Following Fast and Fancy City Council Footwork, Freedom Sleepers Return for 86th Time Tuesday February 28th

Date Tuesday February 28  Time 4:00 PM – 4:00 AM

Location Details Dodging raindrops and rangers, the nimblefooted Freedom Sleepers continue their relentless quest for sanity and justice outside City Hall on Tuesday night. Food usually arrives in the late afternoon, and coffee the following morning. The protest runs from Tuesday afternoon through mid-morning Wednesday. Come early Tuesday afternoon if you want to raise your voice at City Council. Bring video, warm bedding, and good humor to deal with the cold night and the city’s paid nightmare providers.

Event Type Protest  Organizer/Author Keith McHenry (story by Norse)

BATHROOM BARRICADE LAST WEEK BY BUREAUCRAT BADGIRLS
The City Council bathrooms are regularly closed and locked during Freedom SleepOut’s (perhaps to enable to the City to yowl about “urine and feces” being left outside?)> But last week, Freedom Sleepers last week reported even during regular business hours, Assistant administrator Bonnie Bush refused to open the bathrooms, even for a disabled patron, who then relieved himself on a wall. Bring your own catheter or colostomy bag.

MISSION ST. LOCKOUT OF UNHOUSED PATRONS
Julie Shaul and other report what may be an organized crackdown on homeless folks trying to use the laundromat to clean and dry rain-soaked clothing and bedding. Safeway and nearby shops have reportedly removed or walled off outdoor seating. Other businesses such as MacDonald’s are becoming vehemently abusive towards “loitering” customers.

HOMELESS (LACK OF) SERVICES CENTER STRIKES AGAIN!
POVERTY PIMPS DENY HOMELESS WOMAN HER MAIL AFTER SHE WALKED OUT WITH A GRANOLA BAR
Food Not Bombs activist Kim Argula reported being refused access to her mail after she picked up a bar and a bag of chips from a table which looked open to homeless folks. “Denise”, the sharp-tongued poverty pimpstress who confronted her, then “banned” her and called the police even as Kim walked away. Mercifully, the officer responding declined to handcuff the hungry mail seeker and haul her away.

“Bucks for Bums” Boss Phil Kramer subsequently allowed Kim mail access to mail–provided she stood on the sidewalk across the street from the famed “Homeless Services Center”.

Homeless folks are now banned from parking their cars on Coral, Fern, and Limekiln streets with 24-hour Permit-required signs posted along all three.

The Homeless (Lack of) Service Center [HLOSC] has excluded all but a fraction of the homeless community from its breakfast and dinner meals in spite of a $3 million budget and much donated food. The massive cutback in HLOSC services prompted the first Freedom SleepOut on July 4, 2015.

GET THE BAD NEWS DIRECTLY FROM COUNCILMAN CHRIS
9 AM-10 AM: Councilmember Chris Krohn has a pre-Council huddle with members of the public at the Cafe Pergolesi 418 Cedar St.

NO RELIEF FOR TENANTS
Sometime after 2 PM: Tenant activists have asked those supporting renter protection and rent control to come to the afternoon session to speak on Item #17, which grants $10,000 to gab about “affordable housing” without any mention of key renter concerns or inclusion of renters as a primary participatory group.

A BRIEF CHANCE TO SPEAK IF YOU DON’T MIND WAITING 3 1/2 HOURS
Oral Communications: End of the Council’s afternoon agenda (historically 5 PM, but now at a time uncertain–perhaps to discourage speakers who have to wait through the whole afternoon not to miss it?). The period when the Mayor cuts you off after 2 minutes of struggling to make the community aware of issues NOT on the agenda.

RESOLUTIONS AND RABBLTY-BABBLE, BUT NO DOCUMENTS & NO ACCOUNTABILITY
7 PM: City staff returns, after twice delaying a resolution and ordinance banning SCPD collusion with DHS/ICE raids against undocumented immigrants.

