(Editor's note: The graphic photo showing the aftermath of the violence perpetrated on the Rapada family is courtesy SFCHRP.COM. Although the pictures show the scars and bruises of the beating the Rapada's received on new years 2011, the photos were taken after the family had received medical attention. Their appearance prior to the photos were even more graphic)
Ephraim Rapada does not say much. He is a quiet, working man whose eyes speak what is written in his heart. His skin is shaded by the dark landscape of years working the fields of Delano with other Filipino workers, a part of the legacy of workers who fought for justice and survived police attacks in their struggle for workers rights. In Ephraim Rapada's skin is the story of the struggle of Filipinos in America, a story that includes police terror and assault and brutality—meted out by that occupying force that we are told to trust, that is supposed to serve and protect. That occupying force—the police—that ominous presence that stretches from the fields of Delano to the Rapada's home of San Bruno where the American nightmare of police terror was brutally and painfully beaten into the skin of Ephraim Rapada and his family on the July 4, 2011.
It was the 4th of July, a holiday. The family, which included Ephraim, his daughter Crystal, son Ervin and nephew Wendell, were enjoying the holiday together. What ensued, according to the family was an all-out ambush. People were congregated, out and about in their San Bruno neighborhood. An M-1000 firework was allegedly thrown, the sound catching the attention of a nearby fireworks abatement patrol car. Another was thrown and the car drove into it. Upon stopping, the unexploded M-1000 lay underneath the car where it lie silent. The officers from the abatement team are made up of officers from San Bruno, Daly City, Redwood City and San Mateo--summoned specifically for the 4th of July. The Rapada's didn't realize they were officers at first, as they were outfitted in BDU—battle dress uniform. The family didn't know they were officers because of “their actions”
A crowd teeming with people was nearby, which included Wendell Rapada. He was walking towards his home just a short distance from the scene. The officers accosted him and proceeded to choke him. Wendell was unarmed and turning blue. Ephraim Rapada witnessed what was happening, asking the officers why they were harming Wendell. The officers viciously turned on the elder Rapada. His daughter Crystal, who had been in the house, came out. Seeing what was happening to her father, she was frantic and tried to get between her father and the officer. She was taken to the ground, held down by an officer's foot on her neck. Ervin Rapada witnesses the scene and pleads for the officers to stop. He is attacked by 3 officers, one of whom tazed him 4 times. Crystal Rapada is frantic, calling out for her father who is injured. She is mocked by the officers on the way to the hospital.
The limited media coverage of this case is disturbing. The stories that have come out have characterized the family as violent and out of control. Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson, the uncle of Oscar Grant, who was murdered by BART police on New Years day 2009, says that the coverage by the mass media in these cases is biased. “Mass media is not our friend. It will repeat what the cops are doing and not the defense. “The system constantly demoralizes us and takes away our humanity” says Johnson, recalling his experiences in the case of nephew Oscar Grant. Johnson says that community support in these cases is vital in a system that is pro law enforcement. “The defense can show if an officer has a bad history but the jury will not be privy to it. It is important that the community support the Rapada family at this time”.
Poor Magazine has stood by the families of Oscar Grant, Shaleem Tindle, Kenneth Harding, Idriss Stelley and others who have suffered the American Injustice system of brutality and death. La Mesha Irizarry of the Idress Stelley Foundation, named after her son who was murdered by San Francisco police, says that poor people and people of color are portrayed as less than human. “Whenever poor people or people of color are being brutalized, they are accused of resisting arrest of inciting a riot. They always believe these folks are monsters. These people deserve to be treated like human beings, not animals.”. NAFCON, the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns has supported the family as well as the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, both organizations calling for all charges in the case to be dropped.
The elder Rapada has been charged with battery on an officer. It is alleged that he tried to disarm an officer, attempting to throw him off a balcony. The family maintains that Ephraim Rapada could not have done such a thing, weighing a mere 120 pounds and possessing physical limitations as a result of an accident in 1991 in which he was run over by a motorcycle.
Witnesses have moved or been intimidated from speaking out. A witness was even seen having dinner with one of the officers involved in the assault on the families. The Rapada family has suffered much trauma, incarceration, emotional and physical stress and the exhaustion of much financial resources. Ephraim Rapada cannot work due to the injuries he suffered, as well as his son Ervin. Crystal's future livelihood as a bank employee rests on the outcome of the trial currently underway involving her family. Wendell Rapada missed the birth of his child due to his incarceration.
The Rapada family needs your support. The media has portrayed the family as criminals but the family is anything but. They are hard working and not guilty of the charges against them. Please support the Rapadas.