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Shooting Death of Teen by Mesa Police Draws National Attention
March 28, 2008
Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues in Phoenix, Arizona
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An investigator with the Mesa Police
Department examines the evidence left
behind in the shooting death of 15-year
old Mario A. Madrigal Jr., on August 23,
2003. (Photo courtesy of the Madrigal family)
Department examines the evidence left
behind in the shooting death of 15-year
old Mario A. Madrigal Jr., on August 23,
2003. (Photo courtesy of the Madrigal family)
Mesa, Arizona. 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.
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.
Eduardo Barraza is a journalist and writer,
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
Barriozona Magazine's editor, and director of
the Hispanic Insitute of Social Issues.
E-mail: editor@barriozona.com
