Families of North Texas men call for accountability from police

It was like a family reunion, only the people attending weren’t bound by bloodlines shared, they were bound by blood shed.

The families of several North Texas men recently killed by police marched around the historic Tarrant County Courthouse on Monday night, calling on the public to demand justice from the Tarrant County district attorney’s office and local police agencies.

“Justice is not going to be given,” said Dominique Alexander, president of the Grand Prairie-based Next Generation Action Network. “Justice is what you take.”

That group, and the local chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, organized the march for justice after the latest officer-involved shooting —a white Arlington police officer shot Christian Taylor, 19, who was black, on Aug. 7 inside a car dealership that Taylor broke into.

The family of a Fort Worth man shot July 31 after celebrating his 30th birthday at the Ojos Locos bar and grill downtown wore T-shirts with his face on them and the lettering “Justice for Phillip ‘Flip’ Vallejo.”

Fort Worth police said Vallejo was shot after he turned toward a bicycle patrol officer with a gun.

A boy held a bright blue sign quoting the Bible: “For there is nothing hidden that won’t be revealed. Nothing secret that won’t come to light. Justice for Flip.”

Relatives of Daniel Brumley, 27, of Fort Worth also marched.

Brumley was shot multiple times on Jan. 17 after police pulled him over on his way home from visiting a friend.

Police said Brumley stabbed an officer during a scuffle and then was shot.

The family has been told that the case will go before a Tarrant County grand jury in September, said his sister, Veronica Castillo.

“The neighbor who saw the shooting tells me she can’t even sleep at night,” Castillo said.

Some passers-by honked or revved their motorcycles as they passed the march, while officers in the courthouse peered out through the windows.

“Every time I see a cop, I want to stop and film him,” said Fernando Romero, brother-in-law of Rubén García Villalpando, 31, of North Richland Hills, whose death got national attention after a Grapevine officer shot him Feb. 20 on the side of Texas 121 in Euless.

The officer was not indicted.

Another group, clad in red T-shirts, joined in memory of Aldwin “Zeus” Brown, 26, also of Fort Worth, who was killed outside a liquor store-turned-nightclub on July 12.

His uncle Marvin Bookman said that although his nephew was shot by other clubgoers and not by a police officer, he’s had enough of shootings.

“This violence within the community has got to stop,” Bookman said. “This violence with police has got to stop. I’m here to tell people that.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Families of North Texas men call for accountability from police."