City Councilman Ben Vazquez, who called for a hearing on the response and who was at some of the protests, said police officers escalated the situation on purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey escalated the situation by shooting rubber bullets at the crowd and hurt people. I was there when they started throwing the gas and that wasn\u2019t necessary. We weren\u2019t doing anything. It was a simple protest,\u201d he said in a Friday phone interview.<\/p>\n
The rest of the city council did not respond to a request for comment Friday.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SantaAnaCityCouncil_Oct7_2025_Taylor-9.jpg\")
Mayor Pro Tem Benjamin Vazquez sits at the dais during the Santa Ana City Council meeting on OCt. 7, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
In the report, Police Chief Robert Rodriguez argues the department followed their own policy and state law and guidelines \u2013 something department leaders also contended at a police oversight commission hearing last fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cSAPD implemented a coordinated, multi-day operational plan designed to protect individuals\u2019 First Amendment rights while ensuring public safety and safeguarding critical infrastructure,\u201d reads the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll operations were conducted in accordance with Department policy, California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) guidelines, and applicable state law, with a continued emphasis on de-escalation, proportionality, and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez, City Manager Alvaro Nu\u00f1ez and City Spokesman Paul Eakins did not respond to email questions last Friday.<\/p>\n
The department\u2019s response to protestors last year prompted hundreds of residents to show up to a city council meeting after the protests \u2013 lambasting how the police department handled the demonstrations<\/a>, saying they responded too aggressively.<\/p>\n Yet, city officials never publicly questioned the department\u2019s response in the wake of those concerns.<\/p>\n At their 5:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Santa Ana City Council members are expected to receive and file his report on what happened last summer when police officers fired rubber bullets, projectiles and tear gas at protesters.<\/p>\n But the report isn\u2019t as detailed as expected and it is slated on the consent calendar portion of the agenda \u2013 a host of items usually voted on as a block without much discussion from city officials.<\/p>\n Vazquez said he plans to pull the item off the consent calendar and officials will be able to question Nu\u00f1ez and Rodriguez while those who attended the protest can speak during the public comments portion of the meeting.<\/p>\n To view the staff report, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI really wanted it to be more hashed out, and that would have been more available to be done in the police oversight commission,\u201d Vazquez said about the report.<\/p>\n The $400,000 police response to the protests comes after city council members adopted a budget they said would be their last big spending plan<\/a> before having to make cuts this year.<\/p>\n Amid a looming expiring tax increase, Santa Ana leaders are now facing an expected $19 million budget deficit<\/a> going into the summer.<\/p>\n Residents are expected to consider extending the tax increase indefinitely this November in a city where the police union is one of the largest spenders on local elections.<\/p>\n The Hearing That Isn\u2019t<\/p>\n In February, Vazquez called on his colleagues to direct Nu\u00f1ez to draft a report and have the police oversight commission hold a public hearing on the police department\u2019s response to protestors after a column by Voice of OC Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Norberto Santana, Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n While a majority of the council spoke in favor of a sort of public forum on the issue, Mayor Valerie Amezcua pushed back on the need for a public hearing while Councilman Phil Bacerra criticized Vazquez for not working with the police oversight commission to host the hearing.<\/p>\n The ensuing debate sparked confusion on the dais and the city manager as to what staff was going to bring back exactly to the council and whether it would include a public forum or be limited to a report.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Bacerra suggested staff bring back a report in 60 days with Vazquez seemingly agreeing before the mayor cut off the debate, which culminated without a formal vote leaving the direction unclear.<\/p>\n [Read: Santana: Police Tactics Against Peaceful Protesters in Santa Ana Get a Public Hearing<\/a>]<\/p>\n Rodriguez at the time said the report would contain limited information due to use of force complaints and a tort claim against the city stemming from the city\u2019s response to the protests.<\/p>\n In his request<\/a>, Vazquez called for the report to not only include the cost and the munitions used, but also body-worn camera footage from the protests last June, detailed injury reports and communications with other law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n He also called for operational planning and command decisions that led to use of force and any internal policy reviews planned or conducted by the department in the wake of the protests.<\/p>\n Instead, the report lists the amount and type of munitions used, the cost of the police response, the other law enforcement agencies that assisted them and the amount of people arrested and injuries sustained without any detail as to why.<\/p>\n The report includes less detail than the state-mandated use of force disclosures for protests that police officials quietly published online last year for each of the four days.<\/p>\n The use of force disclosures for the four days included the same language for why officers used tear gas and rubber bullets.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the protest progressed Santa Ana officers encountered assaultive resistance from multiple protesters. Individuals in the crowds began throwing dangerous objects, including illegal fireworks, rocks, bricks, concrete, glass bottles, and other unidentified projectiles, directly at law enforcement personnel,\u201d reads the reports.<\/p>\n \u201cAt no point were kinetic energy projectiles fired indiscriminately into the crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0A4A0250.jpg\")
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
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DHS-2025-Leopo-8.jpg\")
Anti-ICE Protestors gather outside the federal building in downtown Santa Ana on June 9, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n