As a visual journalist covering Stockton, California, for Bay City News, CatchLight Local Fellow, Harika Maddala, embarked on a project that asks how trust can be strengthened between a police department and the people they’re tasked to protect.
As the project developed, news emerged of a serial killer who was targeting unhoused Latino men in the area. Maddala bore witness as Stockton’s new police chief navigated this period of fear, grief, and mistrust.
Against this backdrop, Maddala documented town halls, vigils, and outreach events to explore the relationship between the police and the community, while also highlighting the injustices brought on by police that continue to weigh on residents.
After news of the Stockton serial killer was reported, Stanley McFadden, chief of Stockton Police Department, held press conferences and visited homeless encampments to hand out flyers regarding a person of interest in connection with the string of killings.
Natasha LaTour, possibly the first victim of the alleged serial killer, and the only known survivor, was shot several times in April 2021. Last year, LaTour received a private apology from the Stockton Police Department for its mishandling of her case, which may have contributed to delays in apprehending the killer.
By the time Stockton PD started a second investigation into LaTour’s case in October 2022, more than a year after her attack, five people had been killed. “It’s clear to me there are people that are dead because they didn’t reach out,” said LaTour.
Stephanie Hatten’s son, Antwaune Burrise, was fatally shot by Stockton police officers while in his car on July 15, 2020. Hatten believes Burrise was wrongfully killed because the evidence indicates he was “in a surrender position” when the officers opened fire. “When I got the video, I heard them say ‘keep your hands up,’ not ‘put your hands up,’” said Hatten.
“Working on the project, it became evident that Stockton residents have varying degrees of confidence and faith in the police, depending on their personal experiences,” Maddala wrote. “Police efforts to foster trust are exemplified in continued community events and the arrival of McFadden. However, solutions to…some residents’ concerns remain elusive. For families like Stephanie Hatten’s, the trauma and lack of answers surrounding their loss continues to weigh heavily.”
“The presentation of this story adds another layer to the theme of trust in this project,” says Mabel Jiménez, visual editor for CatchLight Local. “By displaying these photos with technology from the Four Corners Project, Bay City News readers can interact with the images to gain deeper context that allows them to assess the truth of what they’re seeing. This is just one of the ways local newsrooms can inspire trust from the communities they serve.”
While this feature sheds light on Stockton’s ongoing struggles to equitably serve and protect all of its residents, Maddala explains in the video below that the city cannot be defined only by its tragedies and injustices.
Banner Image:
Nikkisha Robinson tears up during a vigil for the six victims of the Stockton serial killer on October19, 2022. Robinson’s mother was killed by a Lodi police officer in 1993.