Subject:           LUIS GUTIERREZ CASE NOT OVER!!!

 

Important update meeting of the Gutierrez (4/30/2009) killing at the Woodland Community College, 2300 East Gibson Rd., Woodland, CA 95695

 

            Date:   APRIL 23, 2011 (SATURDAY)

            Time: 2 - 5 PM

            Place:  WOODLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE - COMMUNITY ROOM 800

 

 

Guest Speaker: Former California Supreme Court Judge, CRUZ REYNOSO, who formed the Yolo County Independent CivilRights Commission to probe the Luis Gutierrez killing. 

Update on the Gutierrez case 

Affects on young people 

US Department of Justice Civil Rights determination 

Pending and upcoming actions. 

 

Be informed. Continue your support. Tell others.

 

Questions Still Remain for the Police Shooting Luis Gutierrez In the Back in April 30, 2009

SEE QUESTIONS by Labor & Community led Coalitions:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=167571409962417

 

Come; Come all.  IT IS NOT OVER!!!

 

We continue calling for TRUTH AND JUSTICE!!!

 

PLEASE FORWARD EMAIL TO CONCERNED CITIZENS – THANK YOU!!!

 Y.C.J.C. – Yolo County Justice Coalition for Truth & Justice

Photo by David Greenwald of the People's Vanguard of Davis 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=505657089&aid=209102#!/pages/The-Peoples-Vanguard-of-Davis/183566074992498

	YOLO DA EXPOSED "EXAGGERATED CRIME FIGURES" SPENDING MILLIONS OF FED $$ BROTHERS AND SISTERS David Greenwald, Davis Vanguard wrote an incredible article exposing the DA misrepresenting crime statistics on Federal grant applications in the Millions of Dollars.  Please pass this on to all your people and ask them to hit the article and comment on the blogs.  I would also suggest that you send this to any media connections you might have. The article link is:   http://www.davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3765:vanguard-investigation-finds-evidence-of-exaggerated-crime-figures-in-da-grant-applications&catid=74:judicial-watch&Itemid=100

	Independent Civil Rights Commission   P.O. Box 488 Davis, CA 95617   Art Apodaca, Liaison: 530-796-3721   independentcivilrightscommission@yahoo.com   Justice Cruz Reynoso (Ret.), Chair Contact: Arthur Apodaca, J.D., Liaison                                                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                 530-796-3721 or 916-370-3068   THE INDEPENDENT CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION, CHAIRED BY FORMER CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CRUZ REYNOSO, TO HOLD OPEN PUBLIC HEARINGS             The Independent Civil Rights Commission will hold the third of a series of public hearings on the killing of farm worker Luis Gutierrez, on April 30, 2009 by Yolo County Sheriffs deputies dressed as gang members driving an unmarked car. The commission is engaged in gathering data which will be shared with the public and public officials.             Eye witnesses testified at the first two hearings regarding the day’s activity of Luis Gutierrez and the actual incident of the killing.  Some of the testimony was at variance with the report the District Attorney’s Office submitted to the State Attorney General and released to the press in November, 2009.  Additionally, witnesses identified the Officers Bautista, Oviedo and Johnson as participants, who were involved in the Luis Gutierrez killing in another tragic accident while serving a warrant.  Two adults were physically abused and threatened with guns, and a gun was placed to the temple of their nine year old daughter.             Public officials have responded to the new witness revelations: First, Sheriff Prieto announced in February that his office would investigate the report of police abuse, particularly the placing of a gun at the temple of the nine year old girl.  He declared that he would announce the results within 30 days.  We look forward to his report.             Second, in response to a freedom of information request by this commission, County Counsel Dan Cedarborg, the District Attorney’s legal representative denied the request.  The denial was based on a declaration by the District Attorney’s office that the investigation is ongoing: 1) the District Attorney has reopened the investigation of the Luis Gutierrez killing and 2) the FBI is still investigating. TIME: 2pm-5pm, Sunday April 18th, 2010 PLACE: Woodland Community College-Community Room, 2300 East Gibson Road, Woodland, CA 95776 ATTENDANCE: OPEN TO ALL NOTE: Parking $1 and there is absolutely no smoking allowed in the community room or at the college.

