Mayor David LaGrand issues statement on the Sept. 20, 2026 death of Mario David Coronado Juarez
(a video version of this statement can be found HERE)
Earlier this week, we lost a valued member of our community, Mario David Coronado Juarez, in a vehicle crash. Mario was a member of our Grand Rapids community, but he was also the breadwinner for his family back in Guatemala, who will have to mourn him from afar. We mourn with them. His life deserves to be remembered with dignity, and his family deserves compassion, answers, and justice.
This tragedy is under investigation. While there are many unanswered questions, it is clear that Mario fled from ICE agents prior to the crash. GRPD officers were not involved in this pursuit and only arrived on scene in response to the reported crash. While we don't know what Mario was thinking and feeling, we know that his death happened in the context of a national effort to create fear among our immigrant neighbors. The elevated activities of ICE across our country have been central to this increased fear.
City Manager Washington, Police Chief Trigg, and I decided that in order to push for answers about this tragedy, we should request that Michigan State Police be engaged in the investigation, and I want to thank our Governor for directing our State Police to provide assistance in the investigation.
The reality is, we cannot keep Federal agencies out of our city, however they act. But let me be clear: no law enforcement entity that traffics in fear is welcome here. ICE's national pattern of intimidation, harassment, and killing has to stop. This is a moment when we all have to stand for justice and real work for public safety. When government agencies cause harm instead of reducing harm, they are worse than useless. They cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.
My colleagues and I work every day to help every resident feel safe and supported. We want everyone living in our city to trust our City, to feel like they can ask for help when they need it, and to know that they are valued and wanted. All of us are safer when everyone – regardless of their status – in our community feels safe and is safe. I call on the federal government to take steps similar to those we've done locally, including body-worn cameras, civilian oversight, and appeals processes in the pursuit of becoming more transparent and safe. These reform ideas are supported by our members of Congress – Senators Peters and Slotkin, and Representative Scholten, as well as many of my colleagues in the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Every law enforcement agency operating in our city should share our commitment to making our community feel safe and to community-oriented transparency.
Helping our neighbors feel safe isn't something City government can do alone, and government action isn't enough. I call on all of us to continually renew our commitment to keeping our neighbors safe, with all the tools we have available to us at all levels of government, and in partnership with everyone willing to join us in this ongoing work.
We will get through this moment in our country's history. We will do so by building trust, by acting in unity, and in courage. We mourn Mario's death. We can honor him by resisting fear and hate, and building a better, safer, more open community every day.
– Mayor David LaGrand
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