Remember their names

By Priscilla Negrete Rodriguez

2020 was a year full of tragedy. A pandemic hit the world and schools had to shut down because people were getting sick and losing family members. On top of that, there were also lives that we lost due to racism. Amhaud Arbery was shot while jogging, Breonna Taylor was shot in her own home by police, and then on May 26, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer named Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes. I can’t seem to remember one good thing that happened that year, full of hate and racism.

With all the violence that happened that year, people rose up and had enough. People used their voices and actions to demand change, which was a good thing because people were standing up for each other. “I can’t breathe” became America’s most well-known words. Violent protests began in Minneapolis and spread across the United States. People were looting and rioting. Why? People wanted justice for George Floyd and all of the other innocent lives lost by police. George Floyd was murdered cold blooded and he didn't deserve that. Of course, there were peaceful protesters as well, but with peace came violence.

These protests also happened right here in San Jose and was an eye opener for all of us that we, in fact, do need change in this city as well. And it wasn't too long ago that a life was lost here to police violence. On Friday, February 21st, 2014, Antonio Guzman Lopez, a loving father and partner, was shot twice and killed by San Jose State Police. His partner Laurie Valdez lost the person she loved, his children lost their father, and a mother lost her son.

Laurie is a huge advocate for transforming policing. She has always wanted to spread awareness and help other families who’ve lost loved ones at the hands of police. Of course, protecting her partner’s name is very important to her because not many people know what really happened that Friday.

She wants Antonio to be known for who he was as a person. Many people blame him and accuse him wrongfully but don’t know who he really was or what his intentions were that day. It is very important for Laurie to keep a strong and clear image of Antonio and wants people to focus on the major problem here, police.

Antonio was an amazing father to his kids and a great man to Laruie. The way Laurie described him really did bring a smile to my face.

Laurie: “Antonio was a very loving, loving father. He would give his life for the kids. My daughter, Angelique wasn't even his biological daughter and he protected her like it was his own. The kids when they started getting older they would say, “papi we want Jamba Juice” or “we want a pizza.” He would go, take the kids walking up the street.”

Antonio had very good fatherly traits and he would protect his children more than his own life. They were everything to him and he made sure that his kids never needed anything. Along with Antonio being a great father, he was also a great partner to Laurie.

Laurie: “He used to spoil me you know. Like, if the kids would get sick and they’d be puking, I couldn’t handle it. I knew he would clean it up for me. If I wasn’t feeling good I’d say, “ Antonio will you make me some homemade corn tortillas?” and he goes, “si chaparra.” He always wanted to make me happy and the kids happy. He would do whatever it took, you know?”

Antonio was all about family, friends, and people in his community. One of the ways he supported it was by helping out senior citizens at Antioch Baptist Church.

Laurie: “For 4 years, every Friday at 6 in the morning he would go to Antioch Baptist Church and volunteer there where he would help set up the food administry and then go back and help pass out the food to all the senior citizens in the community where the Antioch Baptist Church was and he would even walk the groceries to the senior citizens homes because they were too old to carry them and they were pretty heavy.”

Besides helping the community, Antonio was a very hardworking man. He worked hard for his family and to be able to be a huge help whenever he was needed.

Laurie: “Antonio was a hustler. He would work five jobs Like doing gardening with some of the neighbors of his sister. If somebody said they had a job, they'd teach him and he’d learn to do it. Anything his family wanted, if somebody needed money, or whatever he had, he would give you his last dollar.”

Laurie Valdez brought out who Antonio really was. He was a good person with nothing but good intentions towards the community surrounding him. Always willing to help, put people before him, and he was a great family man. But the police don’t see that side of someone when they encounter them. He was fatally shot with no explanation. He left his kids and Laurie too soon. Sometimes the heart has to break, for the truth to fall in it.

Prior to Antonio’s fatal encounter with the police, there was a series of events that took place. Antonio had a confrontation with the police in which he was beaten up by six officers and was sent to the hospital later that day.

