Watching Your Son Get Killed by Police

The episode starts out with Ray Bacasegua Valdez, the director of the American Indian Movement in Northern Nevada, who was one of over 60 people at a recent support protest in downtown Reno, Nevada, for families of those killed by local police. In the interview, he references Johnny Bonta, a Native American who was killed in 2017 by three police officers in Sparks. We will then hear from the mother of Kenneth Stafford, a soldier who was killed while on military leave in 2013 by police in Sparks while suffering from PSTD. Terry Colgrove recounts in detail what led to that horrific killing. Many police killings happen when victims are suffering from mental health breakdowns of some sorts. After families seek help to save a loved one, in the several local cases we've looked into, it’s the police who arrive on the scene, and a very bad day turns tragic. The reporters for this episode are Richie Bednarski and Gracie Gordon. Get full access to Our Town Reno Newsletter at ourtownreno.substack.com/subscribe