{"id":141581,"date":"2026-01-20T14:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/141581\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T14:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:22:09","slug":"were-santa-ana-police-justified-in-firing-on-peaceful-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/141581\/","title":{"rendered":"Were Santa Ana Police Justified in Firing On Peaceful Protesters?"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than six months after police fired rubber bullets, projectiles and tear gas at peaceful protesters in downtown Santa Ana, there\u2019s been no city council hearing or detailed debate on the dais about what happened that day.<\/p>\n

The official silence from city hall \u2013 spurred no doubt by the fear of potential lawsuits \u2013 is prompting serious questions about how Santa Ana PD handles protesters and how effective city leaders are in engaging with the department, especially around transparency issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also unclear whether SAPD has updated or adapted anything in response to those protests.<\/p>\n

And this week, protests are back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, across America and Orange County cities, there\u2019s a planned \u201cFree America Walkout<\/a>,\u201d at 2 p.m. to protest Trump administration policies like the ongoing ICE raids.\u00a0
And there\u2019s another protest scheduled in downtown Santa Ana<\/a> at 6:30 p.m. to protest the first anniversary of the Trump administration taking office.<\/p>\n

\"\"Demonstrators during protests against expanded deportations efforts in Santa Ana and Orange County run from dispersal tactics on June 9, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that at the bare minimum we should have a presentation,\u201d said Santa Ana City Councilwoman Jessie Lopez in a December interview about the events back in June, seconding similar concerns and directives<\/a> offered earlier in the year by Councilman Jonahthan Hernandez.<\/p>\n

Yet those directives have seemingly been ignored.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most recently, a local news reporter \u2013 Daniel Diaz, who publishes the Santanero newspaper \u2013 publicly told council members he\u2019s been stonewalled on public records requests for months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As he\u2019s trying to figure out how police responded to the protests against deportation raids over the summer, Diaz took to the public comment podium<\/a> at last month\u2019s Santa Ana City Council meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I also emailed similar questions to a police Public Information Officer Natalie Garcia, Police Chief Robert Rodriguez<\/a> and City Public Information Officer Paul Eakins on Jan. 5 asking similar questions about their response to ICE protests \u2013 and have yet to get any response.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to get information from both sides about what happened,\u201d Diaz told council members, echoing my own desire to better understand the police department response in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diaz, who along with several city council members was shot with nonlethal rounds himself, is especially curious about midnight, June 12, Fourth and Main.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, the cops pulled up and the SWAT team. They just shot at the crowd that didn\u2019t have any sort of antagonizing. They didn\u2019t throw anything at them. They were just protesting on the sidewalk,\u201d Diaz said, adding that he\u2019s been denied access to body cam footage about the incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Disputed Protest Response<\/p>\n

Last November, Santa Ana police officials spoke in general<\/a> about their response to First Amendment protests in front of the city\u2019s Police Oversight Commission<\/a>, generally describing the department\u2019s response in June as textbook.<\/p>\n

Earlier that year in June, residents were protesting ICE raids throughout Southern California amid a National Guard occupation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[Read: Orange County Grapples With Federal Occupation<\/a>]<\/p>\n

At the police oversight commission meeting, Santa Ana Police Commander Garry Couso<\/a> said the department\u2019s approach aims to connect police with protest organizers early on, adding that police responses at protests target bad actors in the crowd as opposed to widescale responses from officers on the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back in June, Santa Ana Police also released a statement<\/a> along with a video featuring select shots of unruly protesters to explain their declaration of an unlawful assembly, noting they had arrested 24 people over the course of six days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike other cities that declared unlawful assemblies early in the day, while there was still sunlight, and imposed curfews that effectively curtailed the right to assemble, the City of Santa Ana demonstrated restraint and a commitment to its community by respecting the public\u2019s need to express frustration and allowing peaceful demonstrations to continue into the late-night hours,\u201d read the SAPD statemen<\/a>t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet the police department\u2019s version of events seems starkly at odds with what many Santa Ana residents saw and felt that night \u2013 including city council members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was out there,\u201d Lopez said, adding she went out to the protests to ensure the official narrative reflected what residents experienced.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her recollection is very different from the one presented by police at the city\u2019s oversight commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was our own residents they were attacking and brutalizing,\u201d she said of Santa Ana police, adding \u201cYou can\u2019t tell them (residents) it didn\u2019t happen to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fired on a couple of times,\u201d Lopez continued, referring to the first day of protests on June 9, adding that a local school board trustee also got hit along with a woman with a baby stroller.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Councilwoman Jessie Lopez holds protesters back as a federal officer is pulled away after pushing a demonstrator during the June 9, 2025 protests that lasted into the night amid immigration enforcement operations in the county of Orange. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC Credit: JULIE LEOPO, VOICE OF OC<\/p>\n

Councilman Ben Vazquez said, \u201cI was there and I saw one guy throwing water bottles \u2026 protesters chased him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vazquez also experienced something very different from what police officials told Santa Ana\u2019s oversight commissioners about their response.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they overdid it,\u201d Vazquez said. \u201cThey were shooting in my direction. But I didn\u2019t get hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Protestors head away from dispersal tactics by the Santa Ana Police Department on June 9, 2025, during a anti-immigration enforcement protest. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

Their colleague, Councilman Jonathan Hernandez, also has a contrasting recollection of events than what was presented to the oversight commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was on the ground that day,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cSAPD were the agitators. They did escalate violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Santa Ana City Councilman Johnathan Hernandez stands with protestors as the Santa Ana Police Department forms a line during protests on June 9, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC <\/p>\n

\u201cTo this day, they have not been held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Use of Force Claim<\/p>\n

A Huntington Beach man recently filed a claim against the City of Santa Ana and the County of Orange after being shot in the head with projectiles by police forces during the June protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround 10:00 pm, Mr. Olson and his brother-in-law made their way to the far-right front of the crowd at the intersection of Broadway and 4th St. Across the street from the crowd were Orange County Sheriff\u2019 s Department Deputies and the Santa Ana Police Department(\u201d SAPD\u201d) Officers,\u201d reads the claim.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was approximately 10:15 pm when one individual on the far left of the crowd threw a firework at the law enforcement line,\u201d the claim continues.\u201cInstead of targeting the one individual who posed the threat, the deputies and officers responded by opening fire at everyone in the crowd with their less-lethal projectiles.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

To read a copy of the claim, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to his claim, Olson was completely peaceful but started running east on 4th St to avoid being hurt and was away from the person that threw the firecracker.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs he was running, on information and belief, a SAPD officer shot Mr.Olson in the upper right side of his head with a 40 mm less- lethal projectile shot from a 12- gauge shotgun,\u201d reads the claim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Questioning The Official Narrative<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to go far to hear the same story as Olson, Lopez, Hernandez and Vazquez.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To date, there\u2019s never really been a deep dive on this city council dais \u2013 dominated by a full slate of Democratic politicians \u2013 about what happened and why \u2013 or an opportunity to question official statements or detail follow up on arrests to see if charges were merited.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento \u2013 a former Santa Ana mayor \u2013\u00a0 responded to my questions through a spokesman, largely backing up other eyewitness accounts.,\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI witnessed first-hand the excessive and unnecessary use of force by federal and local law enforcement on peaceful protesters\u201d Sarmiento stated, adding that the county was in the midst of reviewing Olson\u2019s claim so he would not comment on the details of his experience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Orange County Supervisor and former Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento during the June 9, protests on Civic Center Dr. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hopeful that the use-of-force incidents in Santa Ana will be investigated,\u201d Sarmiento added, \u201cin order to ensure accountability and transparency and regain the public\u2019s trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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