Episode 11

In Episode 11 of Know Tucson, we talk to community member Vanessa Gallego on the death of Carlos Adrian Ingram-Lopez, and the subsequent justification that his death was a result of “poor life choices” rather than the 12+ minutes of physical restraint that TPD used on someone who was in need of emergency care. Our conversation is about our collective grief surrounding mental health, generational trauma, and addiction in our familias. My older brother Jorge “George” Santa Cruz would have turned 40 on July 7, 2020. I’ve been vocal about his accidental overdose as a way to normalize and bring awareness to the disease that is drug addiction. His death shifted for me many things but stepping into my truth, was a big one. I’m putting all of this messy life stuff out there because being in the shadows silences and kills people. The death of Carlos Adrian, has been a painful reminder that conversations, as scary and vulnerable as they are, need to be had about police violence, and its many manifestations, pain that leads to addiction, and lack of public support services. This is a must if we are to heal and transform ourselves and the world around us.