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Frank Sotomayor, a senior fellow at the Institute for Justice and Journalism and adjunct professor at USC Annenberg, never met Ruben Salazar, though he knew of his journalism even while in the U.S. Army in Japan. Sotomayor had planned to go to L.A. and meet the KMEX news director and Times columnist, but on the same day that Sotomayor got his discharge — 40 years ago Sunday — Salazar was killed in East Los Angeles under mysterious circumstances. In an exclusive post for LA Observed, Sotomayor implores Sheriff Lee Baca and other officials to release the long-secret files on what led up to the fatal shooting at the Silver Dollar bar on Whittier Boulevard.
Two Mexican cousins are killed by Los Angeles police in a case of mistaken identity. A prominent journalist is cautioned by two LAPD officers about his coverage of the shootings. A short time later, the journalist meets with staffers of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and tells them he is being followed. He gives his Rolodex of news sources to a colleague and clears his desk. Days later, at the age of 42, he is dead. Killed by a 10-inch-long tear-gas projectile fired by a Los Angeles Sheriff's deputy.Is this the plot for a crime thriller? It could be. But it is just part of the tragic mystery surrounding Ruben Salazar....
Law enforcement officials had a chance to resolve the matter at that time but dropped the ball. A new generation of law enforcement officials now has a chance to come clean by releasing all records relating to the case. For the sake of history and transparency, they must not fumble this opportunity.
Strong piece by Sotomayor, who joined the Times not long after Salazar was killed. He talks to Supervisor Gloria Molina, who took part in the antiwar protest that Salazar was covering on Aug. 29, 1970, and to one of Salazar's children. Full text.