JORGE GONZALES

Jorge Gonzales was a victim of police brutality. The 23-year-old Monte Alto resident had his neck broken by Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Easter weekend 2020. He died of complications from his injuries on July 15. Jorge’s family, inspired by the George Floyd protests in 2020, demanded accountability from local government.

The similarities between George Floyd and Jorge’s encounter with police show that our collective liberation is bound together. The lives of impoverished, rural RGV residents won’t truly matter until we transform current systems of public safety into one that prioritizes Black lives and all other vulnerable communities.

In collaboration with LUPE (La Union del Pueblo Entero), Divest/Invest brought awareness to Jorge’s story, making national news, and helped organize several calls to action demanding the sheriff’s office meet the family’s wishes. As Jorge’s family was grappling with feelings of grief and despair they were simultaneously moving with courage as they advocated for their lost beloved son/brother/father. Divest/Invest RGV sought to help support them in their efforts to do so, and provided communal and financial support through mutual aid.

#JusticeForJorge

EDUCATION

#DivestPDInvestRGV (Town Hall)

In 2020 D/I conducted a “What Would You Fund” digital campaign in which we encouraged RGV residents to share what they would fund in their community using their city’s inflated police budget. We received submissions in the form of testimonies and pictures- people submitted photos of their city’s uneven and cratered roads, of their flooded streets as a result of poor city drainage, and of underfunded schools, just to name a few. It was clear that RGV residents felt strongly about over-funded police budgets and the lack of funding for other city needs.

From here, D/I’s very first virtual public Town Hall emerged in an effort for RGV residents to come together to talk about the issues that mattered to them. We asked specific questions like “What is your relationship with law enforcement?”, and “What are your hopes for your community?”. People from different backgrounds joined and participated in a safe, judgment-free space to candidly share their feelings with other community members.

These campaigns were launched with the purpose of community engagement and to prompt residents to imagine the type of city- and world- they want to live in and how through collective power we can make it happen.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Justice For Timothy

Divest/Invest is supporting Timothy Murray, an 11-year old elementary student, whose rights were fiercely violated by Brownsville ISD and prosecutors. Timothy, a fifth-grader and honors student at Palm Grove Elementary, has become a victim of a system that seems more interested in punishing him than addressing the real issues at hand.

Timothy’s story began when he reported being bullied by his school principal, Myrta Garza. Shockingly, Timothy was later arrested and detained in solitary confinement just days after making this report. His mother, Nadia Rincon, had hoped the charges would be dropped, but the situation has only gotten worse.

Cameron County ADA, Rene Garza is trying relentlessly to build a criminal case against Timothy – a child. Despite lacking substantial evidence, additional charges were filed by school administrators who previously worked under Garza. Timothy’s attorney, Sara Stapleton-Barrera, describes the prosecutor as overzealous, making decisions that harm rather than help.

Timothy has always excelled academically, participating in chess competitions and literary contests. However, these recent events have put a halt to him living a regular life as a student and as a kid. Due to these traumatic events, Timothy is now homeschooled.

Myrta Garza, the principal at Palm Grove Elementary continues to have influence in the district. Her actions are not new; other parents have come forward with their own stories of mistreatment. The system appears to protect its own, defending administration and leaving parents like Nadia Rincon and Timothy caught in a cycle of injustice. The legal battle has taken a toll on Timothy’s well-being. He is now experiencing anxiety and displaying obvious signs of distress– a rational reaction to being prosecuted for seeking help. And now his mother, desperate for justice, is raising funds to cover the mounting legal fees and secure a fair trial for her son.

These events are evidence of the larger issue of over-policing in schools, how youth are often overlooked and neglected, how susceptible our kids are to being bullied and taken advantage of, and how school districts like BISD are more interested in protecting their own than protecting their students. Divest/ Invest denounces the criminalization of our children.

Support Timothy’s legal fund here, and follow us for more updates as we continue this fight for justice!

POLICE MISCONDUCT DATABASE

The police misconduct database was started as a testament to the history of regional police violence and the lives altered by it. The misconduct database is an archival project representing contemporary instances of police harm/violence in the Rio Grande Valley starting in 2010 to present. These accounts include instances in and out of custody, both on-duty and off-duty, deemed “justified” or “unjustified” via Texas legal systems. This non-comprehensive list highlights the need for a diversity of social resources, as police are often used to respond to a multitude of issues. This becomes particularly controversial when the presence of police escalates mental health crises or non-violent domestic disputes, which is supported by our data. Accounts include excessive and deadly force, sexual misconduct and custodial deaths among others. We hope this can be used as a resource for journalists, students, scholars, organizers and other members of the community who need their experiences affirmed.

Our police misconduct database will be publicly accessible soon!

Process:

We cross-reference local news stories with publicly available data (Texas attorney general custodial death reports, incident/arrest reports, TCOLE reports, documentation from civil cases, etc).

If you’d like to get involved on this project, join our team!