Words by Maya Olson PZ ’25

On May 30, 2024, Hugo Cachua was shot to death by an off-duty LAPD officer in Ontario. Founded by Cachua’s sister, Melissa Miramontes, United Families for Justice (UFJ) is, according to their website, “a family based community dedicated to supporting families like ours who have lost loved ones to police violence and state-sanctioned brutality. We seek truth, demand justice, and hold those in power accountable.” The Outback interviewed Miramontes and her brother, Luis Cachua, at a Community Building Workshop at Pitzer hosted by the Community Engagement Center and UFJ on April 18.

This interview transcript has been edited for clarity and concision.

The Outback: First, do you want to introduce yourselves super quickly?

Melissa Miramontes: My name is Melissa Miramontes. I am the sister and best friend of Hugo Cachua, and I am here to speak on Hugo’s behalf.

Luis Cachua: My name is Luis Cachua. I am Hugo’s younger brother, and I’m also here to speak on [his behalf] and any questions you may have.

OB: For people who might not know [about Hugo], my first question is: can you tell us a bit about your story, why you’re here on campus today? If a student who was reading this knew nothing about you, how would you explain your story?

LC: I’m here to get justice. For the people to know what’s happening out in the streets, out in the world, in the community. The officers are in charge, to protect the community, which is the complete opposite of what they’re doing. They’re just using their power, corruption, and their lethal weapons, to take people’s lives away. They’re not being held accountable whatsoever. My brother, to me, was the dearest. He was my teacher. He was everything to me. He was my mom’s first born. For him to be taken away in that manner, I want everyone to know; that it can happen to anyone, and that pain that it leaves you — the hole —  will never go anywhere. We just want these officers to be held accountable. And anyone else that commits murder should face the same penalty and not just walk free, and keep their jobs, and all of that.

MM: We really want everybody to know; when you think about Hugo, he was 37 years old. He was a father of two. He had a stepdaughter. He was a very good family man — a very great human being. He really cared for his family, really took care of us, really was there when we needed anything. He meant the world to us. 

And when his life was taken from us by this off-duty LAPD officer, our whole life shifted. Our whole life has changed with Hugo being stolen from us. Hugo was killed. He was unarmed. He was shot multiple times, and he was defenseless. He was trying to survive, trying to get away, and yet this officer still took it upon himself to shoot an unarmed man… He did ultimately end Hugo’s life. The Department of Justice, the law enforcement agencies — [they] refused to even give us an autopsy report to find out what happened. They continued to use exemptions and the investigation as a reason to withhold information of what happened that night. 

We continue to try to fight to bring awareness to Hugo’s story — and not just Hugo’s story, but a lot of families who have lost their lives [because of] police brutality and [unjust] murders. There’s thousands and thousands of people a year getting murdered by police, and yet [we] still don’t have a solution. There [are] still cover-ups. There’s still corruption. There’s still red lines and red tape that continue to protect these officers, in this system. 

We want the community to know that this happened. Especially in Claremont. This happened 15 minutes away from here. Hugo grew up out here. We’ve been in this community basically our whole adult lives, our brothers’ lives. When they were younger, they went to school out here. This is our community, and it happened out here. This officer was not an Ontario [officer]… He was not supposed to be in this area. He was not in uniform, he was not in a police vehicle, he was not rendering aid. There was no reason why he should have been in contact with Hugo.

Again, this happened in our community, and it’s really brought a rude awakening. We hope that the community of Claremont, the college community, opens up their heart, opens up their mind, to something that is real. It’s reality. It can happen to anybody. We want to have change. We appreciate you all who are taking the time to read this story, to hear us, and we hope that we see you in this fight for change for something better, for something greater, for your future.

OB: Thank you. Do you have anything you want to add? You’ve discussed how police tend to have their own legal system [at the event]. Do you want to explain that idea, as you’ve experienced it? I think your perspective on that is very pertinent at this time.

MM: According to the Department of Justice — which there’s no nobody higher than the Department of Justice, right — they’re actually investigating Hugo’s case because he was an unarmed man, and that is a protocol: the Department of Justice steps in. The Department of Justice [granted] us an interview and told us that there was two laws: …their laws and our laws.

… In reality, there is only one law. It is black and white. They are choosing to withhold the information [because] they feel like we’re going to fall off and we’re going to forget that this actually happened. We’re definitely not going to. We’re not going to forget what happened to Hugo no matter how long it takes. If it takes five years, ten years, we’re still going to fight.The Department of Justice, they can use the time frames and use all these legal terms to [tell us] why they’re not giving us this information. What the reality is, is they’re trying to hold and hide information. They’re trying to hide and create a narrative that is in their favor. Rather than holding their sick, demented, evil officer accountable, they are trying to make excuses as to why he should not be held accountable…

[The case is] urgent. We shouldn’t have to wait a year to find out what happened to our brother. We shouldn’t. There’s no reason why. There’s no reason. They know the truth. They have the investigation. I’m sure it’s been done. They want to know: Do we hold them accountable, or do we try to hide this? That’s basically what it comes down to. The system needs to stop trying to cover up and stop trying to protect these evil, unjustified killings, because it needs to end. 

LC: …And these are the people that are supposed to protect us, but yet they’re taking their lives from many people… and for anything. They back them up, so no repercussions happen to [officers]. It’s very sad and it destroys families. 

OB: In a challenging time where the laws are being broken by our own president, is there a way that you hold on to hope? How do you think about making effective change right now, when we’re seeing this type of injustice on an even bigger scale?

LC: I would just say that the only way that gives me hope is for the people to open up their eyes. Once the people see that this [doesn’t] just happen to particular groups of people, more and more the people will get together. The communities will grow. Once our voices are one, we become the strength of the states, of the country. No one else can overrun that. Once the people know they have the power to make change… Once the people realize [and say,] ‘hey, that human being is hurting, I wonder why?’ Or, ‘it hasn’t happened to me, but I can imagine.’ 

That’s why I say, open your hearts, your mind, and [ask], what would you do if you lost your loved one? Think of the person you love most, and imagine them gone by the people that are supposed to be protecting you. 

That’s what I would say. I believe in the people. That’s what gives me hope. 

OB: Beautiful. Thank you. We all need a little hope right now.