The newly released
autopsy for Frederick Holder, who was fatally shot on June 23rd of last year, reveals that three deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) shot at him at least 33 times with two 9mm handguns and one .223 rifle. Holder, an unarmed Black man, suffered at least 11 gunshot wounds to the face, torso, and both arms. He
was pronounced dead while still in the vehicle by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, despite already pulling over. Once deputies opened fire and Holder was hit, the truck started moving again and crashed, covering his body in shattered glass. Deputies claim that they thought he had a firearm, but all that was found was a bloody
butane lighter. Holder had been driving what was reported as a stolen box truck. After a short chase, Holder pulled over and was executed in a storm of bullets on a busy freeway off-ramp. Deputies claim that Holder pointed the butane lighter at them, but there is no video to confirm this. Sheriff’s Sgt. Juan Sanchez
informed the media that there is no body camera footage of the shooting, saying that out of the 165 deputies at Norwalk station, only 30 were not yet equipped with body cameras. The three deputies who shot at Frederick Holder were among those 30 who did not yet have body cameras. The three sheriff’s deputies who shot at Frederick Holder are Deputy Jackie Rojas, Deputy Javier Fierros, and Deputy Christopher Conger according to the incident summary report provided by LASD
.
Following this deputy killing last summer, Frederick Holder’s family and friends were joined by Black Lives Matter activists to demand justice over the fatal shooting of Holder by LASD. The family was not informed until a week after the shooting.
The evening began with family and friends, still grieving, sharing their stories and feelings for Frederick Holder.
After some somber and tearful moments, the family broke out into song along with activists. After, Frederick's mother called for protesters to be peaceful as vigil attendees prepared to march.
Melina Abdullah and Baba Akili of Black Lives Matter led the gathering to the freeway off ramp at Alondra Boulevard and Piuma Avenue, the location where Frederick Holder was killed two and a half weeks prior.
Activists and loved ones held space and stopped traffic in order to create a candlelight vigil in honor of Holder.
The protest had some tense moments as some drivers and folks in the area were agitated by the stopped traffic.
Family and activists emphasized how sad it was that people were more bothered by a traffic jam than they were an unarmed Black man being fatally shot by deputies.
There has been little coverage on the killing of Frederick Holder, even right after it happened. The killing was likely overshadowed by Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s press conference about the unhoused situation in Venice that occurred on the same day as the shooting.
Despite allegedly taking steps for more accountability; this fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man by LASD leaves the community with far more questions than answers, joining a trend of law enforcement in this area gunning down unarmed people of color.