Los Angeles(Thechieftainspear) – Los Angeles residents are demanding justice following the fatal police shooting of 35-year-old Mario Sanchez during a traffic stop. His family and community members are calling for accountability, insisting officers should face criminal charges for his death.
The incident took place on the night of March 14, when officers pulled over a vehicle on Imperial Highway near Broadway around 10:20 p.m. Authorities said the driver, later identified as Sanchez, was exhibiting erratic driving behavior.
Upon stopping the car, police instructed Sanchez to lower his windows and place his hands outside the vehicle. Instead, he reportedly shouted obscenities at the officers before stepping out of the car.
According to police, Sanchez then removed a dark object from his waistband and aimed it toward them. Believing it to be a weapon, officers fired multiple rounds, striking him repeatedly. He was transported to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Investigators later confirmed that the object he was holding was a cell phone. Sanchez had been driving home from work at the time of the incident.
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On Friday, his loved ones and activists gathered outside LAPD’s Southeast station, demanding justice. His family says he was shot more than 30 times, including in the head.
“They executed him,” said his sister, Mirca Sanchez. “They didn’t give him a chance. He was a father, a son, a brother. Now, we are left broken.”
Activists also condemned the officers’ actions, with Alejandro Villalpando of the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police stating, “Eyewitnesses described a brutal scene—Mario was gunned down, handcuffed, and treated inhumanely even after showing no signs of life. That’s not justice.”
Sanchez leaves behind two young children and was only weeks away from his 36th birthday.
The LAPD’s Force Investigation Division, along with the California Department of Justice, is currently reviewing the case .
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