The agenda packet includes no documentation of the actual communications between the SCPD and the DHS/ICE. Vogel of the SCPD says one thing and Schwab of the DHS says another (See http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/social-affairs/20170223/feds-santa-cruz-police-trade-jabs-after-february-gang-busts)

Bring your blankets and sleeping bags into the chambers to see if either the SCPD-subservient Council or their “liberal” critics will physically support Sanctuary for and stop busting Santa Cruz’s homeless population–documented or undocumented. That’s what the Freedom Sleepers are all about.

SLAMMING THE BOOK CLOSED ON SCPD’S ARLT KILLING
Missing from the agenda is any follow-up to Vogel’s closed-to-alternative-media press conference 2-16 exonerating Officer Eric Bailey for the slaying of Sean Arlt last October.

The D.A.’s report and the witness’s accounts have not been released.

There has been no indication of any change in SCPD’s “shoot to kill” policy nor have other questions raised by the household that called the SCPD to restrain Arlt. (https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/16/18796574.php?show_comments=1#18796828).

TALK BACK ON TALKABOUT TALK SHOW WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Broadcaster John Malkin will be interviewing witnesses and relatives in the law enforcement killings of Sean Arlt and Luke Smith on KZSC (88.1 FM) at 7 PM Wednesday 3-1. Call in at 459-4036.

VIEW AND LEAVE COMMENTS AT https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/27/18796875.php.

 

Video Shows SCPD Blocking Media from Sean Arlt Killing Press Conference

Video Shows SCPD Blocking Media from Sean Arlt Killing Press Conference

by Wes White and Robert Norse (rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com)
Thursday Feb 23rd, 2017 2:36 PM
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/23/18796773.php

Activist Wes White documents the exclusion of alternative media from the SCPD’s 2-16 Press Conference. There SCPD Police Chief Vogel announced that Officer Eric Bailey was the killer of Sean Arlt, who, police say, approached them aggressively with a metal rake back in early October. The only evidence presented was Vogel’s account, some partial audio, and a partial obscured video that had no recognizable figures in it and ended ten minutes before Arlt died.
Wes White came over from Salinas to film the two press conferences (by D.A. Jeff Rosell and Police Chief Kevin Vogel). He was admitted to the D.A.[‘s conference, but subsequently denied entrance to the second held at the Police Department’s “Community Room”.

Also excluded were Robert Norse (a Free Radio Santa Cruz broadcaster), John Malkin (a reporter with Good Times and KZSC) as well as Food Not Bombs activists Keith McHenry and Abbi Samuels.

The video and audio shown by police give no clear picture of Sean Arlt’s approach to the four police officers. There was no offer to release the D.A.’s investigation or the original police reports.

The few media present at Vogel’s press conference asked very few questions. That section of the video (shown at the closed Press Conference) and subsequently posted on the SCPD’s website and Santa Cruz Indymedia) can be seen at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2017/02/16/18796574.php?show_comments=1#18796590. Questions begin 57 minutes into the audio file and some are unintelligible. It is unclear which media were allowed into the room.

Wes White is a video-journalist, recent candidate for Salinas City Council, and co-founder of the Monterey County/Salinas Union of the Homeless. His video of the SFPD Press Exclusion is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGnW82WWpww&feature=youtu.be .

Norse’s audio of the D.A.’s press conference plus some commentary is at http://radiolibre.org/brb/brb170216.mp3 (15 minutes into the file).

Commentary outside the SCPD Press Conference which he was excluded from is at http://radiolibre.org/brb/brb170216.mp3 (1 hour and 4 minutes into the file).

Justice for Sean Arlt, Luke Smith, and Community Control of Police Now! Town Clock Protest 1 PM 12-3 Town Clock

Date Saturday December 03
Time
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Location Details Town Clock Santa Cruz
Event Type
Protest
Organizer/Author
Steve Argue Email liberation_news-request [at] lists.riseup.net

Liberation News and HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) invite you to join us with signs and friends to demand justice in the recent killing of Luke Smith and Sean Arlt.

We will be speaking out demanding strong changes in local law enforcement to establish real community control over the armed agencies. Lethal shooting is NOT a necessary response to individuals carrying a rake or a 4″ knife, surrounded by armed and well-armored police.

