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As an organization that defends, advances, and strengthens the rights of people with disabilities, Disability Rights California is horrified by the violence against Isaias Cervantes, a 25-year-old Latino deaf and autistic man. On March 31, 2021, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy shot Isaias in his back on the floor of his living room. The shooting left Isaias in critical condition with a spinal cord injury. He remains hospitalized, breathing through a ventilator. If he survives, he may never walk again.

This incident is not a tragedy nor an accident. It was an act of deliberate violence. Even after Isaias’s family told deputies that Isaias was disabled and posed no threat, a deputy kneeled on his body and shot him in the back. The deputies’ later claim that Isaias had tried to harm him is disturbingly at odds with other eyewitness accounts and the Sheriff’s own policies. We condemn this assault and any attempt to blame Isaias instead of the deputies who escalated the situation and pulled the trigger.

This violence cannot be justified or ignored. It was fueled by a law enforcement culture that routinely dehumanizes those who cannot demonstrate compliance, and deems them deserving of brutal, often lethal force. It realized a fear – played out with alarming frequency on the evening news – that millions of disabled, Black, and Brown Americans live with every day. It is deeply rooted in both ableism and white supremacy. For too many disabled people and people of color, law enforcement has brought trauma instead of safety, betrayal instead of justice. This must stop now.

Disability Rights California calls for a radical reimagining of law enforcement in both criminal and disability justice. Efforts to train or reform are not enough. We stand with movements that seek to: (1) avoid bringing people with disabilities into contact with law enforcement; (2) divert funding from armed law enforcement toward community-based organizations and social services; and (3) decrease the reach of institutions that routinely harm marginalized groups.

We must pursue changes that center the voices and lived experiences of disabled people, especially those that experience multiple forms of marginalization. Alternatives to traditional policing are essential to the safety of the disability community and all communities, and must be a priority.

“Disability Rights California condemns this terrible act of violence by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department against Isaias Cervantes. We hope that he can make a full recovery soon. Throughout California, families, especially Black and Latino families, fear that violent acts by law enforcement like this can happen to their loved ones with disabilities at any moment. DRC will continue to advocate to ensure that unjustified violent acts do not happen to other innocent disabled people,” says Eric Harris, Director of Public Policy, Disability Rights California.

We grieve and stand with the Cervantes family. We join their demand for justice for Isaias.

ASL Video of Statement