	Press Conference  LABOR & CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS DEMAND  THE  OBAMA ADMINISTRATION FREEZE ALL FEDERAL FUNDS TO YOLO COUNTY "Cash for Prosecutions" and Prosecutorial Misconduct in  Yolo County                Wednesday, November 10, 2010 11:00 a.m.                                           Federal Courthouse                                        5th and "I" street            Sacramento, California                    Press Conference November 10, 2010 11:00 a.m. and meeting with Congr. Doris Matsui's office at 1:30 p.m. for submittal of two (2) investigative reports regarding Prosecutorial Misconduct and "Cash for Prosecutions", the misapplication & misuse of 40 million Federal Dollars by the Yolo County Judicial system in the last 10 years, violation of Yolo County residents Civil Rights in targeting people of Color and working poor, and calling on the Obama Administration to Freeze all Federal funds to Yolo County.                             SPONSORS AND ORGANIZERS: Union Civica Primero de Mayo Frente de Mexicanos en el Exterior, Union Civica Primero de Mayo,  LCLAA-Sacramento (AFL-CIO), OTAC (Organizacion de Trabajadores Agricolas de California), LULAC West Sacramento

	YOLO DA EXPOSED "EXAGGERATED CRIME FIGURES" SPENDING MILLIONS OF FED $$ BROTHERS AND SISTERS David Greenwald, Davis Vanguard wrote an incredible article exposing the DA misrepresenting crime statistics on Federal grant applications in the Millions of Dollars.  Please pass this on to all your people and ask them to hit the article and comment on the blogs.  I would also suggest that you send this to any media connections you might have. The article link is:   http://www.davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3765:vanguard-investigation-finds-evidence-of-exaggerated-crime-figures-in-da-grant-applications&catid=74:judicial-watch&Itemid=100

