Civil Rights

Pressure Mounts for Independent Investigation

Pressure Mounts for Independent Investigation

By David GreenwaldJune 18, 200913 comments

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Some Officials Starting to Buckle Under the Pressure –

On Tuesday, about a dozen organizers called a press conference to push for the independent investigation into the April 30 death of Luis Gutierrez who was shot by Sheriff’s deputies who claim that he attacked them with a knife.

Following the press conference, individuals filed in the County of Board of Supervisors to press their case before that body.  The supervisors resisted calling for an investigation at this time however, opting instead to let the current investigation run its course.  District Attorney Jeff Reisig has said that he will forward the results to the California Attorney General’s office for review.

Examination of Affidavit Raising Troubling Questions About Woodland Shooting

Examination of Affidavit Raising Troubling Questions About Woodland Shooting

By David GreenwaldJune 12, 200920 comments

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In the days following the shooting death of Luis Gutierrez by Sheriff’s Deputies in Woodland, there was a rush of papers released by the Sheriff’s department.  One of them was the affidavit used to obtain a warrant to search Mr. Gutierrez’s property after he was dead.  The Vanguard has spoken with a number of attorneys and experts in this manner and many of them have indicated that the extent and length that the authorities have attempted to demonstrate that Mr. Gutierrez was in a gang and also with the release of the autopsy on drugs, is highly unusual.

On Wednesday during the Vanguard radio show, we spoke with Michael Risher, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.  He raised troubling questions about the warrant itself.

No One Recalls Hearing Threats Against Sheriff Prieto Saturday Night

No One Recalls Hearing Threats Against Sheriff Prieto Saturday Night

By David GreenwaldJune 9, 200924 comments

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Having attended the rally and march in Woodland on Saturday night for the fallen Luis Gutierrez, the impression I came away with was that the people were frustrated, but it was a well-coordinated and peaceful march.  In fact, as the hour was getting dark, it became more of a silent vigil than a boisterous march.

I was therefore stunned to see the interview with Sheriff Ed Prieto which came out on Sunday on Fox 40 in Sacramento.

Hundreds in Woodland March Calling For Independent Investigation in Death of Gutierrez

Hundreds in Woodland March Calling For Independent Investigation in Death of Gutierrez

By David GreenwaldJune 7, 200925 comments

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Political Leaders from Woodland and the County Completely Absent From Event

In an event attended by hundreds of Woodland residents and many from across the county and the region, labor leader Al Rojas and religious leaders called for an independent investigation into the April 30 shooting death of 26-year-old farm worker Luis Gutierrez.  Mr. Gutierrez was shot and killed by Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputies as he walked home from the DMV on the Gum Avenue overpass in Woodland.

The march which was led by the family of Mr. Gutierrez followed the route that he took in the last moments of his life.

Hundreds Gather At Central Park to Protest Supreme Court Decision on Prop 8

Hundreds Gather At Central Park to Protest Supreme Court Decision on Prop 8

By David GreenwaldMay 27, 200916 comments

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by Jeremy Ogul –

More than 200 people gathered in Central Park last night to protest the California Supreme Court’s ruling on the Proposition 8 cases.

The overall tone of Tuesday’s gathering was positive and motivational, with UC Davis law professors joining clergy from local faith groups and musicians to bring a message of hope and resolve to those in attendance.

Toughest Ten: Pressing Art Pimentel on the Shooting of a Farm Worker in Woodland

Toughest Ten: Pressing Art Pimentel on the Shooting of a Farm Worker in Woodland

By David GreenwaldMay 19, 20095 comments
The Vanguard sat down with Woodland Vice Mayer Art Pimentel on Monday and pressed him on issues revolving around the death of Luis Gutierrez.  It was not originally intended to be a Toughest Ten segment, but became one.

Can you describe the latest that you know about the circumstances around the death of Mr. Gutierrez?

In terms of what I know, unfortunately a young man is dead.  There was an incident between Sheriff’s Deputies, the Gang Task Force in Woodland and there’s an investigation going on.  That’s what I know now.  I don’t have any evidence or know any facts yet.  I think like everybody else, I’m waiting for the investigation to take place.  The evidence will be collected by the Woodland Police Department and turned over to the District Attorney’s Office.  That’s what I know right now.

Slain Farmworker Draws Concerns in Woodland

Slain Farmworker Draws Concerns in Woodland

By David GreenwaldMay 18, 200914 comments

PimentelAll Eyes Are on Vice Mayor Art Pimentel –

It was nearly a year ago when Ricardo Abrahams was killed following a tasering incident in Woodland.  Now, on April 30 of this year, 26-year-old Luis Gutierrez, a 26-year-old farmworker with no apparent criminal record was killed following a routine check by gang-suppression officers from the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Sheriff Prieto in an interview with the Sacramento Bee last week:

Family of Woodland Taser Victim Files Suit Against Woodland, Police, and Taser International

Family of Woodland Taser Victim Files Suit Against Woodland, Police, and Taser International

By David GreenwaldFebruary 13, 200916 comments

The family of Ricardo Abrahams has filed suit against the City of Woodland, the Police Officers involved in the incident, and Taser International. Mr. Abrahams died in May of 2008 following an incident where he was shot multiple times with “Taser” electrical guns, hit with metal batons, and the police eventually tackled him to the ground.

The Yolo County Coroner’s office ruled Abrahams did not die from the Tasers, but but rather from positional asphyxiation, which happened when police held him down on the ground. The Attorney General’s Office cleared the officers of criminal wrongdoing.

Obama’s Call to Action: Why We Cannot Wait

Obama’s Call to Action: Why We Cannot Wait

By David GreenwaldJanuary 20, 200927 comments

A generation ago in 1961, President John F. Kennedy exhorted the country to take out a new spirit of public service as a new generation took the helm of the United States. Inspired by his call to action, many young Americans would span out across the globe in the Peace Corps and at home came calls for social justice, racial equality, and eventually peace.

In just a few hours today, a new President will take office with as much excitement if not more than that day in 1961. There will be other days to reflect on the pitfalls ahead. There will be other times to reflect on how Camelot and the “Best and the Brightest” to coin the phrase of David Halberstam would end up in the 1960s.

Reflections on Martin Luther King Day as Barack Obama Becomes President

Reflections on Martin Luther King Day as Barack Obama Becomes President

By David GreenwaldJanuary 19, 200910 comments

Every year I have written a special essay on Martin Luther King Day. I usually pick a lesser known Martin Luther King speech to reflect on. At the MLK Dinner last Thursday, I heard an excerpt from the 1967 speech, “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam.”

Dr. King has become so lionized in this country, that people often seem to forget that he was not non-threatening figure that he has now become. He was in his own day radical despite the fact that those on the more radical side felt he was too passive, those on the less confrontational side felt he was too radical.

Former California Supreme Court Court Justice Cruz Reynoso Named to Obama Agency Review Team

Former California Supreme Court Court Justice Cruz Reynoso Named to Obama Agency Review Team

By David GreenwaldNovember 19, 200816 comments

According to a release from UC Davis, Cruz Reynoso, professor emeritus of law at the University of California, Davis, has been appointed to President-elect Barack Obama’s Justice and Civil Rights Agency Review Team. Reynoso will help lead a review of key federal departments, agencies and commissions, as well as the White House. The review will provide the Obama-Biden Transition Team with information needed to make policy, budgetary and personnel decisions prior to Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Reynoso is an internationally known civil rights leader, the first Latino to sit on the California Supreme Court, and a 2000 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He has served as associate general counsel to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, as a member of the Select Commission on Immigration and Human Rights, and as vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He joined the faculty at UC Davis in 2001.