The officer then punches the man in the head repeatedly as another officer joins in and holds the man\u2019s legs down until ultimately two more police officers show up and help restrain the man.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police Chief Robert Rodriguez said he personally reviewed the video and the matter is being investigated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Department is conducting a thorough review of the incident, including body worn camera footage, reports and the circumstances surrounding the arrest,\u201d reads a statement from Rodriguez posted on the department\u2019s Facebook Sunday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important that we allow that process to take place and let the facts guide our conclusions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Natalie Garcia, a spokeswoman for the police department, echoed Rodriguez\u2019s comments while revealing the last name of the suspect.<\/p>\n \u201cOur Department is reviewing all the available information, including body-worn camera footage, police reports, and the circumstances leading up to Mr. Lopez\u2019s arrest on October 1st. As with all use-of-force incidents, we take these matters seriously and will let the facts guide our review and conclusions,\u201d she wrote in a Monday morning email.<\/p>\n City officials, including Rodriguez, Garcia and City Manager Alvaro Nu\u00f1ez, did not respond to questions Monday morning as to what the man was arrested for and who the officers are.\u00a0<\/p>\n They also did not answer questions on who would conduct the investigation, what the process will entail and if the findings of that probe would be made public.\u00a0<\/p>\n Growing Calls for Accountability<\/p>\n City Councilman Ben Vazquez, who is running for reelection whose previous mayoral campaign was opposed by the police union, said he was astonished that kind of violence was unleashed on a resident and both Rodriguez & Nu\u00f1ez should be held responsible.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI hope that would not be part of our policy to allow to be thrown to the floor and punched in the face multiple times and if it is allowable through our policy, then we have to look into it.,\u201d he said in a Monday morning phone interview, adding city officials need to spend more on police oversight.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, we\u2019re responsible if these things continue to happen, as we\u2019ve seen people killed in Santa Ana.\u201d<\/p>\n Vazquez said city officials need to intervene.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need for this not to happen again, we need for our community to feel safe so unless the council acts, they\u2019re really just sitting on their hands and waiting for it to happen again and for the results to be the same,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Councilman David Penaloza, who is running for State Assembly and is endorsed by the police union, said he was disturbed by the video and was disappointed how the man was being treated regardless of what he was arrested for.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI would hope that he\u2019s held accountable and potentially fired. I mean, regardless of what crimes this guy committed, we have a criminal justice system and he should go through it and face the consequences for his crimes and be held accountable and be in jail if it warrants that,\u201d Penaloza said in a Monday morning phone interview.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t give any police officer the right to beat him the way he was beaten.\u201d<\/p>\n Penaloza said he supports an outside investigation and both he and Vazquez said the incident should go to the city\u2019s police oversight commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo police officer should act like a jury, and if you\u2019re a police officer in our city and you\u2019re allowing words like that to trigger you that easily \u2013 I mean, that\u2019s also upsetting and that police officer should definitely look at changing careers and be held accountable before that,\u201d Penaloza said.<\/p>\n Councilman Johnathan Hernandez, whose previous council campaign was opposed by the police union, said District Attorney Todd Spitzer should file charges against the officer on top of an independent investigation into the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we saw take place on that video is lawlessness,\u201d Hernandez said in a Monday phone interview. \u201cI understand the dynamics of what we\u2019ve seen in Santa Ana. We\u2019re seeing brown people get brutalized by police on a near daily basis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hernandez also said he would call for accountability at tomorrow\u2019s 5:30 p.m. city council meeting, adding that because it is an election year, police-backed council members would be more willing to have a dialogue on the issue.<\/p>\n The rest of the city council including Mayor Valerie Amezcua did not respond to a request for comment on the Oct. 1 arrest near Jackson Street and fifth street.<\/p>\n John Kachirisky, president of the Santa Ana police union, said in a Monday statement the police officers association supports an investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe support a thorough, fair and unbiased investigation that is based on the facts and evidence of the case,\u201d reads the statement, deferring other questions on the issue to the police department.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an Instagram post<\/a>, Amezcua said she immediately contacted Rodriguez and Nu\u00f1ez after she learned about the incident and the matter was under investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cDetails cannot be shared that could compromise the process. However, I support transparency and a thorough investigation into this matter,\u201d she wrote in a Sunday post.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRemember there are officers who are professional and we cannot judge all officers by one\u2019s actions, but I will continue to monitor this investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Amezcua is running for reelection next month and is endorsed by the Santa Ana Police Officers\u2019 Association, facing off against Dwayne Shipp, president of the OC Heritage Council and a Community Development commissioner, and Dan Shimell, an attorney<\/p>\n Both Shipp and Shimell also commented on the arrest on Instagram, saying officers are not above the law and there needs to be accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shipp compared the arrest and the video to the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police Officers in 1991<\/a> after a high speed police pursuit. The officers were found not guilty of excessive force a year later \u2013 acquittals that sparked the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe video sent to me is deeply disturbing and deserves a full, transparent investigation. Trust breaks down when people see abuse and no accountability,\u201d he wrote in his own Sunday Instagram post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA badge comes with responsibility. It does not put anyone above the law.\u201d<\/p>\n Shimell said police officers don\u2019t have the right to hurt people because they \u201cmouth off\u201d and they need to be accountable for their actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disturbing to me to see someone treated in this way by one of our officers with an apparent sense of impunity. Enough is enough. This has got to stop happening in our city. Our officers need to understand that they are not above the law,\u201d he said in an Instagram video Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that we have other officers on the force that do behave professionally has no bearing on this particular incident.\u201d<\/p>\n Santa Ana Police Controversies<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time the department has faced scrutiny and concerns over excessive use of force.\u00a0<\/p>\n Santa Ana Police and city officials faced intense criticism last year over the police\u2019s response to demonstrations against ICE<\/a> and federal immigration enforcement, with residents, a handful of council members and one OC Supervisor \u2013 calling the police officers\u2019 actions excessive.<\/p>\n City officials and the department also faced criticism over the police killing of Noe Rodriguez in 2024 who was carrying a toy gun.\u00a0<\/p>\n An investigation by the state\u2019s department of justice found insufficient evidence to support criminal prosecution<\/a> of the officers involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n At their 5:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Santa Ana City Council members are expected to decide on amending their contract with the police union<\/a> to strip the city manager from having the final say on disciplinary appeal hearings and leaving it up to an arbitrator.<\/p>\n Kachirisky said the change could mean less lawsuits against the city.<\/p>\n \u201cBinding arbitration means a neutral expert, chosen jointly by both sides, has the final say. That cuts both ways. If the City proves its case, the discipline stands, and the Association is bound by the result just as the City is,\u201d reads his statement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a common standard in public-sector contracts across California. It also means faster, final answers and fewer lawsuits while saving taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/VOC-2025-3.jpg\")
A Santa Ana Police officer attends a May 2025 Santa Ana City Council meeting. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Taylor_NeedleDist_SantaAna_April-2024_19.jpg\")
The Santa Ana Police Department building on April 6, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n