On September 7, 2012, Reynaldo Cuevas was shot and killed by a police officer as he was fleeing from robbers inside a bodega. The 20-year-old was unarmed. Sadly, Cuevas is one of hundreds of minorities killed by the police every year. On October 22, people gathered in New York City’s Union Square for the seventeenth annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.

The Nation spoke with Nicole Cuevas, Reynaldo’s sister, who said she’s protesting for justice. “We don’t want them to say, ‘It was an accident. I’m sorry,’ and call it a day,” Cuevas said, “You can’t just take someone’s life away and move on with your life.”

—Steven Hsieh