Ruben Salazar

Journalist. He came to the United States from Juarez, Mexico, and in 1959 became a city staff reporter at The Los Angeles Times, where he won many awards for his coverage of Mexican-American affairs. He spent three years in Mexico City as the Los Angeles Times Bureau Chief before returning to California in 1969. In 1970, he became the News Director of KMEX, a Spanish-language television station in Los Angeles. At the age of 42, he was killed during the August 1970 National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War when a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy shot a tear gas missile through the door of the Silver Dollar Bar on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, where Mr. Salazar was sitting. It hit him in the head, killing him instantly. Salazar's accidental death changed the way police departments deal with crowd/riot situations, particularly how they empty out crowded buildings. A park is named after him, along with many other honors.