March 2022
(3/3/2022) Alleged police shooting and withholding of investigation of JUAN VELA
The death of 14-year-old Juan Vela has been a nightmarish experience for his loved ones from whom basic information regarding his murder is still being withheld. The information that Dora Vela, Juan’s mother, has been able to receive from authorities leaves much to assume about the death. Juan had been living with a group of teenagers for some time and had come into contact with the Texas State Police during an alleged burglary. The TSP has declined any further comments beyond the fact that after the dispatch of one deputy to the scene; there was a shooting that resulted in Juan Vela’s death. It took the authorities weeks to disclose even the identity of the victim.
West Texans have observed a pattern of lacking transparency with their police department following the shootings and deaths of primarily black and Latino victims. Juan’s death has been added to a multitude of disregarded “fatalities” caused by US law enforcement. The lack of media representation of this incident corresponds with the lack of empathy and respect for the minorities in America.
Currently, Rodolfo Rosales, a director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, is urging authorities to release information about Juan’s death alongside other activists.
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