	PROTESTA CONTRA EL CONSULADO EN SACRAMENTO  CALIFORNIA ! SACRAMENTO MEXICAN CONSULATE HOST'S BICENTENNIAL AT NON-UNION HYATT REGENCY HOTEL ! Newly elected Sacramento County Supervisor "Phil Serna and His Wife" refused to cross the picket-line to attend the Mexican Consulate's "Non-Union event," while at the same time Former City of Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas arrogantly crossed the picket-line, in addition to Attorney Milinda Guzman who arrived in her Mercedes Benz also attending the event without asking why we were there denouncing the Mexican Government crossed the picket-line. It’s unbelievable that these are the same people who claimed supporting the Arizona Boycott? VIVA ZAPATA Y DOLORES HIDALGO LOS HERMANOS FLORES MAGON ! HASTA EN MEXICO LOS MEXICANOS DICEN : Indignantes, los festejos patrios si no hay reflexión: Jesusa Rodríguez Cada vez somos un país menos independiente, democrático y la desigualdad es la misma, dice La realidad que vivo no es la que transmite la televisión ni la que expresan los políticos Jesusa Rodríguez interpreta a Carlos Salinas de Gortari mientras Óscar Olivier personifica a la Madre Patria, en la puesta en escena que cuenta con la musicalización de Liliana FelipeFoto Yazmín Ortega Cortés PROTESTA EN SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA Jorge Caballero   Periódico La Jornada Domingo 12 de septiembre de 2010, p. 8 Valiéndose de fuertes argumentos históricos/teatrales Jesusa Rodríguez estrenó este fin de semana el espectáculo Las crudas del bicentenario en Universum, el Museo de las Ciencias de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. En entrevista en su camerino, despojándose del micrófono, desmaquillándose y quitándose el pegamento del rostro, dice: Creo que es indignante lo que está pasando, el derroche de festejar sin ningún tipo de reflexión respecto a que cada vez somos un país menos independiente, menos democrático y la desigualdad es la misma; el pueblo raso siempre ha estado mal desde la Independencia y la Revolución, nunca ha tenido reivindicación... pero lo más patético es cómo un gobierno ilegítimo de derecha festeja la Independencia y la Revolución, a puerta cerrada como lo hacía Porfirio Díaz: por eso hicimos esta puesta. En Las crudas del bicentenarioencarna a Madero, por su tendencia espiritista, crea una sesión de magia junto a la Madre Patria para hacer un agujero en los últimos 200 años de historia de México y concluir que las cosas no únicamente no han cambiado, sino que estamos peor que antes. A Jesusa Rodríguez la acompañan Óscar Olivier y Emilio Converso y la música de Liliana Felipe. Con el algodón empapado de aceite y haciéndolo correr por su rostro de derecha a izquierda, de izquierda a derecha y de forma circular, Jesusa agrega: Lo que no se toca en Méxicoson los medios; más que los diarios y las revistas me refiero a la televisión, en las manos de quienes están: en los pillos de Azcárraga y Salinas Pliego. No hay nada que hacer en México, no podemos cambiar la realidad si no se cambia la televisión, porque la gente está atrapada en ella; por eso nosotros ponemos la televisión en vivo en el proscenio, porque es una manera de sacarla de su lugar y ponerla en el Museo de Ciencias. Es muy importante porque es un espacio autónomo, admite todo tipo de información, por eso este espectáculo lo ligamos con la exposición del cerebro que hay aquí en Universum, así dos pillos entran a robar el cerebro de Monsiváis. Poniendo especial énfasis en la limpieza detrás de las orejas y la parte alta del cuello, continúa: Estamos en el peor de los momentos de la historia, pocas veces hemos pasado por periodos tan degradados como este. Sí se puede hacer un espectáculo optimista o con un final alentador, lo intentamos, pero no nos salió, no encontramos nada alentador... En todo caso la gente que estamos en movimientos sociales, que son muchos en México (Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca, Atenco, los zapatistas o los obradoristas), tenemos un respiro, el resto de la población no sé cómo le hace para vivir. Nunca podemos decir esto es lo peor... Casi concluyendo con los restos de pegamento y maquillaje en su rostro, Jesusa extiende su anterior respuesta: “Para mi era interesante hacer una reflexión sobre los festejos del bicentenario, porque la realidad que yo vivo no es la que transmite la televisión ni la que expresan los políticos, ni es la realidad que dicen los intelectuales; creo que estamos viviendo en una ficción absoluta y la gente que está en la realidad es a la quien le han secuestrado o asesinado un hijo, la que ha sufrido en carne propia una tragedia o es muy pobre. Los demás vivimos en una ficción evadiendo la realidad sin querer mirar lo que está pasando en el país; todo mundo dice que la situación está terrible, pero la evaden con el trabajo o lo que tengan... no hay una conciencia clara porque se piensa que la situación se va a poner terrible, como si no lo estuviera ya; lo único que pienso es como decía Shakespeare enEl rey Lear: ‘nunca podemos decir esto es lo peor mientras podamos decir esto es lo peor’, es decir, estamos viviendo cosas que decimos ‘ya peor que esto no puede pasar’ y ocurre lo de la guardería, y después nos enteramos que hay 72 migrantes asesinados en una fosa... estamos pasando por una descomposición extrema y la gente no quiere asumir esa realidad”.

