Family and loved ones demand Anaheim police face justice for killing Albert Arzola

Anaheim, CA – Ten family members and several Orange County residents demanded justice for Albert Arzola at Anaheim City Council meeting on January 26. Arzola was chased down and killed by two Anaheim police on December 6, 2025. His family demanded the immediate release of all body camera video, the autopsy report and an independent investigation into the police killing.

Leslie Lopez, Albert Arzola’s cousin said, “Imagine hearing a gunshot outside your home, running out, seeing your child lying there taking their final breath. Would you try to do everything possible to save them? This is exactly what Alberto’s parents tried to do, until they were told to ‘stay the fuck back or we will shoot you too!’”

Lopez’s voice broke as she described how “Albert was dragged like he was an animal onto the sidewalk where they left his lifeless body until four in the morning for the entire community to see. Not only were the people forced to witness his death, but they also cut my cousin’s clothes off and traumatized everyone. I was there, waiting until my baby cousin was finally taken.”

Sergio Pelayoel, Arzola’s cousin, said, “It’s gonna be two months and a week since Albert passed away. I would just like to know why no life-saving measures were taken immediately?” Referring to the edited body cam footage that was released, he stated, “From the moment Albert is hit, it flash forwards to ten minutes later – ten minutes after getting shot – that’s crucial. The body begins to go into shock and starts shutting down. It seems at that point that it’s a cold-blooded murder! It’s not normal to say your coworker killed a man today at his house.”

Grace Arzola, aunt of Albert, tearfully asked, “What mother is forced to go back inside the house – give her son the blessings, cause she knew that was gonna be the last time she saw him breathing – and her last words for him was ‘You’re gonna be OK.’ He was not OK! And neither are none of us OK with what happened! And then you guys handcuffed my brother for hours. He had to watch his lifeless son lay on the floor! What kind of heart do you guys have?”

Family member Ariana Avalos said that in an ACLU study of the most dangerous police departments in the 60 largest U.S. cities, “Anaheim PD is rated ninth out of 60. From 2003 to 2016, there were a total of 33 deaths caused by officers. 29 of those were caused by gunshot wounds. 40% of those individuals killed by police officers were unarmed. 55% of those killings had an officer who had already been involved in at least one other death. So please tell me why we continue to keep these officers on the task force? Please tell the community what tactical approaches have you changed? Because from where I stand, and from where the community stands, we see no change!”

David Pulido, member of CSO OC, said “The police killing of Albert Arzola is not an isolated incident. It belongs to a long pattern of racist killings of Chicanos and other oppressed peoples, not only in Anaheim but in Orange County and the American Southwest.”

Pulido continued, saying “The truth is that our government uses the police to terrorize and oppress our communities. That is why CSO fights for community control of the police. The community has a basic, democratic right to decide on police matters. That means everything from the power to decide on police policies to the power to control the police budget to the power to hire, fire and jail killer cops! Justice for Albert Arzola!”

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