It seems that growing distrust toward law enforcement, from ICE to local police, is becoming more apparent as more incidents come to light. In a recent development, the Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake, California has come under fire after quietly removing a mural dedicated to Melyda Corado, the assistant store manager who was tragically killed in a shootout in 2018. Corado died after an LAPD officer’s bullet struck her during a chaotic confrontation with Gene Atkins, a suspect who had shot his grandmother and then fled into the store while trying to escape police.
The shocking incident prompted Corado’s family to sue the city. Eventually, the City of Los Angeles and the LAPD agreed to a settlement of $9.5 million, one of the largest pre-trial payouts related to an officer-involved shooting in the city’s history. While no officers faced criminal charges, Atkins was charged with Corado’s death under California law due to the chain of events he set in motion.
In addition to the financial settlement, Silverlake Trader Joe’s once honored Corado’s memory with a mural depicting her sitting in a field of sunflowers. It was a quiet but meaningful tribute. However, that tribute has recently vanished.
Albert Jaragua Corado, Melyda’s brother, discovered the mural had been covered up and voiced his outrage on X, formerly Twitter, calling the act deeply disrespectful. “I’m pretty pissed about this,” he wrote.
The tweet quickly drew widespread attention, racking up nearly 200,000 views and close to 9,000 likes. Many users expressed outrage over what they saw as a disrespectful and unacceptable move by the Silver Lake Trader Joe’s. Some speculated that the mural was removed out of fear that LAPD might take issue with it. One commenter quipped, “More like Traitor Joe’s,” while others suggested the change in store ownership may have played a role in the decision.
Another user wrote, “So cold-hearted and it’s good to remember Trader Joe’s are not for the people. They engage in the same union-busting behavior as places like Starbucks.” Many echoed similar sentiments, viewing the act as another reminder that corporations like Trader Joe’s never truly cared about their workers. One person commented, “TJs might come across fun and cute but at the end of the day they’re an anti-union company and not anyone’s friend.”
Beyond raising awareness, Albert also shared the phone number of the Silver Lake location, encouraging others to join him in demanding that the mural be restored.