	The People's Vanguard of Davis Newsletter Vanguard Morning News Update March 27, 2010 - Three Days of Marches in Yolo County Highlight Injustices; Honor Cesar Chavez Written by David Greenwald    Saturday, 27 March 2010 04:24 Protesters in Yolo County marched on Thursday and Friday in the first two legs of a three day planned march in honor of the late union organizer and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez. The first stage of the marches was held in Woodland on Friday where demonstrators numbering approximately 50 gathered at 9:30 am at the Woodland DMV, the site from which Luis Gutierrez would embark on what turned out to be his last minutes of his life.  Soon after, he was contacted by Yolo County Sheriff's as part of the Yolo County Gang Task Force, and as he fled, a confrontation ensued and he was shot and killed. The March proceeded up to the Gum St overpass and then continued three miles.  The three day event was to draw attention to continued civil rights violations by the Yolo County District Attorney, and law enforcement departments in West Sacramento and Woodland necessitated the move to three days of marchers, said organizer Al Rojas, Sacramento Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) of Sacramento.  “Violations of our basic rights, the killings of Latinos by police, selective law enforcement and racial profiling. All are getting worse in Yolo County. It’s why we are marching three days now,” said Rojas, who said the theme of the march this year is “jobs, education, immigration reform, no guest workers and justice.”  Prior to the march, Mr. Rojas addressed the small crowd and throng of reporters, mainly Sacramento television stations. "We are here to highlight the overzealous prosecution by the District Attorney whose expenditures of his budget of $14 million constitutes 35 percent federal funds," said Mr. Rojas who argued these funds "are being overzealously used and misused as far as we're concerned in the enforcement and justification of the killing [of Luis Gutierrez] and the so-called validation of 1100 gang members allegedly in Yolo County." "We believe as citizens that we have the right to have police protect and serve the people and all the residents of this county, we believe that anybody who commits a crime should be prosecuted," he continued.  "We also believe that if the Sheriff commits a crime, he should be prosecuted.  We believe that if the District Attorney commits a crime, he should be prosecuted." He continued his call for a federal investigation into the killing of Luis Gutierrez.  The Yolo County District Attorney's office has said to have asked the FBI to independently investigate the killing of Gutierrez, however, as of one month ago, no witness that investigators for the Independent Human Rights Commission had spoken to had been contacted by the FBI. "Today, we are here to focus on the death of Luis Gutierrez and draw attention to the questions that seems to be surfacing regarding the DA's handling of the case," Mr. Rojas said. "We believe that, if Cesar Chavez were around today, he would be at the forefront of this struggle." Earlier this week, the Vanguard issued a report calling into question the deputies account of the shooting in relation to where the bullet were found.  The investigation concluded that given the summary nature of the report, it is difficult to make a definitive conclusion as to whether the accounts of the officers are consistent with the location of the bullets. However, we have considerable questions about the veracity of official claims and request that the county release the full interviews, diagrams, and crime scene photos to the public, so that the public may analyze the reports for themselves. Particularly troubling was a shot that ended up in a nearby trailer park, 700 feet from the crime scene, far to the northeast of the bridge.  Further analysis indicates that the trajectory of the shot was probably fairly high as it had to arc over other homes, suggesting perhaps that the shot was fired while the deputy was on the run.   There are other indications that Mr. Gutierrez himself was likely moving away from officers as he was eventually shot and killed.  Two witnesses are supposedly going to come forward to verify that theory, while the shot itself which entered Mr. Gutierrez in the rear right shoulder and exited out the left portion of neck, also indicated that Mr. Gutierrez was facing away from officers as he was shot. At the same time, the Vanguard has investigated what is now being termed, a "cash for conviction" program in the DA's Office.  Last week, Mr. Reisig told a group of people that between 30 and 35 percent of the DA's Office is funded by grants which are used to investigate and prosecute different areas of crime. The Vanguard has found evidence that a number of grants particular in gang prosecution and sex crime prosecution are predicated on the increase of arrests, prosecutions, and convictions. For example for the Gang Violence Suppression Unit (GVS), the agency specifies: "As a result of the specialized GVS unit, the agency must be able to increase the number of individuals identified as gang members and the number arrested for violent, gang-related crimes." The agency that receives this grant thus must be able to increase the number of identified gang members but also the number arrested for violent, gang-related crimes.   The program also relies on the number of gang-related cases referred for prosecution, the number of apprehended gang members prosecuted, the number convicted pursuant to PC 186.22, and then the number of gang defendants sentenced to incarceration with gang-related enhancements. Does this give the DA's office the incentive to try to attach gang enhancements to crimes? Investigators went to great lengths to demonstrate that Mr. Gutierrez had gang ties, however, the best evidence was supposedly tattoos found on his hand and the testimony of one Rudolfo Flores who reportedly gave a statement to investigator and has apparently disappeared.  There is some indication that he may have been deported to Mexico the day after investigators spoke to him in early June 2009. Marchers descended on Davis on Friday morning, in smaller numbers.  Organizers blamed the low turnouts in Woodland and Davis on the timing of the march conflicting with the work day and the fact that a bus that was supposed to bring so day workers in apparently broke down. However, the march today in West Sacramento is expected to draw thousands according to a release this morning. The march begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at Arteagas’s Supermarket (940 Sacramento Ave / Jefferson Blvd.) in West Sacramento. The march proceeds south on Jefferson, left to West Capitol Ave., east on West Capitol to 9th Street, left on to "N' Street heading east to 15th Street, left onto 15th street, North to "L" street, to 10th Street to Cesar Chavez Park.  According to the release: The massive march is not without controversy this year. West Sacramento police attempted to charge marchers up to $3,000 for a permit this year. March organizers refused to pay, setting up a possible confrontation between police Saturday at the beginning of the march.  Organizers had a similar problem in Woodland on Thursday, but Davis provided police service on Friday. ---David M. Greenwald reporting