Laurie: “Ever since that time, it was 6 months prior to them killing him, he used to tell me, “chaparra, chapparra, si algo me pasa, cuidame a los niños bien. No dejes que nadie me les haga daño. Estos policías me van a matar. They're gonna kill me. They don't want me here. They tell me im a stupid wetback and to get out of their country. That if I wanna live here I have to speak english.”

Laurie: “Chappara, Chapparra, if something happens to me take care of the kids. Don't let anyone cause them harm. The police officers are gonna kill me.”

Ever since Antonio had this encounter with the police, it was as if he knew he was going to get murdered. He felt it in his chest and that is what breaks my heart to hear. He knew something bad was going to happen to him. Six months prior. There was nothing no one could do. Laurie would remind Antonio that he had rights and he couldn’t get murdered just because he wasn’t from here. Little did we know in six months we were going to lose him due to police violence.

Laurie: “He would drop to his knees no matter where we were, and he would start praying. He would tell me, “ I don't care. I'm praying to god. My god right now that he makes sure that he knows I'm praying to him because if anything happens, he knows to take my soul.” To me, what hurt me the most is I used to tell him he was crazy for feeling those feelings and it actually came true.”

Antonio used to ride a bike everywhere. He lived by the Levi Stadium and his sister lived by Downtown San Jose. He would go through the San Jose State University campus to be able to get to his sister’s house and come back home since that is where he stayed during the week to be able to work, and come right back home on weekends to spend time with his family. The night before the murder, Laurie had talked to Antonio so that he could help her with their son, Josiah. She offered to go pick him up but Antonio refused. Laurie assumed that he was coming on a bike but in reality, he was on foot. Not once did Antonio tell Laurie he got his bike stolen the night before.

But Antonio never made it home. That same morning, Laurie woke up to the news of someone being fatally shot near the SJSU campus.

Laurie: “ It was like 11:00 news, and I seen that somebody had been killed by San Jose State and not knowing it was Antonio I was like, “ What the hell is wrong with these cops dude? It's 11:00 in the morning why are you guys already killing people?” You know? Not knowing it was him, I didn't find out till 7:30 that evening.”

Priscilla: “Where did you think Antonio was?”

Laurie: I don't know. I was pissed though cause he didn't have a cell phone or anything so I was just waiting. I'm like, Well where is he? Antonio used to be the type to like if his sister asked for something, he would right away forget about what he was supposed to do with me, and he would do it for them and then come back.”

Laurie had received that text from her niece later that day that Antonio had been killed after getting into an altercation with the cops. Laurie couldn't believe it. She knew Antonio would never have gotten in a fight with the cops. It just wasn't like him. Laurie was in shock and there was no way she would bring herself to tell her own kids what had happened. Everything was so raw and unfolding, she couldn't take it. The next morning, Laurie ended up going to the family’s house and right when she got there, that's when she knew it was true. Many people were surrounding the house, honoring Antonio.

Can you imagine how it is like having to grow up without your father for the rest of your life? Josiah and Angelique didn't deserve to be left without a dad at such an early age.

Laurie: “His older niece took us to where Antonio was killed and there was a picture that the family had taken and there were a bunch of candles from people who were in the area that put candles there. I remember taking Josiah off the car seat and taking him there and he looked at me, “ why is my daddy’s picture here?” And it’s like, How do I tell him? What should I say to him? How is he gonna comprehend this? That was the hardest thing for me. I remember just crying and just saying, “Mijo, you're not gonna see daddy no more. Daddy in heaven now. I was trying to be as gentle and letting him know that daddy you're not gonna see him no more. This is the last place daddy was and he went to heaven to be with Jesus now. I remember him looking at the picture confused and then he kissed that picture, and I don't know who was with me but they snapped a picture of him doing that was the logo for Justice 4 Josiah.”

After Laurie Grieving her loss, her experience was far from over because the police didn't want to release the footage of what happened that day.

