Family of Albert Arzola demands Anaheim Police Department be held accountable

Anaheim, CA – The front rows of Anaheim City Council chamber were filled with Albert Arzola’s family on Tuesday, January 13. They held signs demanding, “Justice for Albert Arzola,” who was only 19 years old when he was ambushed by two Anaheim PD officers, shot in the back and killed on December 6, 2025.

Christine Lopez Ediss said, “Albert is my nephew and was loved by so many. He graduated from Katella High School and was working in the city he loved: Anaheim. He had a bright future ahead. That was stolen from Albert, his family, and the Anaheim community. We will not remain silent about the senseless act by a gang unit officer!”

Sergio Pelayo, Albert Arzola’s cousin, said “I’m here to advocate for the unedited version of what happened that day on December 6. It’s been over a month now. We only have a 30 second clip from what happened. Just release the autopsy as people in the family would like to know where and how Albert died. We would also like to know the name of the officer. I mean, no need to hide!”

Albert’s family shouted, “You guys are hiding things!”

Grace Arzola, another of Albert Arzola’s aunts, said this about Public Information Officer Matt Sutter: “He said that the police acted in the public’s best interest. That’s something that the public has to determine! Not the Public Information Officer. They can only do this when you guys release the full, unedited video. Let them decide if the police acted in their best interest!”

Vern Nelson, Anaheim resident and writer of the Orange Juice Blog, also spoke on the police killing. Nelson stated that when gang unit officers kill someone, “for weeks or months they’ll go around harassing the family. That’s familiar to me because my wife Donna had a son who was killed in 2012 – Joel Acevedo. The same exact thing happened to her! They harass the family. They shine lights into their place every day to intimidate them, so they don’t speak out.” Joel Acevedo was killed by Anaheim PD officer Kelly Phillips on July 22, 2012. That year Anaheim PD killed seven Chicanos, including Manuel Diaz the night before Joel was killed.

Grace Arzola also described similar harassment, saying “My mom is 77 years old. The police stopped my brother for a ‘broken taillight’. We asked a family friend to come and fix the taillight. Five Anaheim PD officers pulled up on a family friend that was helping my elderly mom fix a broken taillight and accused him of stealing the car! Five. Officers. This is unacceptable and it needs to stop.”

The family was joined by three members of Community Service Organization, Orange County (CSO OC), including Erika Armenta, whose husband Noe Rodriguez was killed by Santa Ana PD on December 1, 2024.

CSO OC member Carina Munoz said that “Anaheim PD has been ranked ninth out of the 60 largest U.S. cities on the rate of officer-involved deaths during arrests, and yet nothing has been done. Because of the lack of action, these Anaheim PD officers are allowed to make women widows, parents lose their children before themselves, which is not the natural order of things, siblings lose each other way before their time, and best friends lose their only shoulder to lay on. I am ashamed of Anaheim for once again letting a young person die, and for making it seem like Albert deserved it!”

Graze Arzola stated, “We are not going away! We will show up to every meeting until we get justice for him! We are not going away!”

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