Orlando committee members attend Sheriff Civilian Advisory Committee demanding justice for Luis Lopez

Orlando, FL – On April 10, organizers with Orlando Against Police Crimes (OAPC) attended the Orange County Sheriff’s Civilian Advisory Committee to demand justice for Luis Lopez, a recent victim of a deadly police shooting in his own home.

“They killed an innocent person who was supposed to be helping,” explained David Porter, a member of OAPC. He continued, “if Sheriff Mina reached the absurd conclusion that deputies acted within policy, then your policy sucks, your training sucks.”

Cassia Laham read a statement by Loida Zunun, a close friend of Luis Lopez, about how the community is waiting for justice and accountability, “Alex Duran and Paul Ortiz should not be working as police officers if they are not prepared to act the right way.”

The meeting was poorly attended by its own board members; only two of the eight board members showed up, Warren Lewis and Michael Doby. It was noted by the meeting facilitator that recent state laws granted authority of board appointments to the chief of police, who might look to replace vacant members soon.

Edmund Anglero, a lead organizer with OAPC, explained how even though state law has restricted the review board, “we are here today because this is the only avenue for justice for Luis Lopez.” He then directly questioned the two board members on any updates, including the status of the offending officers, and issued a call to action for the board to release a statement expressing remorse for the killing of a valued community member, Luis Lopez.

One board member, Michael Doby, did not speak during the entire meeting, including when Anglero directly questioned the board about Alex Duran and Paul Ortiz being on paid administrative leave. The board had nothing to say about the procedures seen in the body camera and explained they would not be able to talk about the case for nine months to a year. They could not respond to whether there are policies regarding responding to those who speak Spanish.

The meeting ended with the facilitator saying, “the sheriff will hear about this.”

Afterwards, Anglero gave an interview to WFTV about the next steps in the campaign for justice for Luis Lopez, stating, “We are going to use that time to continue bringing awareness to what happened to Luis, including community outreach, collecting petition signatures calling on the state attorney to charge the officers, and growing the ranks of our organization.”

#OrlandoFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #PoliceBrutality #OAPC