Los Siete de la Raza facts for kids
Los Siete de la Raza (The Seven of the Hispanic Community) was the label given to seven young Latinos from the Mission District of San Francisco, California who were involved in a 1969 altercation with police that left one officer dead. The incident and subsequent trial became a cause célèbre of the Latin-American community and the New Left. All seven were acquitted.
Incident
The young men—Gary Lescallett, Rodolfo Antonio (Tony) Martinez, Mario Martinez, Jose Rios, Nelson Rodriguez, Danilo Melendez and George Lopez—were approached by plainclothes San Francisco Police Department officers Joe Brodnik and Paul McGoran while the former were moving a stereo or TV into a house at 429-433 Alvarado Street on May 1, 1969 at around 10:30 a.m. A struggle ensued and Brodnik was fatally shot with McGoran's gun. When police descended on the crime scene, they entered the house and assumed the suspects were hiding in the attic. As a police helicopter hovered overhead, they flooded the building with tear gas and sent a fire truck ladder up to the roof to facilitate the search while officer Brodnik's corpse lay untended on the sidewalk.
Three days later, six of the youths were arrested for Brodnik's murder, the attempted murder of McGoran, and burglary. The seventh, George Lopez, was never apprehended. They were defended by the activist lawyers Charles Garry and Richard Hodge, lauded by left entities like Ramparts magazine. The young Latinos included four Salvadorans, one Nicaraguan, and one Honduran, some of whom had been involved in the youth group the Mission Rebels (founded in 1965); and later in pan-Latino organizations such as COBRA (Confederation of Brown Race for Action) at the College of San Mateo, and the Brown Berets.
Trial
The trial began in late June 1970. Court sessions were widely attended by young radicals, including Black Panther Huey P. Newton and two of the Chicago Seven.
The prosecution maintained that one of the youths wrested McGoran's gun from him and shot Brodnik. Officer McGoran testified that they approached the youths and lined them up, then he struck one in the face and was jumped by "more than one assailant." The last thing he remembered hearing was Brodnik shouting, "Look out Paul, he's got your gun." The defense said McGoran pulled his gun and shot Brodnik during the struggle, and brought forth witnesses to testify to his and Brodnik's excessive use of force in previous incidents. McGoran denied drawing his gun. The defense tried to paint McGoran as a racist who tended to draw his gun during arrests. His estranged wife testified that her husband planted drugs on suspects to ensure their convictions. All seven defendants were acquitted.
The "Los Siete" Defense Committee, housed near 24th and South Van Ness, raised support for the seven Mission District youths and obtained assistance from the Black Panther Party. The La Raza Information Center began operating in the summer of 1970 in the vacant storefront next to "Los Siete". It ran many programs, including Centro de Salud, a free breakfast program, a community newspaper, and its main program, the "Los Siete" Defense Committee.
