SUBJECT: Cancel the Westchester LAPD Carnival – Boosters event linked to teen’s death
TO: councilmember.park@lacity.org, jacob.burman@lacity.org, sbpress7@aol.com, VT219@lapd.online, donnalasman01@gmail.com, nrosales@control-printing.com, eric@thebakery.la, kevin@bruffystow.com, john@conner3.com, mariadavis@earthlink.net, margieh@todaysway.net, lacityhealthcommissioncd11@gmail.com, warren.magness@fsresidential.com, boulezfan1@aol.com, jillcre8s@gmail.com, alex@control-printing.com, VT050@lapd.online, 34270@lapd.online
CC: councilmember.yaroslavsky@lacity.org
Dear Councilmember Park and Members of the Pacific Area Boosters Association Board,
I am writing to urge you to cancel the Westchester Community Carnival, scheduled for May 29-31 on Manchester Boulevard, and for Councilmember Park to withdraw her office’s co-presentation of the event.
Two years ago, this same event was held in Palms under the name “Palms Community Weekend.” On the second night, June 22, 2024, 16-year-old Edel Anthony Quintero was stabbed to death at the carnival while LAPD officers stood nearby. His family is now suing the City of Los Angeles and the Pacific Area Boosters Association for more than $10 million, alleging that officers failed to intervene in an earlier altercation, allowed the aggressor to return, and then prevented bystanders from rendering aid as Anthony bled out.
After the killing, organizers continued the carnival the following day without issuing any public statement or apology. No explanation was ever offered to the community or to Anthony’s family. The carnival was then quietly relocated to Westchester with no public announcement, and Councilmember Park’s name now appears as a co-presenter on the event flyer.
The Palms Neighborhood Council declined to sponsor the event. Councilmember Yaroslavsky’s office, which co-hosted the 2024 carnival, confirmed it is not involved this year. The community that organized against this event in Palms succeeded in pushing it out of their neighborhood. Anthony’s family is still in court, and his family is still seeking justice.
I am asking you to cancel the May 29-31 event and to issue a public statement acknowledging what happened to Edel Anthony Quintero at the 2024 Palms Community Weekend. It’s been two years, and neither his family nor the community has received one.
