The term, "police brutality" was coined by the New York Times in 1893; yet, minorities victims have felt the blunt force of billy clubs, fists and guns much earlier than that. The police's use of excessive force isn't new, there is a definite and pronounced history of police using violent tactics as a tool for oppression and/or coercion. There are countless cases where police officers have been accused of being the force used to keep minorities in their place, and history books overflow with details of these crimes. Violence is "repeated almost every day in (America), the police (get) away with murder, beatings, and other lawless acts -- poor Blacks, Latinos, and Muslims for their faith and ethnicity their usual victims."

Santa Rosa, Calif., Oct. 22, 2013: 13-year-old Andy Lopez was walking near a friend's home while carrying a non-lethal airsoft gun designed to appear like an AK-47. Sheriff Deputy Erick Gelhaus of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office mistook the airsoft gun to be real, and unloaded seven bullets from his 9mm handgun into Lopez's body within 6 second -- two being fatal gun shot wounds, the bullets striking him on his side as he attempted to turn and face the sheriff. Lopez's retired body was then handcuffed, before he pronounced dead.

Gelhaus claimed that he demanded that Lopez drop his gun, apparently feeling threatened by the manner in which Lopez had raised the BB gun, though Gelhaus couldn't recall whether he'd identified himself as police office, beyond his uniformed appearance and arrival in a marked police cruiser.

Protestors and activists swelled in the streets following the 13-year-old's murder. They roared with outrage, insisting that the shooting was a case of police brutality. Several movements ensued during the months following the shooting, protests even going into the new year. The largest protest was attended by 1,000 people in a downtown Santa Rosa protest, done in the form of a mass march.

On Nov. 4, Lopez's family filed a lawsuit against Santa Rosa and Petaluma police, stating that the Deputy Erick Gelhaus fired at Lopez "without reasonable cause."

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office concealed the name of the second deputy on the scene, citing him as a potential "witness" to the incident. The second deputy was behind the wheel of the patrol car and was on a training assignment with Gelhaus. Four days after Lopez's death, the FBI conducted their own investigation -- but declined further proceedings, concluding that the shooting was justified.

Gelhaus was initially placed on administrative leave following the shooting, but he returned to his duties in early December.

Santa Rosa and Petaluma police delivered a report on the fatal shooting of Lopez that won't be made available to the public until agency investigators deem it necessary. The wait is apparently a part of the process when reviewing officer-related shootings. While reviews done by the district attorney are meant to follow guidelines that suggest that reviews are completed within a three month period, it usually takes four months on average. However, that happens to be a quicker turnaround under District Attorney Jill Ravitch direction, who was elected in 2010, than prior to her placement. Ravitch has stated that she will not rush her review of the incident, but promised to be "to be clear and transparent with whatever decision."

Latinos have been prime target for hate crimes, discrimination, false incrimination, and racial profiling. Border patrol killings are an additional offense experienced by the Latino population. California, Connecticut and Arizona are the primary states where Latinos suffer the most at the hands of police officers.

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