Diego Rios should have turned 31 years-old this month

On Diego Alfonso Rios’ birthday, Feb. 3rd, 80+ family and community members gathered between Andrew Drive and Claremont Blvd, where he had been stopped by Claremont police on Nov. 28, tackled to the ground, threatened to be tased, and murdered.

Rios was abruptly stopped by Claremont police on Nov. 28. During Rios’s mental health crisis, Claremont police officers Joshua Alba and Benjamin Orona escalated aggressively and murdered Rios. After assaulting Rios and threatening him during the altercation, Rios became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at Pomona Valley Medical Center. On Feb. 12, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Diego’s cause of death as a homicide.

Despite the immense shared grief through the birthday vigil, family members and friends commemorated Rios’ life through sharing memories and stories. Amidst the dark corner of the street, an abundance of bright candles glittered throughout the night from students at the 5Cs and community members demanding justice for Rios’ murder. 

“Tonight, we stand together on what should have been my brother Diego’s 31st birthday. Birthdays are supposed to mark time moving forward tonight. Time feels like it folded on itself. Diego died on my birthday. The day I was welcomed into this world is now tied forever to the day he was taken from it,” said Victor Jr. Rios, Diego Rios’ older brother. 

“As long as we keep making noise, as long as they see that we’re united, it scares them. They’re deeply uncomfortable when everybody keeps coming,” said Rios’ Jr. Keep sharing, keep being present. ’cause Diego deserved it.” 

Rios Jr., also talked about Diego’s life through the lens of music. 

“His life mattered. His fear mattered. His humanity mattered. And truth matters, but tonight’s not only about what was taken from us, it’s also what remains,” said Rios Jr. during the vigil. “The singer Leonard Cohen once wrote, there is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. Diego was light. And even now, even in grief, that light’s still moving through this crowd, through every person who showed up, who refused to look away and who chose love over fear.”