Loved ones and friends gathered at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Sixth Street in Ontario, a week after an off-duty officer shot Hugo Cachua after bending a fender.
“He was everything to us,” said Hugo’s brother Luis Cachua. “He was a knight in shining armor.”
People described Hugo as the glue that held the Cachua family together and as a devoted father of three. His family said he did everything he could to make his little girl happy.
“He was the best for everyone, that’s why so many people came because he was so sweet,” said his mother Luz Cachua.
However, his life ended after Hugo recently got into a fender bender with an off-duty officer from the Los Angeles Police Department. Thursday evening, researchers said. His brother said the officer shot Hugo three times in the back after a brief confrontation on the road.
“No explanation, he has not been held accountable for his actions,” Luis said. “Either way, whether he is an officer of the law, of the government or a citizen, we need an answer. We want justice for our brother. We can’t sit back and let him live his life while we suffer and grieve and grieve in pain. It’s something we can’t leave unresolved.”
The California Department of Justice has launched an independent investigation into the shooting under state law that requires them to review all police shootings that result in the death of an unarmed person.
LAPD did not say whether the off-duty officer would return to work or be placed on leave during the investigation.
Nicole Comstock
