Santaneros pack city council meeting after police brutalize protesters with Mayor Amezcua’s support

Santa Ana, CA – On Tuesday, June 17, hundreds of Santaneros packed the first city council meeting since the ICE raids and National Guard presence began. The anger and energy were palpable as residents booed Mayor Valerie Amezcua as she entered the council chambers. They held signs that said, “ICE out of Santa Ana” and “Justice for Noe Rodriguez.”

As the meeting began, Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) blocked off the entrance to the chambers and was not allowing anyone in despite the many empty seats.

Taina Lopez, daughter of long time Chicano activist Nativo Lopez, came into the chambers demanding people be let in. Over five SAPD officers surrounded her, pinned her, and arrested her as people shouted that they should be ashamed of themselves. The crowd chanted “Let her go!” as she was taken away and as the council tried to regain control of the meeting. She was charged with assaulting an officer but was later released and those charges were dropped after pressure from the community and some council members.

Since the ICE raids began in Santa Ana, Mayor Amezcua has only condemned protesters and the council members who stood side by side with them. She has also, in a meeting with business owners, praised SAPD in its use of tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters. Amezcua says she has not stood with the residents because, “I’m not going to stand up and raise my arm and give my Chicano fist pump because it makes me look good. I don’t represent just one group of the community.”

Public comments began and continued for over five hours.

Jocelyn Pacheco of Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) called the mayor out, stating “You said you won’t raise your Chicano fist because you represent more than one group in Santa Ana and you’re right.” She paused and asked Amezcua to look at her while she spoke, saying, “But when the majority of the city is Chicano, isn’t it a little twisted to distance yourself from the community that put you in office? That isn’t neutrality. It’s betrayal. You’ve shown yourself to be just another politician who invokes our culture for votes but refuses to show up when it truly matters.”

Pacheco then recounted being taunted by an officer at a protest who asked her if she was afraid of him, stating, “That is not public safety. That is psychological warfare. SAPD officers act like they want us to be afraid, but we’re not. You should be. Not of violence but of the truth. Of the people you represent holding you accountable.”

Jay Taj, a proud third generation Santanero and rap artist returned a recognition he received from the city only two weeks ago, stating there is a conflict in his heart about what it represents now due to it being signed by Amezcua. Taj said, “You said going out there that you’re not for a photo op, but you were totally cool with taking a photo with me two weeks ago and you don’t know a single song that I’ve ever rapped.”

Laura Angel Bustos asked why Amezcua refuses to straight up denounce ICE’s presence, militarization of our streets, and SAPD shooting rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters, stating, “Well let’s take a look at who donates to her campaign. And who stands alongside her.” Bustos was referring to the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Amezcua has received from the Santa Ana Police Officer’s Association to support her campaign.

Zury Via agreed with this, stating “All she cares about is her money and her police department.” She pointed out that Amezcua has praised SAPD for protecting businesses during protests. Via said, “Meanwhile the only people causing violence and destruction is your police department. Your police department broke the window of a downtown Santa Ana business with their rubber bullets that they were shooting at the protesters. I got tear gassed, I wasn’t doing anything, the people around me weren’t doing anything.”

Stephy Duarte, an educator with Santa Ana Unified School District also gave testimony about her experience with SAPD at a protest, stating, “On Saturday night, after making sure my friend got safely to her car I was boxed in and trapped by SAPD and federal agents in full riot gear. Was I rioting? No. But they were ready. For what, I don’t know cause we were peaceful the whole time. I was trying to leave to get to safety because I was afraid for my safety. But then I was shot with a rubber bullet.” She lifted her shirt to show the council the injury the SAPD inflicted, stating, “I have been in pain every day since Saturday. I’m struggling with my basic routines, and I know I’m not the only one. I know there’s more people that have injuries just like mine or worse.”

Along with calling on Amezcua to resign and condemning her response to ICE raids and the resulting protests, many in the crowd were present to continue demanding justice for Noe Rodriguez. He was shot 29 times by SAPD officers on December 1st, 2024. Since then, CSO OC has obtained the names of the officers involved, Luis Casillas and Isaac Ibarra, to demand that they be held accountable.

Erika Armenta, whose partner Noe Rodriguez was killed by police, stated, “Today, more than six months after, they haven’t given a formal report to my lawyers or the public about the murder.” She held up a sign with pictures of officers Casillas and Ibarra. “These are the officers, and they remain free. And the only thing our mayor has to say is that police officers have microseconds to decide if they shoot or not. But in the microseconds, he was not attacking anyone. He was standing there.” She spoke about her daughters who used to have dreams of being police officers but are now scared of the police since they stole their father from them, saying, “We are worried for all of the residents of Santa Ana that these murderers keep patrolling the streets. Justice for Noe Rodriguez!”

Carina Munoz of CSO OC spoke on what accountability would look like, stating, “I am here to demand justice for Noe Rodriguez. We demand that the city council and our city manager, Alvaro Nunez, immediately remove Santa Ana police officers Luis Casillas and Isaac Ibarra from the force without pay. The family demands that both officers be investigated and imprisoned so that they do not kill or harm anyone again.”

Rodriguez spoke only Spanish, as many residents of Santa Ana do, but officers gave him commands in only English despite being described on 911 calls as a “Hispanic man.” Stephanie Dorantes of CSO OC spoke on the failure of the officers. “The police of this city fired 29 rounds on one of its residents who was having a mental health emergency. And they failed to de-escalate. They failed to assess the threat level of the situation. And they failed to speak to him in a language that he would understand, in Spanish.”

Many speakers called out Amezcua for rolling her eyes, looking at her phone, or looking away while residents spoke. Rain Mendoza of CSO OC held up the meeting and refused to speak until Amezcua returned to the council chambers. Emma Gottfried of CSO OC called out the censoring of the signs with images of Isaac Ibarra and Luis Casillas. Whenever a speaker held up a sign with their names and faces, they would cut the cameras away, but Gottfried refused to speak until the cameras were pointed back at her.

Councilmember Hernandez, who is outspoken about SAPD’s brutality towards residents, spoke about his experience at the protests where he was flipped off, threatened by officers, and shot with rubber bullets. He also spoke about an encounter with Isaac Ibarra at a city park opening where Ibarra refused to shake his hand or speak to him, instead turning on his body camera.

Hernandez stated, “This officer is retaliating on a man that is peacefully protesting within my First Amendment right. I want to share that I take the threats from my own police department very seriously after they had shot me in the back and after my fight for justice for Brandon Lopez. I’ve seen the violence firsthand. So, I want to demand that our department respect this community.” Brandon Lopez was Hernadez’s cousin, who was killed by Anaheim Police Department in Santa Ana in 2021.

Gilbert Belmontes, a longtime Chicano activist, pointed out that the brutality of SAPD is nothing new, stating, “I’ve been beat down by the Santa Ana police department since the early 80s. I was always looked at as a gang member – I’m here and I know what it’s like to be caged, to be treated like an animal.”

This has not deterred his activism as he has grown older. “As long as I’m breathing and I have to use a cane I will be out there,” said Belmontes.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #PoliceCrimes #CentroCSO

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/santaneros-pack-city-council-meeting-after-police-brutalize-protesters-with?pk_campaign=rss-feed