Alejandro “Beaver” Nunez, 1959-2009
Alejandro Nunez was killed while riding his bicycle on 22nd Avenue right at the intersection with South Sixth Avenue. The police did no accident reconstruction work. They did not paint the street or measure skid marks. They wrote a brief account from the perspective of the driver, which is that Mr. Nunez inexplicably rode in front of a van, which attempted to swerve out of the way, but could not.
I met Alejandro’s girlfriend and sister at the small memorial that is placed at the site where Mr. Nunez was killed. They visit it frequently, trying to understand what happened there. They had not even been given a copy of the police report by TPD! TPD has not painted the street to identify the location of crash debris to try to sort out what happened. At least one witness thinks the van that hit Mr. Nunez ran the light. Mr. Nunez’s family and friends all tell me that he was an extremely cautious bike rider.
I think Mr. Nunez and his family deserved a whole lot better from TPD.
Here is the obituary that ran in the Star:
Friday, July 10, 2009
Alejandro Havier Nunez, 49, formerly of Flagstaff, died suddenly July 2, 2009, in Tucson. He was born on April 24, 1959, to Manuel Nunez and Regina Havier.
He loved to travel and made friends wherever he went. He was a great friend and brother to all. Mr. Nunez is survived by his daughter; his sisters, Frances Nunez, Martha Nunez (Jaime), Manuela Valdivia (Armond), Yolanda Smith (James) and Lucinda Sanchez (Ray); his brothers, Michael Nunez (Susie), Ignacio Nunez (Barbra), Louie Nunez (Rose), Ramon Nunez (Joann), Danny Nunez (Dora) and Bobby Nunez; and aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, stepbrothers, stepsisters and friends.
He was preceded in death by his father, Manuel Nunez; mother Regina Havier; and brother Manny Nunez.
And this is from an on-line guest book at his memorial. It seems bicycles were a part of his life from an early age!
July 14, 2009
Beaver, the memories we have of you comfort us we know you are in good hands now. we will forever celabrate your life. we thank our heavenly father for blessing us with having you in our family and in our lives. you will live in our hearts forever. we love you.
Kama & Adam Garcis & family &
Mary Grace Nunez
~July 12, 2009
Beaver, the Lord took you so quickly and I’m so glad you did not suffer. I will miss you and and memories you left with me when we were growing up. You made us all laugh and you loved so much.I will never forget the time you and Yakito took my ten speed and then brought it back with the tire all bent out of shape. You were laughing so much, I thought you were gona pee, you took off running I took a stick and beat you with it, you said stop Geronimo or I’ll scalp you, we laughed so much and then hugged. That was my best memory of you, Thankyou, May God Show His Face To You And Hold You In His Arms. I Love You, to all of his family and to all of my Primo’s my condolences.
~
Sheri Ramirez,
Spokane, Washington
July 10, 2009
BEAVER,you went home before our hugs,that’s o.k. that”s for later. Our i love yous were so strong and welded together.We were together so much it was like being brothers.Now that your looking down at us saying” its o.k. i am with family and its BEAUTIFUL here” I feel your in peace.God Bless You and the Family. So goodby to my cousin,brother,and most of all my Friend.
~
Yaquito Ramirez,
Spokane, WashingtonJuly 09, 2009
Beav, who’s going to be my story teller? I’m going to miss you deeply. I know you are comforted in the arms of Our Lord and those who have passed before us. Love you ALWAYS! Your sis.
Rest in Peace Alejandro, you sound like someone I would have really liked to have known.
–Erik Ryberg
July 17th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Troubleshoot the following course of action:
1) Obtain a copy of the police report and whatever other documetation is available.
2) Interpret the info obtained in 1).
3) File complaints, if indicated in 2), with TPD OPS (“internal affairs”) and Police Advocate.
4) Interpret and announce results from 3).
Repeat 1) through 4) the next time, and so on…
July 17th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Red Star, I file a lot of these, even though it is a waste of time. Remember the guy that got attacked with a baseball bat? The motorist drove up beside him and a passenger leaned out the window and started beating him with a bat. Then they sped off laughing.
The victim got the plate number, but TPD refused to do anything, saying that since the bicyclist didn’t get a good look at his assailant, nothing could be done. My investigator found out who this guy was and where he lived. We argued that just having the police VISIT THE GUY’S HOUSE might deter him from continuing this stuff.
They refused to do so. We filed a complaint. Eventually they sent us a letter back exonerating themselves.
I still file police complaints, but I don’t exactly hold out much hope it is going to accomplish anything.
EBR
July 17th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible for the public to get TPD police reports:
http://tpdinternet.tucsonaz.gov/Services/#PoliceReports
And it seems straight-forward to file complaints about TPD behavior, including resource allocation. Apparently the public
can do this.
Now, if complaints are ignored or, if complaints are met with self-exoneration (such responses themselves seem to be course for further action), what is the next step for a concerned citizen who wants to take action that brings actual results?
July 17th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Red Star, any member of the public can get police reports. You just go down to the Stone Ave. police station and fill out a form. You have to know the date and cross streets where the incident occurred.
The reports on the web do not include the narrative, which is usually the most important part.
Complaints can only be filed directly by people who were injured in a direct fashion by the complained of activity. You don’t get to file a complaint about something that happened to someone else.
EBR
July 17th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
“You don’t get to file a complaint about something that happened to someone else.”
Okay. Not wondering about complaining about what happened to someone else (i.e. smacked by a van or a whatever). Wondering whether a non-involved (not involved in the incident — the something that happened to someone else)person is allowed to file a formal complaint regarding TPD behavior *related* to and subsequent to the incident.
Perhaps the way to find out would be to just go for it… and see what happens…
Does this give one a headache?
July 17th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Just want to convey to readers that the process of obtaining police reports involves a little more than “just go down to the Stone Ave. police station and fill out a form.” Despite how nonchalant Erik makes it seem, it can often involve waiting for over an hour depending on how many other people are there. Erik does this all on his own time because there really isn’t anyone else keeping track of these reports.
The other thing is that all of these cost money, which really adds up when you request a lot of reports. Erik has accumulated quite a few of these over the years and spends not only his money but also a lot of valuable time analyzing them.
July 19th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I am touched that Erik went through all the work to follow up and find out about Mr. Nuñez. It must be frustrating to go through all the hassle when you know that the police are so resistant.
Keep up the great work Erik. This site is definitely a service to the community.
November 18th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
[...] a signal; and one is said to have “crossed” in front of traffic (though there are reportedly problems with the police [...]