Remembering Ruben Salazar

Ruben Salazar Death Silences a Leading Voice of Reason

In his weekly columns for The Times he somehow managed the amazing feat of "bugging the establishment" while still giving his fellow Chicanos some shred of hope that the system might possibly work. There was great soul in his writing, a gentle irony that could chide the gabacho and chicano with equal and unfailing affection. Thus, even the most angry militant Brown Beret could trust him, because he knew where Ruben's heart was — that it was always beating at the very core of la raza.

So when that fatal bullet-like missile struck him down in the searing violence of the East Los Angeles riot, instantly killing him as he was covering the story right where the action was, we Chicanos suffered a terrible loss — an irreparable loss. He was our only established newspaper columnist, the most experienced and articulate Chicano writer in this whole country. Such a loss no community can afford….

One might expect that he would die as he did, getting as close as he could to stage-center as the rioting progressed from one violent phase to another, perhaps interviewing one of the fugitive rioters at the very moment he was killed….

Salazar Facts Still Unknown Oct. 7, 1970

The protracted inquest into the death of Ruben Salazar established many of the facts that the public should know…

But the inquest did not bring out — because the Sheriff's Department resisted bringing out — whether Dep. Thomas Wilson was acting within the limits of his standing orders when he fired the projectile. The inquest did not bring out — because the Sheriff's Department resisted bringing out — what the deputy's standing orders were, and what the department's procedures are, in regard to the use of tear gas, particularly the use of the specialized, and deadly projectile that killed Salazar…..

But there is more at stake here than the legal guilt of one deputy sheriff. In a larger sense, what is at question is the authority, the legitimacy, the credibility of the Sheriff's Department in the eyes of the people it serves and protects. The death of Salazar has aroused among reasonable men and women serious doubts about the way the department uses weapons, who decides to use them, and when, and why.

Let the Facts Be Known Oct. 16, 1970

So this is where the matter stands: an innocent man was killed by a weapon that should not have been used when it was used, but the public authorities assign no blame….

The public should view with sympathy and understanding the position of a policeman in the midst of a riot. He is in danger; he has to act fast; he is subject to error under stress. He is, of course, responsible for his acts, but the larger responsibility for them belongs to his immediate superiors; ultimately, to the commander himself. It is this ultimate responsibility that Sheriff Pitchess, in denying that anything was wrong, has refused to accept.

For something was wrong. The tear-gas projectile that killed Salazar was designed for piercing walls and meant to be used only against barricaded suspects…. It was the wrong weapon at the wrong place at the wrong time.