KTLA News: "Press conference about the killing of David Aguayo" (1972)

Description:

The KTLA newsfilm collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive consists of cut and unedited stories, outtakes and fill footage, originally shot on 16mm reversal film stock with magnetic soundtrack. Some footage, particularly material not used for broadcast, may be without sound.

Title: “Press conference about the killing of David Aguayo” Date: January 4, 1972.

Summary: On December 17, 1971, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed David Aguayo, a 16-year-old Mexican-American high school student, as he allegedly fled from the scene of a robbery. Although initial statements from the Sheriff’s Department indicated deputies fired because Aguayo pointed an object at them, the teenager was unarmed. In this clip, attorney Alan Smotkin holds a press conference at the Greater Los Angeles Press Club, where is joined by Chicano activist Abe Tapia, as well as David Aguayo’s parents, Guillermo and Celia Aguayo. Smotkin asserts that the youth was not involved in the robbery, nor near the scene at the time of the robbery, and did not match the description of the adult suspects. Smotkin further states that he has gathered evidence that disproves the Sheriff's Department’s version of events. Smotkin also announces he has filed a claim for damages against the County of Los Angeles on behalf of David’s parents. Tapia accuses deputies of killing Mexican-Americans without justification, and states they will be protesting the inequities, brutality and killings. Some footage lacks sound.

Complete Record: The KTLA newsfilm collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive consists of cut and unedited stories, outtakes and fill footage, originally shot on 16mm reversal film stock with magnetic soundtrack. Some footage, particularly material not used for broadcast, may be without sound. Title: “Press conference about the killing of David Aguayo” Date: January 4, 1972. Summary: On December 17, 1971, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed David Aguayo, a 16-year-old Mexican-American high school student, as he allegedly fled from the scene of a robbery. Although initial statements from the Sheriff’s Department indicated deputies fired because Aguayo pointed an object at them, the teenager was unarmed. In this clip, attorney Alan Smotkin holds a press conference at the Greater Los Angeles Press Club, where is joined by Chicano activist Abe Tapia, as well as David Aguayo’s parents, Guillermo and Celia Aguayo. Smotkin asserts that the youth was not involved in the robbery, nor near the scene at the time of the robbery, and did not match the description of the adult suspects. Smotkin further states that he has gathered evidence that disproves the Sheriff's Department’s version of events. Smotkin also announces he has filed a claim for damages against the County of Los Angeles on behalf of David’s parents. Tapia accuses deputies of killing Mexican-Americans without justification, and states they will be protesting the inequities, brutality and killings. Some footage lacks sound. © The Regents of the University of California

Transcription

Since the 17th of December, when my office was requested to represent the parents of David to check into the situation and investigate the facts, we have gathered numerous evidence to show that the sheriff's version of the incident of the shooting was not accurate. As a matter of fact, David Aguo was nowhere near the alleged scene of the robbery, but David Aguo was on his way to a school bus to catch bus to go to school that morning and had no involvement with the attempted robbery. That the two suspects in the robbery were age 30 to 35. Different descriptions of David. killed Mexican-Americans without justification and never once coming to trial and finding any one particular member of the sheriff's department guilty of such a crime. We feel it's high time that the sheriff's department along with other law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles take a close look as to what is happening in these particular communities. And we feel that we are going to protest all these inequities, the brutality, the killings, and certainly this one an unnecessary one. The young man, David Aguayo, of whom they charge was involved in the robbery, is innocent of such a claim by the sheriff. We feel that David Aguayo, a young student on his way to school, was merely doing that and not involved in any alleged incident of robbery. We conclude not guilty of killing this individual, David Aguayo. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Okay. On December 17th, 1971, at approximately 7:55 a.m., David Aguo, a 16-year-old Mexican-American youth, was shot to death by the Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies. Since that date through the present, we have heard numerous reports and statements released, I assume, by the sheriff's department saying that David Aguo was a suspect of a armed robbery that took place that morning of the 17th of December, that he was running from the sheriff's deputies, that he had pulled a gun on the sheriff's deputies, he was a threat to the deputies, and the sheriffs had no alternative but that he was no danger to the sheriff. Three more shot, one of the bullets, hitting David in the head and killing him. Yesterday, a claim for damages was filed on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. GMO for damages against the county of Los Angeles for damages for the death of their son as a result of a shooting by the sheriff's department. The county has 45 45 days from yesterday to work out a settlement on this case. If no settlement is worked out or agreeable dis disposition of this matter is reached, then the parents of David Aguo are entitled to file a lawsuit for damages against the sheriff's department and are allowed then to have this matter heard by a court and by a jury to determine first if the sheriff's department was wrong and secondly if they feel the sheriff's department was wrong in this shooting then how much monetary damages should be awarded to to the parents of David for their loss of their son by this by these acts of the sheriff.

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