Angelo Quinta was a Filipino American veteran of the US Navy. He suffered from paranoia and anxiety. Two days before Christmas, his family called police to help deal with a severe episode. One of the responding officers knelt on his neck for five minutes while the other restrained his legs.
His family is waiting for the Antioch Police Department to respond to a legal claim.
I barely finished some art for Angelo Quinto featuring the words of his stepdad when I learned about Daunte Wright’s death this morning. Another Black life taken by law enforcement in Minnesota. There’s a lot more to be learned, but there are things we already know.
Like the fact that regardless of the circumstances, his son should still be able to be held.
Like the fact that we’ve seen these stories come up over and over again.
And the fact that we shouldn’t.
And the fact that there rarely seems to be any accountability for such things.
And the fact that these episodes happen in the name of public safety tell us who “safety is for” in our cities.
And the fact that the exhaustion of seeing the same story over and over, rehash the same debates over and over, without much change is a tactic of the forces that seek to keep it going.
But every act that sends the message that we’re still here, we’re still seeing these things unfold is an act of resistance. From protest to phone calls to art to amplification.