On August 30 2018 my dearest friend Vanessa Marquez was having severe seizures. She was not having a "mental health crisis." She was not suicidal. She simply needed medical aid. It is for that reason that when I texted her, she asked me to call for paramedics in South Pasadena, California. Unfortunately, police officers were also dispatched to her apartment that day. Two of those police officers shot Vanessa in the back and killed her. I am so convinced that these officers acted inappropriately, unprofessionally, and incompetently, and with depraved indifference to Vanessa's well-being, that I wrote a whole blog post about it ("Justice for Vanessa Marquez"), not to mention the fact that I have written letters to everyone from the South Pasadena City Council to Los Angeles District Attorney Geroge Gascón (fortunately, Jackie Lacey was voted out last year) in an effort to get Vanessa justice. Sadly, while the City of South Pasadena reached a settlement with Vanessa's mother, the two officers who killed Vanessa have yet to be brought to justice.
On August 22 2021 an event in honour of Vanessa's 3rd Angelversary will be held in South Pasadena. I believe it is being organized by Vanessa's friend Minerva Garcia Ortega and Black Lives Matter South Pasadena. The location has yet to determined, but the theme will be the 1940s. Vanessa loved classic movies, as well as vintage clothing and Swing music, so the theme is very appropriate. Sadly, I will not be able to attend, as I do not live in Southern California and I do not have the money to fly there at the moment. That having been said, if you live in Southern California and you can attend, by all means do so. Vanessa meant more to me than anyone I have ever known and I want her to get the justice she has been so long denied. I would like to see as many people speaking out on behalf of Vanessa as possible. As it is, I will be writing the South Pasadena City Council again, as well as others in authority.
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