When a couple of residents of the city of San Fernando realized that a man was spitting and uttering racial insults at a car wash, they called the police. But the police elements instead of applying a sanction to the aggressor, went against the victim and warned him that if they saw him again washing cars in the street, they would apply a heavy fine.
“They would have I wished they would not call the police, because now apart from having been insulted and discriminated against, my source of employment is at risk, ”says Marvin Calderón, an undocumented Salvadoran immigrant, who lives in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles. .
Marvin explains that the incident occurred on Tuesday 24 November, on the 853 of Newton Street in San Fernando.
“They were like 2 o’clock: 15 in the afternoon when I was washing a car for one of my clients , and a neighbor came out, an elderly person and began to insult me, Go back to Mexico! stupid dog! and many more things. ”
When the neighbors realized this, they called the San Fernando police to come to the scene to put order and ask the aggressor to hold back.
“About 5 patrols arrived”, remembers Marvin from 39 years. But to his surprise, the policemen began to question him. “They told me that I did not have permission to wash cars in the houses, and that it was forbidden for me to carry water in my truck.”
But they also gave him a written warning in which they state that if they see him again washing cars in the neighborhoods of San Fernando, they would apply a fine of between $ 500 to $ 1, 000, and they would confiscate his truck and work implements.
“My son of 16 years accompanied me and the truth was that we were scared. I don’t have papers. And I never thought that instead of helping me, they would want to harm me. ”
He says that the policemen told him that he could not do anything against his attacker, because he had not hit or pushed him. The agents did not seem to care that in their presence, the man will continue to insult the car wash, as can be seen in a video captured by the neighbors.
For three years, Marvin has been making a living washing cars, going from house to house in cities like San Fernando, Van Nuys, Reseda and Sylmar. “I already have my client portfolio.”
Before, he worked in a car wash business, but since the minimum wage was not enough to support his wife and son, he decided to try his luck washing cars on his own.
In his truck, he brings a light generator that allows him to pass energy to the vacuum cleaner to vacuum the cars. He also carries a tank with 60 liters of water. “I bring everything to give a complete car wash service.”
Marvin comments that after the attack he suffered, he feels very demoralized and afraid of the police. “I was insulted and discriminated against. The assailant spat in my face, which worries me more about covid disease. And after being the injured person, the police threaten to fine me if I keep working. And in what way am I going to support my family. What do they want? … that we go live on the streets. It seems that the police do not want us Hispanics. ”
Sergeant Domínguez, the chief on duty of the San Fernando Police, said that there was no physical altercation between the car wash and the neighbor, and for that there were no sanctions. “It was a verbal lawsuit,” he says.
But he clarifies that since they found the car wash working in the middle of the street, and that is punishable, that is why he was given the warning of a fine.
When asked whether to utter racial insults and spit, is not sufficient reason to punish an aggressor and consider the act as an incident of hate, Sergeant Domínguez said that he was not there, and could not comment on more details.
Just this month, the annual analysis of hate crimes was released in 2020 of Los Angeles County, which reveals that among Latinos, these types of crimes increased by 58% from 67 to 106.
A number considered quite low, but the report indicates that it is possible that Latino victims are refuse to contact law enforcement agencies due to fear of the Immigration and Customs Service.
It should be said that in the 62% of hate crimes used anti-Mexican insults; and there were a record number of incidents in which anti-immigrant profanity such as ‘wet back’ was used.
The main type of offenses against Latinos were simple assaults, followed by aggravated assaults, intimidation, vandalism and theft.
Half of the attacks against Latinos are in public places, the 24% in residences, 20% in business and 3% in schools. In a 47% the attackers were African American, 43% white and 9% other Latinos.
The total number of crimes reported in 2020 in Los County Angels, grew up 20% from 530 to 635 last year.
Pro-immigrant activist of Mexican origin, Nau Huitzilopochtli, says it is completely unfair that the police did not arrest or even give a warning to the Marvin’s attacker.
“It makes me unfair because spitting on someone is an assault. And the police respond by threatening the victim’s source of work. ”
Huitzilopochtli adds that the hate attack against Marvin is one more example of ‘gabacho racism’ and ‘institutional racism of the police’.
“Hopefully our community will unite to not allow this type of racism to continue.”