Added to the calendar on Thursday Dec 1st, 2016 12:06 PM

FOR COMMENTS AND UPDATES GO TO:  https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2016/12/01/18794291.php

 

More Bucks for Busts, Slashing Social Services & Rain Rousts- Come to Freedom Sleepout #72

Date Tuesday November 22  Time 4:00 PM – 4:00 AM

Location Details On the sidewalk outside City Hall as the City Council votes to cut back further its wretched services for the poor and those outside. 809 Center St. facing the main library. The protest runs from 4 PM Tuesday to 9 AM or so Wednesday. Rain possible. Bring umbrellas, tarps, and protective gear.
Event Type
Protest
Organizer/Author Keith McHenry (story by Norse)
Email keith [at] foodnotbombs.net
Phone
575-770–3377

For the 72nd time, community activists who call themselves Freedom Sleepers [FS] create a one-night refuge for homeless folks against the city-wide ban on sleeping outside in a city shelter for less than 5% of 1000-2000.

DARK AGENDA IN A DARKENING ERA (from City Manager Martin Bernal and his underlings)
For hardnosed veterans interested in confronting a Trump-minded City Council, here are a few of the agenda items and their approximate time:

12:30 pm [Open Interval of the Closed Session] City Manager’s Performance Evaluation City Manager Martin Bernal is the most powerful and highly paid official in town; the anti-homeless policies supporting increased police harassment of protesters and homeless must have his approval.
2 pm [Afternoon Session]
#16 $217,000 for more rangers and more surveillance to deal with “crimes” like camping and loitering
#17 More Talk about the Housing Crisis: no Funding.
#18 More power to ticket vehicles for the parking enforcers.
#21 Prohibits growing any recreational marijuana in your fenced off yard even if not visible from the street

5 PM (approx) [Oral Communications] 2 minutes or less at the whim of Mayor Mathews: say what you want to the audience, those watching on tv, and the (shudder) City Council but act with others to create the changes Council refuses to look at.

7 pm [Evening Session] Move to shaft the pitiful remaining social services: redistribute the $1,000,000 Community Programs budget to new areas and thereby substantially reduce awards to programs or projects that support Early Childhood Education, Seniors and Homeless Services. Petition opposing this at 521.seiu.org/CommunityFunding
e-mail the Council at citycouncil [at] cityofsantacruz.com

Continue reading

2nd Weekly Protest at Cop Corner Draws Media–3rd “Hold Police Accountable” Rally Coming Up 1:30 PM at the TOWN CLOCK SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19TH

HUFF activists staged a small protest against ongoing police “closed door, closed windows’ policies around last month’s Sean Arlt slaying on the sidewalk outside the main police station at Laurel and Center streets Thursday afternoon (11-10).   Also on the HUFF agenda: on-going harassment and citation of poor and homeless people outside, and general police refusal to respond to Public Records Act requests on issues of SCPD force, transparency, selective enforcement, and surveillance.

Two journalists came and wrote about the protest, also taking pictures.


A third protest is planned for November 19th at the Town Clock at 1:30 PM.   We’re hoping to provide coffee and perhaps something to munch.  Also on the agenda–a speak-out, petition drive, and possible march to confront police stonewalling and politician indifference


SENTINEL STORY at http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/social-affairs/20161110/santa-cruz-protesters-call-for-full-disclosure-in-sean-arlt-shooting

Santa Cruz protesters call for full disclosure in Sean Arlt shooting

Posted:  

Local activist Robert Norse hands out fliers near the Santa Cruz Police Department on Thursday afternoon where demonstrators sought information regarding the shooting on Sean Arlt. (Kevin Johnson -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Local activist Robert Norse hands out fliers near the Santa Cruz Police Department on Thursday afternoon where demonstrators sought information regarding the shooting on Sean Arlt. (Kevin Johnson — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

 

SANTA CRUZ >> In a week that’s seen thousands of protesters descend on downtown Santa Cruz to protest the presidential election of Donald Trump, Thursday’s protest of the officer-involved shooting death of Sean Arlt seemed like an afterthought.

