Dozens gathered for a midday protest Saturday offering support for the family of Victor Perez and expressing anguish about the nature of his death and the parallels between Victor and loved ones.
The protest came after Pocatello police shot 17-year-old Victor Perez — who was autistic and had cerebral palsy — on April 5, after they were called to the Perez residence in response to a disturbance. He was declared clinically brain dead days later and died April 12 after being taken off life support. Perez, who was holding a knife when police arrived, was shot by responding officers from the other side of a chain link fence within seconds of their arrival on the scene, an incident that has generated national headlines in the weeks since.
Cyrus and Avery Wisdom are the creators of The Victor Project nonprofit and organized the protest. The couple said they had been in contact with Anita Vasquez, one of Perez’s aunts, as well as Michelle Perez, the “English translator for the family” and are focusing their efforts on garnering signatures for a petition that is seeking to initiate reforms in policing, particularly around those that are suffering from mental health crises. The petition can be found on change.org …