Memorial held to honor locals fatally shot by police

Community members gathered at the clock tower in Santa Cruz Saturday to honor the lives of 15-year-old Luke Smith and 32-year-old Sean Arlt, both fatally shot by police.

“People are afraid to call 911 because of these two shootings,” said Sylvia Cares with the Mental Health Client Action Network. “That’s not a good situation for our city.”

While event attendees spoke kind words about Arlt and Smith, they also asked for answers and more information about what happened.

“We want them to do jail time,” said Steven Argue with the Revolutionary Tendency. “We want them to get fired and be taken off the force.”

Santa Cruz Police said Arlt was shot after he tried to attack officers with a rake. Friends said he suffered from mental illness.

“I Just would like to in any way help the police find better solutions to de-escalating mental health situations,” said community member Rebecca Kerley.

The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department said Smith, an Aptos High School student, was shot by a deputy after he lunged at a canine officer while holding a knife, after stabbing his father and uncle while high on LSD.

“It’s sad because he was so young and he shouldn’t have died that young,” said Ian Lee, who went to school with Smith. “It’s a violent death to get shot to death by the police. I think something different could have been done.”

In both cases, authorities said they used de-escalation tactics, which did not work. The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office released video of Smith’s encounter with deputies within days, saying they wanted to be fully transparent, calling the incident heartbreaking.

The group is pressuring Santa Cruz Police for video and audio of Arlt’s death.

“We’re not going to take their word because frankly we don’t trust them,” said Argue.

The Santa Cruz Police Department has vowed to be transparent. The District Attorney is investigating the case.

The group said they will protest every Saturday at 1:30 p.m. until they believe justice is served.