Still Seeking Justice for Texas Schoolboy Santos Rodriguez Killed By Police in 1973
Santos Vive 50 Coalition hosts events in Dallas to commemorate a fifty-year fight for recognition and reparations
July 24, 2023, marks 50 years since 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez was shot and killed by a Dallas police officer.
On the fateful day, Santos and his brother, David, were handcuffed in the back of a patrol car where they were being interrogated about a gas station robbery. In an attempt to coerce a confession, Officer Darrell Cain played a game of Russian roulette with his police gun, resulting in the fatal shot that killed the schoolboy.
In honor of this anniversary, the Santos Vive 50 Coalition organized multiple events including two panel discussions on the impact of the killing and how police killings remain a burning issue. American Muslims like Hadi Jawad see this tragic story as an opportunity for allyship and cross-community unity.
Pictured: Hadi Jawad“I would just like to urge the Muslim community in Dallas, who don't know about the story, to learn the story and share the story with their children,” says Jawad, who is the convener of the Santos Vive 50 Coalition. “The Muslim community is doing really well … but others have paid a price for the rest of us … we should understand and be grateful for what we have today and acknowledge the sacrifice that people before us made.”
Rhonda Sanchez Gonzales, Robert Medrano, Frances Rizo, Raul Duarte, Rene Castillo A legal panel discussion included the family lawyer of Jordan Edwards, who was killed by Balch Springs police in 2017. His death was cited as an example of police brutality. Also present to analyze the police investigation and the sentence his murderer received were Judge Lena Levario and former magistrate Michel R. Snipes. 
Lena Levario, Sol Villasana, Daryl K. Washington, Micheal R. SnipesThe audience was allotted time to ask questions after each panel. Friends and relatives of the Rodriguez family were in attendance along with other community members affected by losing a family member to police violence.
Rodriguez family friend poses question to legal panel Justice for Santos' family has been a long drawn-out process. For decades the city of Dallas refused to apologize to his mother, Bessie Rodriguez, for the brutal and senseless murder of her son in front of his brother. Campaigners persisted and ten years ago, Mayor Mike Rawlins made a public apology following the 40-year anniversary ceremony.
Pictured: Jesse MorenoDistrict 2 City Councilman, Jesse Moreno says it is important that he helps the family and community seek justice and healing.
“I see my image, I see the image of my cousins and nephews,” said Moreno. “I see that as being any little boy, any Latino boy here in the city of Dallas.”
Bessie’s daughter-in-law, Daphne Rodriguez says her husband, David, is still deeply affected by seeing his brother shot and killed that day.
Daphne Rodriguez with Rene Castillo“At the time it happened, he remembered thinking and telling him that he would put a band-aid on it, once they got home and he would be okay,” Daphne told AMT about the moment he was shot. “It wasn't till a little later he realized he wasn't going home.”
Jawad, who is a close friend of the Rodriguez family, says Santos’ murder was compared to a Greek tragedy when it was first reported. “We think this story of Santos is powerful because it tells us who we are as a city,” he said.
“This is a story about all of us. Dallas is a big mixture of people from around the world…the only way for Dallas to become a great city is to uplift, uphold, promote, preserve, and celebrate the human rights of everyone who lives in Dallas.”
Courtesy of David SentendreyLast year, a statue of Santos was erected in Pike Park which used to be known as Little Mexico.
A documentary about Santos was aired this week on KERA and can be viewed on the WFAA streaming app. For anyone who wants to make a donation, there is a GoFundMe page to help raise money to cover the basic needs of Bessie and David Rodriguez.
