Will There Be a Street Named After Santos Rodriguez in Dallas?

Who is Santos Rodriguez? In 1973, he was a twelve-year-old Mexican-American young boy, who was in the front passenger seat of a Dallas police cruiser with his older brother (then thirteen years old) in the backseat. Police picked them up while investigating a case regarding vending machine theft.

Credit: Dallas News
“You are going to be all right,” brother remembers telling unresponsive Santos.

As anyone would expect, the two denied any involvement in the robbery. The case took a turn when one of the cops handling the case, took things too far while trying to coax him to confess. The cop was Darrell Cain, and he shot Rodriquez in the head.

Reportedly, Rodriguez died with his last words, “I am telling the truth.” Later, the investigation revealed that the fingerprints did not match either of the two brothers.

Credit: Kera News

At Oakland Cemetery, recently, people came together to observe the 48th anniversary of Rodriguez’s murder. His mother, Bessie Rodriguez is now 77. At the service, she and received a formal apology from Eddie Garcia, the Dallas Police Chief. Reportedly, Garcia said:

“We must apologize as a police department, a department made up of mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons... On behalf of the Dallas Police Department, as a father, I am sorry. We are sorry that someone trusted to protect you, someone who wore the same uniform I proudly wear today took your son and took David’s brother away by way of murder.”

Ever since his death, the people of Dallas and the country at large have honored him. His death was a shock for many.

In Seattle (Washington), a park was named after Rodriguez in 2015. For several years, Jesse Moreno, a member of District 2 City Council, pushed for a local memorial. In 2018, Moreno succeeded in getting the recreation center at Pike named after Rodriguez. Moreover, according to reports by Dallas Morning News, there is a statue of Rodriguez in Pike Park that is almost complete.

Credit: Dallas News | Bessie Rodriguez

The executive director of the Dallas Peace and Justice Center, Hadi Jawad reportedly said one of the things Bessie always said is she does not want people to forget her son. All these markers in the city are a good way of honoring her request and making sure the city of Dallas never forgets her son. About eight years ago, Jawad also ensured the formation of the Santos Rodriguez Coalition to support renaming the recreation center and building the statuette in Pike Park. The coalition also assisted in the production of a documentary named Santos Vive.

Jawad also mentioned that Bessie was promised a lot over the past 48 years as amendments for the horrific tragedy she had to bear. She was promised to rename Pearl Street to Santos Rodriguez Boulevard, but it never happened. Jawad reportedly said, her story is a story of betrayal after betrayals.

In 2008, Dallas Morning News posted an editorial that the city should name a street after Santos Rodriguez because it failed to name a prominent street in the name of Cesar Chavez (a civil rights leader). However, this endeavor also failed.

People still want to see a street named to honor Santos Rodriguez. Jawad will continue to support efforts to name a street after Rodriguez and so will activists.

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