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Vol. 77/No. 38      October 28, 2013

 
March slams Miami cops’ Taser
killing of graffiti artist in August
 
BY DEAN HAZLEWOOD  
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Chanting “Arrest Mercado!” and “Israel Presente!” 250 people marched through the busy Lincoln Road shopping mall in the heart of the South Beach tourist district Oct. 6, exactly two months after officer Jorge Mercado killed 18-year-old Israel Hernández-Llach after cops caught the young artist painting graffiti. Some participants handed out information to customers and workers in the restaurants and stores along the route.

On Aug. 6 the Miami Beach police caught Hernández tagging the wall of an abandoned McDonald’s restaurant. After a brief chase officer Jorge Mercado shot him in the chest with a Taser. Shortly afterwards he was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Medical Center. No results of either the autopsy or an internal police investigation have been released.

When the march reached Miami Beach City Hall, the crowd heard several speakers, including Hernández’s mother, father and sister.

“My son was not a criminal or a delinquent,” said his father, Israel Hernández. “But they surrounded him, beat him and killed him. This was a vile and cowardly act.” He added, “What does it say when they value a wall more than a human life?”

Chris Clark, a Federal Express worker was riding his bicycle when he noticed the crowd. “The kid was killed for spray painting,” he told the Militant. “I think the police often overreact. Like what happened with the woman in Washington, D.C., last week,” he said, referring to the Oct. 3 killing of Miriam Carey by a hail of bullets as she was driving in Capitol Hill with her infant daughter.

Many of the participants knew Hernández personally, either through art, school or skateboarding. “Reefa and I were best friends at school,” said 16-year-old Jeremy Chavez, referring to Hernández by his graffiti tag. “This was totally unnecessary force. This cop should get punished.”

“I want justice and peace for the family,” said another school friend, David Alexis.

After the rally at City Hall, the march continued to the Miami Beach Police Department for another round of speeches. José Javier Rodríguez, a lawyer representing the family in a civil suit against the police, said that supporters of the fight planned to deliver a letter that week to the state attorney in Miami demanding indictment of those responsible.

“We want that officer arrested,” Offir Hernández, the young artist’s sister, told the Militant. “But not just him. All those officers who saw what happened and stayed silent. They are part of the crime as well.”

Leading up to the march there were a series of cultural activities around the Miami region to mark the two-month anniversary, including a poetry slam, art gallery displays featuring work by Hernández and others, and a skating demonstration. Other events were scheduled in Colombia where Hernández was born.  
 
 
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