix, although Phoenix had just 6
percent of the total population.
"We were very surprised to find Phoenix's rate higher than that of other major cities," declared Hoffmann to BARRIZONA.
"It's clearly an item of concern in terms of the relationshipbetween Phoenix law enforcement and the area's growing Latino
population."
Salvador Reza —a community organizer and day labor center coordinator— who was also interviewed for Hoffman’s story,
said to BARRIOZONA that the information provided in the ColorLines story is factual. “Elected officials are guilty of this
because they never conduct external investigations (on police shootings); you never see independent investigations,”
stated Reza. “At the end, the effect of this is that the relations (between law enforcement and the community) become
deteriorated, especially with the Sheriff department. People prefer to solve their problems by themselves.”
Mario Madrigal, Sr., father of the teen killed by Mesa Police, declared that “the (ColorLines) story demonstrates that what
happened to my son wasn’t an isolated case. What I see here is an alarming pattern that validates my case, and that
should send a strong message to our elected officials and community leaders to reverse it.”
Madrigal Sr. launched a family independent investigation, hiring a team of experts who have worked for four years
collecting valuable evidence. A family’s lawsuit case is currently awaiting trial on a federal court.
Copyright © 2007 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
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mario madrigal jr. mesa police department shootings phoenix latinos deaths law enforcement colorlines magazine killed by the cops teen highest rate fatal taser metro area salvador reza sheriff department maricopa county barriozona jessica hoffmann
Will fatal shootings by police continue averaging more than one a month with no clear cause or consequence?
