Relatives say an autistic and nonverbal teenage boy who was shot by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while holding a knife has died.

Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests Friday showed that he had no brain activity, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg.

The shooting outraged Perez’s family and Pocatello residents, and about 200 people attended a vigil Saturday morning outside the Pocatello hospital where he was treated. Another crowd of protesters gathered outside the Pocatello City Hall building, which also houses the police department, on Saturday afternoon. Police snipers were stationed on a nearby rooftop during the protest, though no violence was reported. Many of the protesters held signs with phrases like, “Do better, PPD” and “Justice for Victor,” and passing cars honked in acknowledgment.

  • ameancow@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 day ago

    I am American and really despise the way our culture not only avoids nuance but pushes it away like it’s radioactive.

    I have been helped by police, I have called on police when I’ve been trouble, I’ve thanked everything I believe in to be in a country that has emergency services. When I was fighting a home-invader, seeing uniformed police come down the hall with weapons drawn was like seeing the fucking calvary charging in to save the day.

    But the police are a terrible, broken, literally evil institution that needs to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up with an entirely new set of principles and directives and culture.

    YOU CAN HAVE BOTH OF THESE BELIEFS YOU FUCKERS. ALL OF YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE REASON THE ORCS ARE WINNING IS BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO STUPID TO CARE ABOUT NUANCE. They routinely believe five or six different principles or ideals that are completely contradictory of each other and they don’t care. They just charge right ahead arguing both points at once and not even trying to make it make sense.

    The instance about police is easy, but this needs to be extended to every social issue so we can just fucking move on and focus efforts on dismantling the system, not each other.