A handful of activists gathered at the corner of Laurel and Center streets and called for the release of information related to the Oct. 16 incident in which Arlt, a 32-year-old father who suffered from mental illness, was shot and killed by a Santa Cruz police officer after threatening four police officers with a 5-foot metal bow rake.

The demonstrators brandished signs that read “Ban Guns 4 Cops” and “Don’t shoot, I have an illness.” They also jogged into traffic to hand out fliers that read, “Enough Waiting! Turn Up the Heat! Who Killed Sean Arlt?”

“Why can’t the District Attorney’s Office release the name of the officer involved or the audio and video related to the shooting now? Why do they have to wait until the investigation is completed?” said organizer Robert Norse. “It gives the impression they’re concealing something.”

 

Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel has explained that recorded evidence from the incident, in addition to the officer’s identification, will be released to the public by the District Attorney’s Office in less than three months.

Norse is the founder of Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom, or HUFF. His organization has added the officer-involved shooting of Arlt onto its long list of grievances against the Santa Cruz Police Department.

“HUFF has had longstanding concerns about the SCPD’s relationship with the homeless and the poor,” Norse said. “We see Sean’s death as just another example of local police abuse.”

John and Patricia Colby identify as emotionally disabled and live in their van with two cats. The siblings said they were demonstrating Thursday to pressure the Santa Cruz police for full disclosure in the Arlt case.

The pair also have complaints about the Santa Cruz County Adult Mental Health Services, which they said provides poor treatment to the emotionally disabled.

“County Mental Health is quick to medicate people to make them easy to manage,” said John Colby, 52. “People are not willing to go to see them at Emeline for this reason.”

“They don’t listen,” said Patricia Colby, 55. “That’s why I get my medication overseen by a treating physician — because I don’t trust the county.”

         HUFF meets from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. every Wednesday at Sub Rosa Cafe, 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. For more information, visit huffsantacruz.org.

Continue reading

In the wake of smoking police guns, HUFF meets tomorrow 11 AM Sub Rosa Cafe at 703 Pacific

With the recent killing Sean Amit Sunday morning,  police gunslingers have raised a long needed debate about the need for Community Control of Police that HUFF has long been urging.    Or will this be another excuse to blame the disabled and the “mentally ill”?     Also on the Agenda:

  • the ACLU Board of Directors meeting 7 PM tomorrow night at Louden Nelson–homeless defense on the agenda or was the Houseless Forum A Carnival Passing Through Town?…
  • Tenant Rights Forum 7 PM Louden Nelson also tomorrow–Will City Council candidates punt or play (don’t get your hopes up)…
  • the continuing struggle of vendors and street performers downtown–Romina’s struggle as the City Attorney stonewalls…
  • street artists Joff and Alex–a lost battle against the Blue Boxes–but an ongoing war?
  • Endorsing Council Candidates or Repudiating the Election?
  • Rainy Days and Rousts–is Jessica Nash’s report a peek into the future?…

and, of course, more and more…
with hits of coffee available to keep you going…

Hundreds decrying police violence march in Anaheim

by Eddie Perez
Associated Press Jul. 30 2012

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of protesters denounced recent fatal police shootings and issued a call for peace in the community even as police arrested at least nine people in separate marches Sunday.

Some 200 vocal protesters rallied in front of police headquarters, while a separate group of about 100 people marched silently along a two-mile stretch of a main thoroughfare, The Orange County Register reported (http://bit.ly/MNpcWX ).

Chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!,” the vocal group started marching toward Disneyland, but a police line stopped the group a half-mile away. The blockade, which temporarily closed several traffic intersections, caused the demonstrators to head away from the resort.

“What’s going on here in Orange County is symbolic of a problem with the system,” Eduardo Perez, a 21-year-old student, told the Register. “This wouldn’t happen to white people. This is racism, simple as that.”

The other group was dressed in white and remained silent as part of their call for peace. They walked five-people across, shoulder to shoulder, some carrying messages such as “We are Anaheim” and “Peace begins with us.” City Councilwoman Kris Murray and state Sen. Lou Correa, a Democrat who represents Anaheim, were among the marchers.

