As protests rock the United States over allegations of police abuses, anger built in Mexico on Thursday over its own police brutality case: a young man allegedly beaten to death after officers detained him for not wearing a face mask during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of protesters marched Thursday evening in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state, to demand justice in the death of Giovanni López. Some broke into the state Capitol and sprayed graffiti on the wallsm while others later set two police patrol vehicles on fire.
An online campaign already in progress calling for justice in López’s death has drawn support from stars like Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro.
Authorities in Jalisco have said that López was detained May 4 in a town near Guadalajara for a misdemeanor equivalent to disturbing the peace or resisting arrest.
A video of his detention shows municipal police wrestling him into a patrol truck as residents argued with officers about excessive use of force and rules requiring face masks, a measure designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Hours later he was taken from his cell for medical treatment and died.
None of the municipal police in the town of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos have been arrested, fired or charged in the death, which officials have said was the result of beatings.
Jalisco state prosecutor Gerardo Solis said Thursday that the police officers had been placed under investigation.
