Gerardo Martinez Chavez

How they died

Deadly force

Officers responded to a 911 call at around 8 p.m. from someone saying their neighbor was extremely drunk and had pointed a black handgun at him. The caller said the gun might have been a BB gun because it looked too small to him. He said that the man with the gun had attacked them before and vandalized property. The caller also said he believed his neighbor was on meth. When officers arrived, Officer Mario Reyes positioned himself behind the engine block of his patrol car with his rifle about 50 feet from the home. Officers were unable to talk to Gerardo Martinez. Martinez walked partially out of the side door of his home at around 8:30 p.m., and officers told him in Spanish to come out with his hands up. At one point, Martinez got what appeared to be a handgun from inside the home and allegedly pointed it at Officer Reyes, who shot and killed him. Chavez did not speak English or Spanish.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Gerardo Martinez Chavez, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources