Residents rally over officer-involved shooting in Salinas
Residents in Salinas organized a rally at Closter Park on Friday in protest of the death of a 20-year-old woman involved in an officer-involved shooting on March 1.
About 40 people or so turned out in solidarity to speak out against police tactics in the shootings.
“I am sick and tired, I’m sick and I’m tired of meeting under these circumstances and these conditions,” said one woman during a portion of the rally that allowed for public comments.
One single idea threaded the fabric of the group: Brenda Rodriguez-Mendoza should still be alive.
“What we’re experiencing, what we’re feeling together as a community is unacceptable because it shouldn’t have never happened in the first place,” said another woman at the rally.
“I don’t understand and I’m really struggling with how a 20-year-old young lady, a child, can make grown men who are trained in combat, who are trained in weaponry, how a 20-year-old little girl can make them feel threatened,” said Israel Villa, a leader with the Salinas-based group MILPA.
Mendoza’s mother was also present during the rally. Her daughter was involved in a standoff with police on East Laurel Drive on March 1. Authorities say she was armed, and at some point, officers were forced to shoot.
Now, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is investigating to determine if police followed the law.
“There has been no accountability, there has been no change in policies,” said Villa.
Many said what needs to happen is a change in the law to rework rules on police use of force, and many at the rally are supporting a bill currently going through the state legislature that would do that.
Rally organizers plan on hosting more events over this shooting with the next Salinas City Council meeting their next destination.
Salinas Police was planning to host a press conference at Closter Park Friday afternoon to announce the department’s reception of the James Q. Wilson Award for Excellence in Community Policing. But they decided to cancel the event.
