Event Summary
On Sunday, March 10, at the Antioch Waterpark Multi-Use Hall, the Angelo Quinto Foundation held its annual event honoring Angelo and his legacy on what would have been his 34th birthday. They celebrated the past three years’ accomplishments, and introduced their next Call to Action in partnership with NAMI Contra Costa: to separate the sheriff and coroner in Contra Costa County.
The event, sponsored by NAMI Contra Costa, was well attended, with about 80 guests in-person and some attending via Zoom. Flower arrangements, photos, altars, and beautiful food and dessert tables set the tone for a celebratory, commemorative afternoon.
The AQF kicked off the event with a video of Angelo reflecting on his life while on a hike, recorded in December of 2019, then introduced a series of speakers. Antioch’s honorary poet laureate, José Cordon, opened the speaking portion with two resonant poems. Keynote speaker Assemblymember Mike Gipson––author of AB 490 (2021): Positional Asphyxia, AB 1608 (2022): Separating Sheriff-Coroners, and AB 360 (2023): Excited Delirium––spoke about working with the Quinto-Collins family and about the recent passage of AB 360. Another keynote speaker, Joanna Naples-Mitchell from Physicians for Human Rights, who have been instrumental in debunking “excited delirium,” described invaluable resources like PHR’s initial report on the term as well as their new interactive site with Campaign Zero, and celebrated the news that the Quinto-Collins family will be receiving a humanitarian award from PHR!
Other speakers included David Hochschild, close family friend of the Quinto-Collins’, who has advocated for justice for Angelo since the tragedy of his death occurred; Antioch City Councilmember Monica Wilson, who has contributed to necessary police reform and the establishment of mental health response teams in Antioch; BART Police Oversight members Russell Bloom and Patrick Caceres, who helped get rid of the use of “excited delirium” at BART; NAMI Contra Costa Executive Director Gigi Crowder, who discussed some valuable resources available as a result of the unjust killing of Miles Hall; and the powerful impacted families of José Luis, Miles Hall, Steven Taylor, and Pedie Perez.
The event ended with a Call to Action presented by Gigi Crowder and Bella Quinto Collins, sister of Angelo Quinto. They introduced the campaign for independent coroners, gave an educational resource for folks to learn why this change is important, and distributed instructions for calling into Board of Supervisors meetings. For instructions and more information on how you can support this campaign, visit bit.ly/IndepCor2024.
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