 |
| Santos Rodriguez in 1973 and the Memorial Statue of Him |
July 24, 1973: Dallas, Texas – 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez
and his older brother David were taken from their foster grandfather’s home in
their pajamas and in bare feet by two police officers. It was 2:30 am. The
officers believed the two boys had broken into a coin-operated soda machine and
stole $8.00.
The two officers, Darrel Cain and
Roy Arnold did not take the boys to the station house or allow the grandfather
to accompany them even though they were minors. Instead, they returned to the
gas station where the burglary occurred. They pulled to the back of the station
out of sight. There Officer Cain switched spots with Santos. Cain got in the
back seat with David. The two officers questioned the boys who remained handcuffed. Becoming frustrated when neither
boy confessed to breaking into the soda machine Cain pulled out his .357 revolver
and emptied the cylinder. He then pointed the gun at Santos and told him they
were going to play a game until Santos admitted his guilt. Then he pulled the
trigger. Nothing happened. This was proof to Cain that he had emptied the gun’s
cylinder. He then told Santos to try again and tell the truth. When the boy
once again insisted, that he and his brother were innocent Cain pulled the trigger
again, this time there was a bullet that entered Santo’s head near the base of
the ear, killing him instantly. Dallas was a heavily segregated
city and this was taking place in “Little Mexico”. This was the section of town
that due to redlining and other means had become the Latino section of the
city. The population in this collection of neighborhoods was approximately
40,000 people or about 8 percent of the total population. The boys went to an elementary
school that was majority Mexican American. The two officers were both Anglo
and Cain had a history of pulling his weapon. The 30-year-old Cain was a 5-year
veteran officer and in those five years was involved in the killing of one
other suspect, Michael Morehead, in a controversial incident with his former
partner. In that case, Cain and his former partner had caught Morehead in a burglary
of a lounge when Morehead fled both officers fired multiple times, hitting
Morehead three times. The next year Cain shot another suspect. A third officer, Jerry Foster, was
also at the gas station looking into the burglary that Cain and Arnold believed
the Rodriguez boys had committed. Foster was in the station when he heard the
gunshot. He ran to the patrol car and found Arnold standing a distance away
vomiting and Cain screaming he didn’t mean to kill Santos. Inside Foster had
found a broken-out window and the cigarette machine was broken into, not the outside
soda machine. Foster took Cain’s weapon from him. A fourth officer David Rowe
responded to Foster’s call regarding the shooting and found the two boys still
in the car handcuffed and removed David from the car. Santos was taken to Parkland
Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Within hours of the shooting, Cain
was suspended and Dallas Police Chief Frank Dyson filed charges of murder with
malice against him. A $5,000 bond was placed on Cain whose attorney had him
free in two days. The investigation of the burglary and the shooting was ongoing,
and it was discovered that no fingerprints matching either of the Rodriguez
boys were found. Officer Arnold was dismissed by the Dallas Police. He had not
filed a report that he had also discharged his weapon. He had fired on three
suspects fleeing the gas station that night. A community protest, named the "March
of Justice for Santos Rodriguez" was held that following Saturday. Over
1,000 people from the community were involved Marchers were predominantly of
Mexican-American and African-American descent. The march was from Kennedy Plaza
to Dallas City Hall. Latino community leaders made speeches calling for
community unity and action, and at around 12:50 pm the march led back to
Kennedy Plaza. Prayers were held at the plaza and the original organized march
was dispersed. Unfortunately, there were some hotheads in the groups
who attempted to riot, but quick action by both community leaders and the
police quelled it quickly, although five officers did have to go to the hospital. Cain’s trial started in October
and he was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. He was released
upon appeal, a process that took nearly four years until the Supreme Court of
the United States refused to hear the case. Cain went to prison in 1977 but
only served two and a half years due to good behavior. He became an insurance
claims adjuster. He died at age 75 in 2019. Multiple memorials were held for
Santos Rodriguez over the years. In 2013 Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings made an official
apology to Bessie Rodriguez and David Rodriguez. The city dedicated a statue to
Santos at the Pike Park Recreation Center on Feb. 9, 2022. The center was
renamed the Santos Rodriguez Center.
Sources: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/dallas/article277530848.html https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/rodriguez-santos https://humanrightsdallasmaps.com/items/show/9 https://smudailycampus.com/1008155/news/dallas-apologizes-for-40-year-old-murder/
|
No comments:
Post a Comment