Protests took place yesterday outside a middle school in Eugene, where police killed the parent of a twelve year old student in front of the horrified child last week.
Oregon State Police identified the person killed by police at Cascade Middle School as Charlie Landeros. The thirty year old Charlie went by they/them pronouns and was of Filipino and Mexican descent.
Charlie was killed by Eugene police on January 11th. Eugene police knew Charlie, and had targeted them in the past at protests. The killing of Charlie Landeros by police at their daughter’s school has sent chills through the activist community in Eugene.
Charlie volunteered for the Civil Liberties Defense Center, which issued a statement saying that the details of this homicide are still largely unknown. The family is demanding an investigation into Charlie’s killing, one that’s transparent, unbiased, and thorough.
What is known is that Charlie had recently enrolled their daughter at Cascade Middle school as the custodial parent. The school contacted Charlie regarding their child’s safety, and Charlie went to the school to ensure the safety of their child.
Charlie was shot multiple times by Eugene Police Officers, several feet in front of the main entrance to the school.
The family of the deceased requests that the community recognize that deaths like Charlie’s are neither accidental nor uncommon. Charlie’s partner Ariel said “Charlie was the beating heart of every project they were involved in, the beating heart of our community.”
While people of color comprise just over thirty eight percent of the U.S. population, they make up more than fifty one percent of those killed by police. In spite of this statistic, there is no national database to which police departments must submit a record, when they complete an investigation after an officer shoots a civilian.
Charlie helped lead a student protest in October 2017 that disrupted the University of Oregon President, Michael Schill’s, state of the university address.
The purpose of that 2017 protest, according to student organizers including Charlie, was to empower marginalized students on campus.
Here’s a clip of Charlie speaking at that 2017 event.
- KBOO