A crowd of more than 50 persons gathered on Saturday, Jan. 19 in Vista to protest the recent beating of 21-year-old Antonio Martinez by San Diego Sheriff’s deputies while the youth was walking from his house to the family bakery in Vista.

According to witnesses, the attack took place on Dec. 18 when one of the deputies commanded Martinez to stop. When he failed to obey, Deputy Jeffrey Guy pepper-sprayed him, beat him with his baton and kicked him.

“When I saw my son, I felt frustrated. He was nervous for several days and stopped eating,” said Francisco Martinez, the man’s father.

With leaflets, and candles in their hands, a group of activists and community members from throughout San Diego County sent their message to the authorities: “What do we Want? Justice for Antonio! When do we want it? Now!”

“This is the first time I have seen so many people come together for a justice cause in Vista, and I think we need to take advantage of this moment to push ahead and denounce these kinds of injustices,” said Mark Day, an organizer with the San Diego Day Laborers and Household Workers Association.

“This is not the first case like this in Vista, nor is it the first time the police have beaten a handicapped youth,” said Elvira Ortiz, the mother of a handicapped youth that was beaten by the police last year.

“Last October, about eight o’clock one night, my son was crossing a street when the light changed to red. When my son saw the police coming after him he began to run. They grabbed him and beat him, then brought him to a hospital. The only thing I could do was to cry. What really hurt me is that after this happened, my son began to eat dirt and his own excrement for several days.”

Meanwhile, the Vista City Counccil voted unanimously on Jan. 23 to extend Its contract with the San Diego Sheriff’s Dept. for five years with a budget of $900 million. “This should have been a topic for public discussion, but none was allowed,” said Tina Garcia Jillings of the North County Coallition of Concerned Citizens.

We should have been given a time to address this.” John Aguilera, the sole Latino on the city council called the beating Antonio Martinez beating “sad and disheartening.” But he added: “The sheriffs are doing a great job here in Vista.”