(Trends Wide Spanish) — The Government of Mexico demands that the US authorities investigate the death of Mexican Cristian Baltazar Torres, 18, which occurred on April 7 by shots fired by an Oxnard Police officer in California.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported in a statement that it has requested the authorities “to carry out exhaustive investigations in accordance with the law, within the framework of due legal process, and to determine the criminal and/or civil responsibility of the people involved. ”.
Oxnard police said in a statement that they had arrived in a neighborhood in the county after reports that an unknown person was threatening residents with a knife. One of the people she called even said that the subject had chased her husband with a knife.
This Tuesday, the Police published a video of about 20 minutes about the incident, which – according to the head of the Police Department, Jason Benites – seeks to avoid misinformation about the incident. The video includes an explanation of the weapons used in the altercation and an edit of body cameras from some of the agents who participated. Trends Wide has not been able to verify all of the videos captured by the agents’ cameras.
According to the Police, there were five agents who responded to the calls. Upon arrival, they found Torres inside a car whose owner had not given him permission to enter. After five minutes of ordering him to get out of the car, the young man gets out and begins to walk towards the agents.
In the images, shared by the Police, the agents are seen confronting Torres, asking him several times to raise his hands, drop the knife and get on the floor. According to police, a sergeant on the scene was carrying a taser, a police officer had a shotgun with less-lethal ammunition, and three more officers drew their weapons. The sergeant shoots Torres with the taser.
Source: Oxnard Police Department
According to the explanation of the Police, because Torres continued advancing towards the agents —even after receiving the impact of the taser— a police officer fired a round of non-lethal ammunition at him with the shotgun, the young man subsequently falls to the ground, gets up and then another agent shoots him with his team weapon.
According to the Oxnard Police, officers who responded to the incident performed first aid on Torres until medical services arrived and an ambulance took him to a medical center. The Mexican was pronounced dead at the hospital later.
Police did not explain how many shots were fired, but indicated that, since the April 7 incident, one agent has been placed on administrative leave and the other four have already returned to work. Benites said that the fact remains under investigation and that they will not reach conclusions about the agents until all the details are known and the investigation is complete.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and asked anyone who witnessed the incident or has additional information to contact authorities investigating the case.
Mexico demands answers
The statement from the Mexican Foreign Ministry comes after the Oxnard Police Department published on its YouTube page the video of the operation where Cristian Baltazar Torres died.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry said in its statement that, after an initial study of the incident by “recognized legal specialists” in the field of civil rights, they received the opinion that “the use of lethal force against Cristian Baltazar would have been unreasonable.” in the circumstances presented in the video released by the Oxnard Police Department.”
The SRE added that it will take the diplomatic and legal measures at its disposal, and that it “will maintain close communication with the authorities in charge of the investigation through the Consulate in Oxnard.”
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(Trends Wide Spanish) — The Government of Mexico demands that the US authorities investigate the death of Mexican Cristian Baltazar Torres, 18, which occurred on April 7 by shots fired by an Oxnard Police officer in California.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported in a statement that it has requested the authorities “to carry out exhaustive investigations in accordance with the law, within the framework of due legal process, and to determine the criminal and/or civil responsibility of the people involved. ”.
Oxnard police said in a statement that they had arrived in a neighborhood in the county after reports that an unknown person was threatening residents with a knife. One of the people she called even said that the subject had chased her husband with a knife.
This Tuesday, the Police published a video of about 20 minutes about the incident, which – according to the head of the Police Department, Jason Benites – seeks to avoid misinformation about the incident. The video includes an explanation of the weapons used in the altercation and an edit of body cameras from some of the agents who participated. Trends Wide has not been able to verify all of the videos captured by the agents’ cameras.
According to the Police, there were five agents who responded to the calls. Upon arrival, they found Torres inside a car whose owner had not given him permission to enter. After five minutes of ordering him to get out of the car, the young man gets out and begins to walk towards the agents.
In the images, shared by the Police, the agents are seen confronting Torres, asking him several times to raise his hands, drop the knife and get on the floor. According to police, a sergeant on the scene was carrying a taser, a police officer had a shotgun with less-lethal ammunition, and three more officers drew their weapons. The sergeant shoots Torres with the taser.
Source: Oxnard Police Department
According to the explanation of the Police, because Torres continued advancing towards the agents —even after receiving the impact of the taser— a police officer fired a round of non-lethal ammunition at him with the shotgun, the young man subsequently falls to the ground, gets up and then another agent shoots him with his team weapon.
According to the Oxnard Police, officers who responded to the incident performed first aid on Torres until medical services arrived and an ambulance took him to a medical center. The Mexican was pronounced dead at the hospital later.
Police did not explain how many shots were fired, but indicated that, since the April 7 incident, one agent has been placed on administrative leave and the other four have already returned to work. Benites said that the fact remains under investigation and that they will not reach conclusions about the agents until all the details are known and the investigation is complete.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and asked anyone who witnessed the incident or has additional information to contact authorities investigating the case.
Mexico demands answers
The statement from the Mexican Foreign Ministry comes after the Oxnard Police Department published on its YouTube page the video of the operation where Cristian Baltazar Torres died.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry said in its statement that, after an initial study of the incident by “recognized legal specialists” in the field of civil rights, they received the opinion that “the use of lethal force against Cristian Baltazar would have been unreasonable.” in the circumstances presented in the video released by the Oxnard Police Department.”
The SRE added that it will take the diplomatic and legal measures at its disposal, and that it “will maintain close communication with the authorities in charge of the investigation through the Consulate in Oxnard.”
