On the death of Jeffrey Reodica: Let us unite for truth and justice

On the death of Jeffrey Reodica: Let us unite for truth and justice

WE are members of the Filipino Canadian community and friends who are deeply concerned about the death of 17-year old Jeffrey Reodica in the hands of a police officer.

Jeffrey was a Grade 11 student who excelled in school as his teachers, classmates and countless friends would attest. His parents are prominent members of the community who are involved in religious groups.

Jeffrey was NOT a knife-wielding member of a crime gang who would attack a police officer as some reports in the mainstream media had portrayed him. We cannot help but suspect that interested parties had a hand in manipulating some of these news stories so that it would appear that Jeffrey’s death was the result of assaulting an officer of the law.

All we want is for the truth to come out so that justice may be served. What really happened on that tragic afternoon of Friday, May 21, 2004 when Jeffrey was shot three times by a police officer who did not identify himself and was in plain clothes?

Both the Toronto Police and the Special Investigation Unit have started investigation of this incident. As of this writing, a week has already passed and all the public knows are conflicting reports in the mainstream media.

The seven other teenage boys with Jeffrey when he was shot were interrogated by the police on that same day until 2:00 a.m. of the next day without legal counsel or the presence of their parents. The police know what they said and what the police officers involved said as to what really happened.
These seven boys have been deeply traumatized by what happened. They are afraid to come out in the open with their eyewitness accounts. They said shadowy figures have been watching and trailing them and they could not live normal lives in their neighborhoods.

So far the mainstream media reports have been quoting only unnamed witnesses who supposedly saw the incident from afar. The seven boys were there at close range when Jeffrey was shot. Why not let them speak out?

Through this open letter, we are respectfully requesting concerned public officials and government agencies to offer assurance and protection to these seven boys. These boys must be accompanied by legal counsel and their parents when they are questioned again by any investigating body. We are specifically asking Toronto Mayor David Miller and Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry to be directly involved in assuring these boys and their families of safety in relation to their participation in any investigation.

How can the truth come out in an atmosphere of fear? How can justice be served in the absence of the truth?

We fully support the Reodica family–parents Willie and Flora, sister Robyn, brother Joel and nephew Ty–in their quest for truth and justice. They are undergoing an extremely trying experience with the loss of Jeffrey. We grieve with them and share their silent outrage. We believe with them that Jeffrey’s death raises issues that concern our community and all Canadians whatever their cultural backgrounds may be.

Let us all unite for truth and justice.

Signatories Organization/Group/Title/Position Telephone# and/or Email

Please clip the above statement, have your friends and family sign it and mail to The Philippine Reporter – 807 Queen Street East, 1st Floor, Toronto, Ontario M4L 1W9.
It will be submitted to the ad hoc committee coordinating the Justice for Jeffrey campaign. Please check the website www.reodica.com/jeff for information on this campaign.