26th March from Davis to West Sacramento, 2010

March 26th march from Davis to West Sacramento

March 26th March from Davis to West Sacramento

	Latest Press Release See other recent articles at: http://davisvanguard.org/ AND, see Chanel-3 KCRA on:Ochoa Family Complaint "Yolo Co. Sheriff Put's Gun to 9-year old Daughter's Head" - http://www.kcra.com/video/22639484/index.html

	"Cash For Conviction" Program in DA's Office? Written by David Greenwald    Tuesday, 23 March 2010 05:03 This past weekend, the Woodland Daily Democrat had a small story on Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig.  He had given a speech last week at the Woodland Chamber of Commerce laying out the fact that the DA's office was facing budget cuts that will result in a reduction of services and prosecutions. He told the audience that with the new budget cuts and the fact that staff has already been cut as much as possible, services will suffer.  At the same time he said that between 30 percent and 35 percent of the DA's Office is funded by grants which are used to investigate and prosecute different areas of crime. The cuts will make the DA's office all the more reliant on Grants, hoping to pick up the slack for budget cuts and free up money elsewhere to fund what the grants do not fund. Grants allow for very specific types of prosecution, however, there is a severe downside to receiving those grants.  A group of protesters a little over a week ago, charged the DA's office with engaging in a "cash for conviction" enterprise in which they prosecuted, or rather over-prosecuted certain cases in order to obtain grant money for those programs.   The Vanguard has looked into the charges and found that there is some merit to those complaints.  The DA's office does rely heavily on grant money to bridge the gap in county general fund money.  That money is reliant at times on increased prosecutions of crimes.  Thus, as money becomes more and more scarce, the DA's office will be forced to increasingly rely on such grants. On November 17, 2009 the Yolo County District Attorney's Office announced that the United States Department of Justice has selected his office to receive funding from the Child Sexual Predator Program Grant. The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office will receive $290,180 in funding over a two year period. The grant will be used to pay for computer forensic equipment and fund a District Attorney Investigator. An existing DA Investigator will focus his efforts on computer and cell phone forensics and will spearhead a newly formed District Attorney Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.  This was a great victory for the DA's office as they get an additional investigator just to investigate and prosecute these types of crimes.  This program offers no stipulation to demonstrate increased prosecutions and convictions, however, from our research that is not the norm. By 2009, there were no fewer than 14 grants received by Yolo County law enforcement, accounting for over $6 million.  During a time of budget cuts, grants are a way to enhance funding.  However, they also require very specific expenditures.  The two most common types of grants were for gang activity and sexual assaults.  No fewer than five were related to sexual assaults, with an additional two going to gangs.  In addition, last year was unusual in that there was also stimulus money available for prosecution. For our purposes here, we will focus on two specific grants.  First, the gang suppression grant.  Second, the Women's Vertical prosecution grant. As we began monitoring court cases in Yolo County, one of the complaints we have received is the number of cases with gang enhancements - often for individuals in fact are not gang members.  We suspected that the DA's office was using these prosecutions to justify the gang injunction, but in fact, it may be that the gang injunction is being used to justify receiving grant money, which has been in the millions of dollars over the course of the last decade. The original grants were based on gang activity primarily in Woodland and relied on documented numbers of validated gang members and also gang related crime.  From our standpoint, the reliance on validation processes that  are informal at best and subjective is problematic.  However, they form the genesis of gang violence suppression efforts going back as far as 2001. More problematic still however, is current grant requirements as laid out in the "Gang Violence Suppression Multi-Component Program" from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Law Enforcement and Victim Services Division. Here the requirements are a bit chilling. "As a result of the specialized GVS unit, the agency must be able to increase the number of individuals identified as gang members and the number arrested for violent, gang-related crimes." As mentioned previously, gang validation requirements are often informal and not structured by any kind of process requirements.  