FAMILY OF MAN KILLED BY DOWNEY COPS WANTS CITY BUSINESS BOYCOTT
By Ben Baeder
Via DowneyBeat.com: Family members of Michael Nida, who was shot to death by Downey police on Oct. 22 after twice running from them, are calling for a boycott of Downey businesses.
Police said that on the night of the shooting they were looking for suspects of an armed robbery at a nearby ATM when they stopped Nida as he was crossing Imperial Highway. Nida twice ran from police before he was shot in the corner of a shopping center at the southwest corner of Paramount Boulevard and Imperial Highway.
Police later learned that Nida, a carpenter and married father of four from South Gate, had nothing to do with the robberies and was walking back to meet his wife at a gas station after buying cigars at a tobacco shop across the street.
Nida’s older sister, Terri Teramura, has called for Downey to retrain its officers and for the force to stop using MP5 sub-machine guns, which was the type of gun used to kill her brother.
“We’re going to boycott Downey,” she said at a Downey City Council meeting on Tuesday. “No more shopping at the Stonewood Mall. No more shopping at the Downey Landing.”
3 Comments
Boycotting local businesses that had not one single thing to do with the Nida shooting has no foundation in logic. Punishing honest businesspeople who are simply trying to make a living, provide for their families, and offer goods and services to their community, is nothing more nor less than an unjust victimization of its own.
No more unjust than the police shooting an innocent unarmed man multiple times in the back and killing him in front of his wife. Why not spread the pain to others? Maybe that will help lead to necessary change to prevent further similar episodes if businesses know the pain will be shared.
I already explained why not, lackwit. There is no foundation in logic. Constructive change, if it is necessary, is not likely to be brought about by alienating fellow citizens or punishing hard working business people for the perceived injustices of others.