Youth Travel to the State Capital to Advocate for Families Impacted by Police Violence

Jordyn and Jules, granddaughters of Rudy Cardenas who was killed by an undercover state agent in San Jose, traveled to the California state capital to advocate for AB 3021, a bill to protect grieving families from coercive police interrogations.

They talk about traveling to Sacramento and the experience during the Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing for AB 3021. They also reflect on going door to door to do "drop offs" on California State Senators to talk more about why AB 3021 is important.

More about AB 3021:

Moments after loved ones are injured or killed by police, families are often “interviewed” by police who intentionally withhold the information that their relative was dead until the end of the “interview”. What was initially thought of as an isolated experience by families during some of the darkest moments of their lives turned out to be a police interrogation tactic espoused by a private company called Lexipol that trains police officers on how to squeeze information from families to protect police from lawsuits and criminal charges. 

This bill comes directly from the experiences of Silicon Valley De-Bug families who have lost loved ones to police.

AB 3021 (sponsored by Ash Kalra, D-San Jose) will require law enforcement to inform families of loved ones harmed or killed by police of their right to ask about the status of their loved one prior to answering questions, their right to remain silent, and that before speaking with law enforcement, they can consult with a trusted support person or attorney and can have that person with them while they speak to the interviewer.