In general, most jurisdictions require two or three criteria in order for an individual to be considered a gang member. Admits gang membership or association. Is observed to associate on a regular basis with known gang members. Has tattoos indicating gang membership. Wears gang clothing, symbols, etc., to identify with a specific gang. Is in a photograph with known gang members and/or using gang-related hand signs. Name is on a gang document, hit list, or gang-related graffiti. Is identified as a gang member by a reliable source. Arrested in the company of identified gang members or associates. Corresponds with known gang members or writes and/or receives correspondence about gang activities. Writes about gangs (graffiti) on walls, books, paper, etc. The agency that receives this grant thus must be able to increase the number of identified gang members but also the number arrested for violent, gang-related crimes.  Does this give the DA's office the incentive to try to attach gang enhancements to crimes? The program also relies on the number of gang-related cases referred for prosecution, the number of apprehended gang members prosecuted, the number convicted pursuant to PC 186.22, and then the number of gang defendants sentenced to incarceration with gang-related enhancements. So earlier this year, we ran a story on Davis gangs and talked to parents who were baffled that their children were being hit with gang enhancements.  At the time, some suggested that the authorities were simply being proactive in trying to abate gang violence before the problem became serious.  But this information castes those decisions in a very different light, where perhaps the prosecutions are being used to justify the receipt of grant money. Gangs however are not the only area where there is clear incentive for increasing the number of identified and prosecuted individuals in an affected area. The Women's Vertical Prosecution Grant sounds like a good program in that it assists in the  "prosecution of crimes against women, including sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and dating violence is the primary goal of the VV program. Vertical prosecution means the same prosecutor, who is specifically qualified in violence against women issues, is assigned to these cases from beginning to end, resulting in a higher rate of conviction and better services to the victim. Vertical Prosecution has shown to improve conviction rates, reduce victim trauma, and provide more consistent, appropriate sentencing. Through program grants supporting "vertical prosecution", district and city attorneys are able to develop teams that specialize in the investigation and prosecution of crimes involving violence against women. Victims are able to work with the same prosecutor and investigator from the time charges are filed through the sentencing of the offender. Trained counselors/advocates also work with the victim to make the trial process less traumatic and overwhelming." At the same time there are strict requirements on outcomes. "In keeping with the intent of the program, OES expected that your agency increased prosecution and conviction rates of violent crimes against women, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking as measured by the total number of defendants anticipated (or projected) to be prosecuted and/or convicted by the project during during the first, second, third, and fourth years of funding. OES anticipates and expects these increases to continue to improve in the fourth year of funding. Quantitative measure: • Number of cases referred to VV Unit • Number of cases in which charges were filed • Number of cases in which an affirmative decision was made not to file charges" In other words, grant money is contingent upon increased prosecution and conviction rates and there appears a possible disincentive to the agency to not file charges in a particular case. Even the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 had incentives where more money came for places with higher prosecution and conviction rates. There is a link between these monies and complaints about over-prosecution.  In fact, the most complaints regarding over-prosecution have related to either sexual assault crimes or gang enhancements.  At the same time, in other areas, there have actually been complaints that prosecutors are not vigilant enough. Worse yet there is the possibility that an overzealous individual may actually fabricate statistics in order to receive more grant money.  One possible example is the case of the UC Davis program administrator Jennfier Beeman who was found to have fabricated sexual assault statistics on the UC Davis campus.  Ms. Beeman was an officer of CALCASA which is an organization for sexual assault prevention and CALCASA oversees one of the District Attorney's grants on sexual assault.  Is there a link there?  Possibly. A final point worth noting is that the District Attorney's Office operates on a budget somewhere between $12 and $14 million per year of which around a third is from grants.  On the other hand, the public defender's office's most recent budget is about $4.65 million, or nearly one-third of that of the DA's office.  They receive no grant money in reference to defending people from the same crimes that the DA prosecutes.  Does this fact produce some sort of imbalance in the system?  