At least nine people were arrested, Police Sgt. Bob Dunn said. Most face minor charges including failure to disperse and blocking traffic, but one woman is accused of attacking a clerk at a mini market.

She was held on suspicion of assault and battery, Dunn said.

It was the ninth consecutive day of protests against police. The demonstrations occurred hours before an evening memorial service for Manuel Diaz, a 25-year-old man who was shot dead July 21.

Some marchers attempted to join the service but were turned away by organizers, who had hired their own security team, Dunn said. The evening vigil was peaceful, he said.

Police said Diaz, who had a criminal record, failed to heed orders and threw something as he fled police. He was unarmed.

The night after Diaz was killed, police shot to death Joel Acevedo, a suspected gang member they say fired at officers following a pursuit.

The shootings ignited four days of violent protests, culminating Tuesday night in hundreds of demonstrators surging through downtown. Police said some in the crowd smashed the windows of 20 businesses, set trash can fires, threw rocks and bottles at police and damaged City Hall and police headquarters. Two dozen people were arrested.

The Orange County district attorney’s office is investigating, and the U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI agreed to review the shootings to determine if civil rights investigations are warranted.

A group of demonstrators rallied peacefully in front of Disneyland on Saturday.

Deadly shootings reveal divisions of Anaheims

by AMY TAXIN
Associated Press Jul. 26, 2012

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — As police around City Hall tried to quell rock-hurling protesters angry over two deadly police shootings, the night sky exploded with splendid bursts of green and orange from Disneyland fireworks a few miles away. Pyrotechnic booms trailed popping sounds as officers in riot gear fired pepper balls and bean bags at protesters.

The contrasting scenes were reflective of the two Anaheims that were on display this week. One is a magical tourist destination, and the other is a place where shifting demographics have left a large segment of the population feeling like second-class citizens.

“This is not quite ‘The Happiest Place on Earth,’ and now the world knows it,” said Joese Hernandez, referencing Disneyland’s motto. “It’s great if you live in the hills, but if you live right around the corner from ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ you realize it’s a whole different ball game.”

The 27-year-old community organizer, who grew up in Anaheim, made the statement to the City Council as raucous protests raged outside Tuesday night.

Two fatal police shootings last weekend — one of an unarmed man police say was a known gang member— roiled the city and exposed its divisions. Demonstrators took to the streets four nights in a row.

Tuesday’s was the largest and most violent protest, with some of the nearly 600 demonstrators hurling rocks and bottles at police, who made two dozen arrests. About 20 businesses were damaged.

The city has asked federal authorities to investigate the shootings.

Both victims were Hispanic, as were most of the demonstrators. The city, about 90 percent white in 1970, now has a population that is 53 percent Hispanic.

Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city, alleging that Anaheim’s at-large elections have weakened Latinos’ voting power. The suit claims only three councilmembers in the city’s history have been Hispanic. Most of the City Council currently hails from the city’s upscale neighborhoods to the east.

“So much attention has been paid to building up the resort district and somehow those resources would trickle down to the rest of the city and we’re just not seeing it,” said Jose Moreno, president of Los Amigos of Orange County and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “A lot of us are saying enough is enough and this police shooting is really just emblematic of something more systemic in the politics of the city.”

While it’s known worldwide as the home of Disneyland, the reality is Anaheim is much more than a theme park. It’s a big city — the population is 336,000, about the same as Tampa, Fla., and Honolulu — and it has big-city problems. There is great wealth for some, but a large segment of the population lives in or at the edge of poverty.

Those differences can be seen in the tony, hilltop homes in the east to the rundown areas like Anna Street, where some residents shrug off the presence of gangs so long as they’re left alone. It’s a far cry from the place filled with orange groves that Walt Disney chose for his theme park in the 1950s because it had so much open space.

Since then, the city has been a magnet for tourists flocking to see Mickey Mouse or attend an event at the massive convention center touted as the largest on the West Coast. There is professional baseball with the Angels and pro hockey with the Ducks, whose original name Mighty Ducks name came from — what else? — a Disney film.

More than 17 million people visited Anaheim last year and spent nearly $4.6 billion. Few ever see much of the city, however. Visitors to the neatly manicured theme park or Angel Stadium can reach their destinations by zipping off the freeway and into a parking lot without passing through the city’s residential neighborhoods.

