Friends, family, and community members are mourning the death of 23-year-old Erik Salgado, who was killed by California Highway Patrol officers in Oakland on June 6, 2020.
In Oakland on June 6, three unnamed California Highway Patrol officers shot dozens of rounds at a vehicle driven by 23-year old Erik Salgado, killing him and injuring his pregnant girlfriend. Thousands marched in the streets to protest against yet another murder at the hands of law enforcement.
But beyond the headlines is a human being who was lost to police violence. KPFA’s Lucy Kang and Chris Lee spoke to Erik’s step-father Farid Majail, his step-sister Amanda Isabel Majail Blanco, and his younger sister Vanessa Majail on the street where Erik was killed about his life. This is what they said they will remember about Erik.
“Eric was really outgoing, always had a smile on his face, was hardworking. He was a good daddy too. So that’s what I wanna be able to remember him by,” said Amanda.
“Eric was really outgoing, always had a smile on his face, was hardworking. He was a good daddy too. So that’s what I wanna be able to remember him by.” – Amanda Isabel Majail Blanco
“He was a good brother. He would always make jokes to make us laugh with me and my mom. And he was just always helping her around the house,” said Vanessa.
Amanda agreed. “Yeah, he loves his mom, loves his mommy a lot and his sisters,” she said. “All of my memories are from when we were children, so walking around. We used to live in Antioch. And so when we lived in Antioch together, we would leave the house.”
“They would sneak out at night time through the window screen, thinking that I don’t know,” said Farid.
“Or through the front door,” said Amanda, laughing.
“But still, they came back. Everything’s good. And no worries about nothing — because he was a good person,” added Farid.
“Well, obviously I don’t want them to paint him to be this criminal person… All of us, including him, even myself, we’re all products of our environment. And I think that should be really highlighted,” said Amanda. “Like, people keep emphasizing bad things about the stolen vehicle or whatever. And it’s like, honestly, that’s besides the fact. And he was a good person. He was Latino. He was a young dad, just like I’m a young parent, you know. He lives in Oakland. Everybody knows how it is to live out here in Oakland. It’s rough, period. It’s not easy, from generations before us, for my dad and generations before him from when Tupac was alive, we all know Oakland has always been like that.”
“Always since I was young, police have always been like that, against us, Latinos, blacks that we lived out there. We always got a different treatment than anything else. You know, it was just not fair,” said Farid. “All this needs to stop, and we just need to show everybody that we’re all equal. We all, even, you know. We have love for each other. We can be treated same as everyone else.”
“We always got a different treatment than anything else. You know, it was just not fair. All this needs to stop, and we just need to show everybody that we’re all equal.” – Farid Majail
“He was never a criminal… He didn’t do bad things,” said Vanessa. “And if he did, he did it for his family, just to survive, you know?”
“If he had, he would give, you know. When he had it, he would give out, you know. And in return, his friends would do the same things for him… So if his friends need help, his friends know they could fall on him, they could always get help from him. So they were always there helping each other go forward, get out of trouble and try to keep going, get everything straight,” said Farid.
“Yeah. When he would come by, he would always try to give me or my mom something if he had the money or had the time,” added Vanessa. “When he would go out to buy groceries or to go to the store or something, he would always ask us if we wanted something.”
Reflecting on Erik’s life, Amanda said she felt a deep sense of loss.
“So my birthday is this Saturday. I plan on being here, you know, just celebrating Erik’s life. Cause it doesn’t feel right for me to celebrate my life,” said Amanda. “My brother’s just got taken away in the same week. And so he would have been 24 next month exactly a month from Saturday. So, you know, it’s just unfortunate that it had to go down in this, in this manner, in this way… If I would have run into him just a few weeks before, a few months before, I would have smacked him in the head and been like, you know, I f***ing love you. You know, let’s let’s stay close. Let’s stay connected, you know?”
Erik’s family is honoring his life — and demanding accountability for the officers who killed him.
“We want the police officers’ names. We want them to be up front about it. They were so bold in killing him in the way that they did. We want to know who they are. We want to see their faces,” said Amanda.
“We want the police officers’ names. We want them to be up front about it. They were so bold in killing him in the way that they did. We want to know who they are. We want to see their faces.” – Amanda Isabel Majail Blanco
“We want to make sure that justice is served to them, that they don’t be out on the streets, they don’t get a couple of days off with pay,” said Farid. “You know, what we’re going through, they need to go through too. If be locked up for the rest of their lives, they gonna be locked up for the rest of their lives. I don’t care. They took something from us. They’re not gods. They cannot take lives from us, at all. We did nothing…”
“I want him to know that we all love him. And for any trouble, if he was in trouble, that we would always have been there to help him, to support him, and get him out of whatever he needs to get out of. And it’s not this the end of life,” added Farid. “It’s six years for a car theft, six years. For robbing a car, you would probably get three to six years. Not a life taken away from you, for stealing a car – if it is stolen. That’s not justice.”
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This story is part of the series TAKEN FROM US: Remembering lives lost to police violence.
Story by Lucy Kang (@ThisIsLucyKang), with Chris Lee (@cleexyz).
This story first aired on UpFront on June 15, 2020.