Is not prosecution and defense equally important components of our legal system? The bad news is that as local money becomes more scarce, the system will become more polarized.  Certain crimes will be prosecuted to the max that they can be prosecuted, while other crime will be virtually ignored. The Woodland Daily Democrat article alludes to this possibility. "Reisig also told the audience, there are new budget cuts coming, and grants only allow certain aspects of funds to be used a certain way. Reisig says that because staff has already been cut as much as possible, services will suffer with this next round of budget cuts." Mr. Reisig then warns: "it is likely that a number of proposed cuts will affect misdemeanor prosecution, meaning crimes such as vandalism, theft, and simple assault will likely involve arresting and releasing without charges." If that is true, and it is difficult to differentiate scare-tactics meant to scare the Board of Supervisors into allocating more money from the truth at this point, it means that gang and sexual assaults will continue to be vehemently prosecuted, while crimes that do not come with funding grants may be virtually ignored. We know from the relatively low conviction rate in trials, that the DA's office may be taking weak cases in hopes of convincing the defense to settle and give them that conviction.  Along the same lines, it gives the DA's office the incentive to overcharge cases hoping that the defense will not take a chance on a conviction of all of the alleged charges and instead settle for a plea bargain to one or another of the charges giving the DA's office their needed conviction. The bottom line here with many of these grants, because the grants are predicated on more prosecutions, they produce the incentives for local officials to over-prosecute crimes and gain unjust convictions.  From our standpoint the purpose of a legal system and the justice system is to dispense justice.  That means convict those who perpetrated crimes but do so fairly and equitably and allow for the innocent to go free.   Unfortunately, money talks especially in a time of budget cuts and economic crisis.  Therefore the  monetary incentives to prosecute matter a great deal and make our system more difficult for those who end up caught in it. --David M. Greenwald reporting Sheriff Prieto Promises "Full and Complete Investigation" of Complaints About a Gun Put to 9 Year Old's Head Written by David Greenwald    Tuesday, 23 February 2010 05:52 The testimony of the Yolo County Indepedent Civil Rights Commission has already begun to make an impact in Yolo County as Sheriff Ed Prieto is now forced to respond to allegations his deputies put a gun to a nine-year-old girl's head during the serving a search warrant on June 11, 2009. The Vanguard on Sunday morning was the first to report on nine-year-old Crystal Ochoa, who is now suffering from what appears to be post traumatic stress disorder stemming from treatment she received by Sheriff's Deputies last June, the same team from the gang task force led by Sgt. Dale Johnson and including Deputies Bautista and Ovieda that had a little over a month before shot and killed Luis Gutierrez. Following the Vanguard's report, the Sacramento Bee picked up the story on Monday.  Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto was then forced to respond to these allegations even as he attempted to downplay the Civil Rights Commission's proceedings. Last night KCRA picked up the story and Sheriff Prieto vowed to investigate the allegations which he claims are news to him, calling them "extremely disturbing and critical.  However, he also repeatedly stressed at this point, he does not know if they're true.  (Click here to see the video of the KCRA interview) Sheriff Prieto told KCRA: "We're going to conduct a full internal investigation" He continued: "I would hate to think, I would hate to think that Mr. [Santiago] Ochoa's complaints were legitimate, especially, especially the one that he alleges that an officer put a gun to his daughter's head, I would find that extraordinarily disturbing. In all honesty, I cannot believe an officer doing that." He emphasized over and over that he has a hard time believing that these allegations are true.  He gave his investigators thirty days to interview everyone who is involved in the search warrant. The incident occurred on June 11, 2009, when Sheriff's Deputies visited the Ochoa home for at least fourth time this time armed with a search warrant to search for weapons.  They found none and neither Mr. Ochoa nor anyone in his family have been charged with a crime. Mr. Ochoa testified on Saturday that the officers came in, threw his wife to the floor, tried to throw him to the floor and couldn't, so they threw him out of their home.  When his daughter, Crystal, then nine years old entered the room, they put a gun to her head and threw her out of the home as well. Mrs. Ochoa also testified: "I said my daughter, my daughter, she came out like this and when she did, they put a pistol on her head and then threw her out as well along with me." She asked the female officer: "Why do they do this to our daughter and she said, 'children kill as well.'  