Congressman Maxwell Frost Statement on the Death of Derek Diaz
ORLANDO, FL — Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) released a statement on the death of unarmed 26-year-old Derek Diaz at the hands of an Orlando Police Department Officer.
In a statement, Rep. Frost says:
“First and foremost, my heart is with the Diaz family and all of Derek’s loved ones who are grieving this unthinkable loss.
“The death of Derek Diaz calls for a full and robust external investigation of the Orlando Police Department and of the incident that led to this tragedy.
“Like many others, I watched the badge camera footage released by OPD and sobbed at what I saw. Specifically, the sounds that came from Derek as CPR was administered to him. His death was an unjust and preventable tragedy that reminds us just how much further we have to go in achieving true justice and compassion in our public safety. Every day around the country, it becomes more and more apparent that we must reimagine what public safety looks like. The tragedy is that this lesson is being taught through the brutality and blood of our people – specifically the poor and people of color.
“As our Orlando community is once again forced to grapple with the consequences of the use of deadly force against an unarmed person, it is clear that our leaders must come to the table and take a good, hard look at the system and culture that has allowed for something like this to happen and for an officer of the law to respond in this way. And we are once again reminded of the 2021 review of the Orlando Police Department, which took concern with OPD’s use of deadly force.
“I will continue to work with our City of Orlando partners to ensure that at the federal level, we are doing all we can to achieve true public safety for everyone. No person in this country should live in fear of being gunned down. Police violence is gun violence.”
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