Tourism officials have been in close contact with the city since the unrest. On Wednesday, the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau was quick to reassure visitors the city is safe and pointed out the recent police incidents didn’t take place in the area where Disneyland and the convention center are located.

Gene Jeffers, executive director of the Themed Entertainment Association, said some area residents might put off visiting the resort in the next few days but he doesn’t see any real effect on tourism — especially not on those who hail from out of town.

“There’s a pretty big buffer zone around the park,” said Jeffers, whose organization represents theme park designers and developers.

Mayor Tom Tait warned the city would take swift action to stop any additional violence. He also noted the violence occurred far from tourist hubs.

Local activists have complained that officials spend too much time worrying about image for tourists and on big-time developers, but not enough on housing and services for its people.

Critics have blasted city officials for extending a tax break to a Disneyland-area hotel developer and want to change elections in Anaheim to make officials more accountable to local districts.

They have also demanded an independent investigation into recent police shootings — which officials had agreed to seek even before the weekend’s events pushed the total number of fatal police shootings to six this year.

On Saturday, a police officer fatally shot Manuel Diaz outside an Anna Street apartment complex. Officers say Diaz, who had a criminal record, failed to heed orders and threw something as he fled police. The city’s police union said Diaz reached for his waistband, which led the officer to believe he was drawing a gun.

Diaz’s family, which is suing for $50 million in damages, says he was shot in the leg and the back of the head. During a protest the night of the shooting, a police dog escaped and bit a bystander.

On Sunday night, police shot to death Joel Acevedo, a suspected gang member they say fired at officers after a pursuit.

Veronica Rodarte, a 25-year-old social services program coordinator, said she is well aware of the problems with gang violence and police in the city where she’s lived her entire life. But she doesn’t like how residents’ outrage, even if justified, has turned violent.

“We are very upset with the portrayals our city is getting and the violence that is erupting in our city,” she said. “Throwing rocks and rioting and setting trash bins on fire is not going to help us move forward.”

Anaheim Cracks Down as Police Shootings Set Off Protests

by Jennifer Medina
NY Times, July 25, 2012

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Violent protests have stretched on through the week here after unrelated police shootings over the weekend left two men dead, including one who was apparently unarmed.

Even before the shootings, there were tensions between residents and the police. On Tuesday, the crowds that gathered near City Hall grew to nearly 1,000 people, and were dispersed by officers in riot gear.

As the City Council prepared to hear from angry residents on Tuesday, the fourth night of protest, the crowd swelled to nearly 1,000, and there were two dozen arrests, officials said Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, with an increased police presence, there were no immediate reports of arrests, and there were few protesters.

The protests have shaken up this Orange County city, most famous as the home of Disneyland. Tensions between the police and residents, which have simmered for years, broke out shortly after Manuel Diaz, 25, was shot and killed by the police on Saturday.

On Tuesday, as hundreds of people packed City Hall for a City Council meeting, a crowd outside grew in size and became violent, throwing rocks and bottles at police cars. One man reportedly had a handgun and was later arrested.

A short while later, the demonstrators moved through downtown, taking over an intersection, setting fires and damaging 20 businesses, officials said. Looters broke several storefront windows, and in at least one incident a fight broke out when an older resident tried to stop a young woman stealing from a store window.

The police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly around 9 p.m., and some 300 officers in riot gear used batons, pepper balls and beanbag bullets to disperse the crowd.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Mayor Tom Tait, who has asked for state and federal investigations into the shootings, said he was pleased with the police response.

“The first step is to get to the truth,” Mr. Tait said. “That takes some time and patience, and that’s what I’m asking for.”

“Violence and vandalism have no place in the conversation,” he added.

Chief John Welter of the Anaheim Police Department said it would review videos posted on the Internet to find “lawbreakers in the crowd.”

“We will not allow riotous, dangerous violations of the law by anyone,” Mr. Welter said. “We will protect innocent people from being injured and property from being damaged.”

Officials said they had contingency plans in place for the rest of the week in case of more violent protests, but they would not elaborate.