Laurie: “I remember the homicide detective was saying that there were two body cameras and that the officers tried to do CPR, they didn't even have time to put gloves on right? And I said, “ so, when can we see them?” he said, “ oh the justice attorney has them.” After that, that was the start of the hell of fighting the system.”

Not once for five years did the police release body camera footage. This brought Laurie immense frustration and madness.

Laurie had no idea how to communicate with Joshiah about his dad being gone. She took Josiah to see a doctor and they told her that the only way for him to realize his dad was gone was for Josiah to see his dad in his coffin. That's exactly what Laurie did. She knew Joshiah wouldn't fully understand death, but it was the best thing to do. It made her feel bad but she did what a good mother would do. She wanted Josiah to remember seeing his dad in a coffin and not think that his father abandoned them.

The day of Antonio’s service, Laurie was seeing Antonio for the first time along with the kids.

Laurie: It was hard. My son was asking me questions like, “Why is daddy here in this box? Why is daddy’s eyes closed? Where is my daddy's leg?” I was just crying. I didn't know how to answer him.”

No 4 year old kid should have to go through this pain. No kid should have to go through seeing their father in a coffin because of a police officer. Laurie and her family are strong people. They suffered injustice and still got through it. Laurie didn't let anything hurt her kids even more. She had enough with the system and fought for Antonio’s justice along with the community.

Laurie: I was angry he was crying. Not because he is crying because he misses his dad, I was angry he was crying in the first palace because his dad should still be here. This is the trauma and the aftermath. This is what kids go through when cops do this.”

Joshiah was only 4 when Antonio was killed. Laurie wanted to make sure his son has justice as well. He was left without a father at such a young age and she didn't want Joshiah to feel like his dad abandoned him. After Antonio’s incident, Justice 4 Josiah was created by Laurie Valdez, which is an organization that seeks to help other families that are going through the same situation as her family was and she also demands change and wants police to take accountability for their actions.

Additionally, she wants to make a stronger and better community that helps each other and to assert their rights and say no to police brutality. Laurie is a very positive person and doesn’t want Josiah to grow up with the hate in his heart. She would make sure to let students know that she didn't want any negativity around Antonio’s name being said around Josiah to protect him.

It is 2021 and so many more cases of police brutality are arising. Daunte Wright was murdered on April 11th, 2021 because of a traffic stop. Adam Toledo was a 13 year old boy who was also murdered by police. Ma’khia Bryant was shot by a police officer within seconds, with no approach. How do we stop this? Innocent people have lost their lives because of their race and color of their skin. It is unfair and such a tragedy that the world has to be this cruel, and here in San Jose, I want us to not forget the names of those who’ve lost their lives at the hands of police: Antonio Guzman Lopez, Anthony Nunez, Diana Showman, Jacob Dominguez, Rudy Cardenas, Philip Watkins, A.J Phillips, Richard Harpo Jacquez, Jesus Geney Montes, Stevie Juarez, Jennifer Vazquez, David Tovar Junior and others on a list that, unfortunately, goes on.

While many Americans will never experience the sort of police violence that took the lives of Amhaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Antonio Guzman Lopez and many more innocent lives, this brutality is a daily reality for Black and Brown people. The tragic murders of countless lives lost to law enforcement brutality are proof that we are in need for a drastic change. We must find better ways to explore alternate ways to protect our communities the way they deserve.

The bottom line of this is, racism has always existed and will probably never leave unless we admit that it is a real problem. Many people still want to argue that incidents like these aren’t acts of racism, but those people are ignorant at this point. I can’t remember a single time where I saw on the news about something like this happening to a white person. People claim that these things aren’t acts of racism, that the police officer could’ve done it just as easily to a white person or that they were acting in self-defense, but these are excuses made up by racists themselves. We need change in our policing, but in order to see change, we need to fix our racism problem. And part of fixing that problem is remembering the names and stories of people who’ve their lives to police brutality.