David Baca (Police Brutality in San Jose, CA)
“Things will not change until the people change it.”
San Jose, California: My husband, David, attended the George Floyd Solidarity gathering on May 29, 2020. He stood beside the community as they protested peacefully in San Jose, California in front of City Hall. The protest started very calm. Unfortunately, he was present when the police became violent and he became a target then a victim. David noticed one of the officers shooting rubber bullets much faster than the others and aiming at the groups with people of color, those of whom were not doing anything violent but rather just using their freedom of speech. That’s when David stepped out from the sidewalk and approached the line of officers and called him a racist. He stepped away from the sidewalk and was then shot two times ( once in the leg and once in the torso) with a rubber bullet. As he stood at the front of the protest recording the officer he called racist, at about 6 feet away, he was suddenly hit in the neck with a baton by another officer. He instinctively protected himself and was then grabbed and thrown from one cop to another as they beat him, kicked, punched, hit with batons, and stomped on when he was already on the floor. He said “as I was falling to the ground, someone was already choking me. I just stopped fighting. I knew that I could break my arms. I laid there on the floor, in a chokehold, about to pass out. I said I can’t breathe. After that I couldn’t even speak because I was being choked. I laid there looking at the crowd of people in front of me, watching me, helpless. No one came to help.” After being arrested and forced to walk several feet away to wait to be transported to the jail, he did not cease to advocate for himself regarding his injuries. He finally convinced the officers to get him medical attention and, after about 45 minutes of waiting, he was taken to the county hospital. He was rushed into emergency surgery due to a shattered knee from the injuries he sustained from SJPD. On June 1, 2020 he was discharged from the hospital to recover at home with the help of his family.
We are reeling from this tragedy and cannot even begin to imagine the total in medical costs and financial loss that will incur as David is unable to continue working. Please help my family! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Donate, share, or send prayers his way.
David was injured exercising his first amendment right, protesting for a cause he believed in, pointing out the injustice in our system. Please stand with us and the rest of the world as we protest the violent and unfair treatment to our family, friends, and community! Take action! Call your elected officials, protest, donate to BLM!
#ICANTBREATHE
#BLACKLIVESMATTER
#POLICETHEPOLICE
Frequently asked questions:
Who you are and where you’re from:
My name is Lisa Robles and I am from San Jose, California.
Your relationship or contact to the parties you're raising funds for:
David Baca is my husband.
How the funds will be spent (be specific as possible):
All of the funds will be used for lawyer and investigation fees, transportation costs to and from appointments, medical costs, and to assist our family in bills in the months to come as David is recovering from the injuries he sustained on May 29, 2020
Your withdrawal plan to get the funds from the campaign to the ultimate beneficiary/ies:
All funds collected on this website (minus Go Fund Me fees) will be withdrawn to an established account for the benefit of our family.