Six people, including one police officer said to have been hit with a rock, were reported injured, although none seriously. The charges against those arrested included assault with a deadly weapon, battery and resisting arrest.

The police said they believed roughly two-thirds of the protesters were from outside Anaheim. But the majority of those arrested were city residents, they said.

Mr. Tait said he would meet with federal officials, who have agreed to review Saturday’s shooting to see whether a civil rights inquiry is needed. The district attorney and state attorney general are also investigating the shootings.

The family of Mr. Diaz, the first of the two men killed by the police, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, asserting that he was unarmed when he was shot, fell to his knees and then was shot again, in the back of the head.

“In a poor brown neighborhood, the kids, especially the boys, know to avoid the police, because it never ends well,” said Dana Douglas, a lawyer for the Diaz family.

Genevieve Huizar, Mr. Diaz’s mother, broke down after a news conference. She spoke of her son’s devoted care for his 14 nieces and nephews and his dreams of making his own family. When he told her he wanted to join the military, she strongly objected, she said.

“I didn’t want him to go over there and die,” she said, choking back tears. “Maybe I should have let him and everything would be different. Only God knows.”

Both the mayor and police chief have declined to offer any public explanation of the shooting, but Kerry Condon, the president of the Anaheim Police Association, has said that Mr. Diaz appeared to be carrying a “concealed object in his front waistband with both hands,” and that he ran off, pulled the object out of his waistband and turned to the officers.

“Feeling that Diaz was drawing a weapon, the officer opened fire on Diaz to stop the threat,” Mr. Condon said. No gun has been recovered from the site.

The other man killed by the police, Joel Mathew Acevedo, 21, was shot after officers tried to stop his car on Sunday. The police say that he tried to flee on foot and that he then opened fire on them. The police said that both Mr. Acevedo and Mr. Diaz were gang members with criminal records.

There have been six shootings by Anaheim police officers so far this year, all but one fatal.

Family seeks reports in police shooting

Henry K. Lee
SF Chronicle, July 20, 2012

Relatives of a man shot and killed by Oakland police lashed out at the department Thursday, saying they have been unable to obtain a full accounting of what led to his death.

Alan Blueford, 18, was shot after witnesses said he pointed a gun at an officer early May 6 during a chase near 92nd Avenue and Birch Street in East Oakland, according to police.

But Blueford’s relatives reiterated Thursday that they didn’t believe the police version of events. They said they want to see the police report to learn more about the circumstances of the slaying, including why the officer opened fire and whether Blueford received medical care after being shot.

“I cannot begin to tell you what this has done to my life and my family,” said Blueford’s mother, Jeralynn Blueford, 46, of Tracy, at a news conference outside the coroner’s office in downtown Oakland. “I, as his mother – we, as parents – deserve to know what happened to our baby.”

Adam Blueford, the dead man’s father, said, “We want the truth. We’re not going to stand for anything but the truth.”

Representatives of police and the district attorney’s office said they have not turned over their findings to the family because the investigations are still open.

“We established lines of communication with the family early on, and we have continued to share information as it becomes available for release,” said Sgt. Chris Bolton, chief of staff for Chief Howard Jordan.

The incident began when an officer, identified by sources as Miguel Masso, and his partner saw Blueford and two companions on the 1900 block of 90th Avenue shortly after midnight. Blueford appeared to be hiding a gun, police said.

Blueford ran and twice pointed a gun at Masso, who responded with four shots, according to Masso’s attorney, Harry Stern.

Three shots hit Blueford, and the fourth hit the officer in the leg, police said.

Several independent witnesses said they had seen Blueford point the gun, Bolton said.

A gun was recovered at the scene, police said. Investigators do not believe it was fired.

Blueford was on the verge of graduating from Skyline High School in Oakland. He was on felony probation for a burglary conviction from San Joaquin County, Bolton said.

Dan Siegel, an attorney who previously served as legal adviser for Mayor Jean Quan, said at the news conference that authorities’ disclosure of Blueford’s criminal history and their reluctance to release information was “absolutely contemptible” and “slander.”