She began to vomit from the fright and she trembled.  I said why to our little girl, she's little?"  Crystal was nine years old and about 75 pounds at the time of the incident.  "In English they said, change the laws if you can." As a result of the trauma, Crystal has become ill, she repeatedly vomited, had to visit the emergency room, is having nightmares and is now struggling in school. Said Mrs. Ochoa: "Since then, I think she's ill because she's sleeping and she wakes up and then she slaps at us, it's like she's seeing something.  She says no, no, no.  She doesn't sleep well at night.  It's like she's traumatized, I don't know what.  We took her to a doctor at the clinic, and they said this girl is sick, take her to the emergency room.  She was taken to the hospital and the doctor said that she is traumatized." She continued, "She wouldn't stop vomiting and she was trembling like this.  She wouldn't sleep because she was frightened.  We sent her to another place with family members so this would get out of her head."  While Sheriff Prieto claims this is the first that they have heard of this incident, the department acknowledges receiving a verbal complaint at the time last summer. The family described going down to the Sheriff's Department following the incident.  When Mr. Ochoa went to the Sheriff's Department, he took Crystal with him, he was looking for help, but apparently the Sheriff's Deputy didn't know what to do.  Crystal vomited twice in front of them at the Sheriff's Department. While it is undoubtedly the policy of the Sheriff's Department not to follow up on oral complaints, one would think that a vomiting child might illicit a bit more concern and alarm. The fact of the matter is that while Sheriff Prieto is vowing a full investigation, he is also in the same breath doubting the veracity of the complaints. He said that he would hate to think that one of his men would do this and "In all honesty, I cannot believe an officer doing that." However, Crystal in her own words said on Saturday: "One of the polices came and they pointed a gun at my head and started taking me outside with the gun at my head." Does he believe she is lying? Mr. Ochoa interviewed on camera yesterday also told KCRA that he would prefer an independent agency investigate rather than the Sheriff's Department.  Given the statements by the Sheriff, that may be a good idea. The Vanguard will continue to monitor this case and update it as new information arises. ---David M. Greenwald reporting ------------------------------------------ Witness: Slain Farmworker Was Unarmed Luis Gutierrez Shot, Killed By Yolo County Deputy POSTED: 7:10 pm PST February 20, 2010 UPDATED: 7:21 pm PST February 20, 2010  Email  Print WOODLAND, Calif. -- An eyewitness to the fatal officer-involved shooting of a farmworker said she doesn't think the killing was justified and didn't see a weapon in the suspect's hand. The woman, who preferred not to be identified, spoke out to KCRA 3 on the day an independent commissioned opened hearings into the shooting of Luis Gutierrez. He was shot and killed by a Yolo County deputy in Woodland last April. The 21-year-old witness said even though Gutierrez was fighting with deputies, at the time he was shot in the back of the head he wasn't attacking. "He was trying to run from them," she said. She also told KCRA 3 she didn't see a knife, a weapon or a gun. "I don't think honestly, don't think it was justifiable at all," she said. Adding to suspicions at the hearing, the head of it -- a former California Supreme Court member -- said even he is not being allowed to review evidence of the shooting. "I just got a letter yesterday saying they considered this case still open because FBI is investigating, and I must say, we have contacted other witnesses and no one has been contacted by the FBI," former Supreme Court judge Cruz Reynoso said. This independent commission will hear from more witnesses Sunday and expects to hold further hearings in the future. The commission hopes to release a detailed report of what it learns sometime in the next several months.

Independent Civil Rights Commission   P.O. Box 488 Davis, CA 95617 Art Apodaca, Liaison: 530-796-3721 Justice Cruz Reynoso (Ret.), Chair Contact: Arthur Apodaca, J.D., Liaison                         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                 530-796-3721 or 916-370-3068   THE INDEPENDENT CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION, CHAIRED BY FORMERCALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CRUZ REYNOSO, HOLD HEARINGS             The Independent Civil Rights Commission, a citizens’ panel, will hold its first hearings this weekend at the time, date, and place listed below.  Witnesses will testify regarding the killing of Luis Gutierrez by members of the Yolo County Gang Task Force.  Please see attached list of the IndependentCivil Rights Commission Members.  TIME: Two public hearings this coming weekend, Saturday, Feb.20, 10am-1pm, and Sunday, February 21, 2pm-5pm. PLACE: Woodland Community College-Community Room, 2300 East Gibson Road, Woodland, CA 95667 ATTENDANCE: OPEN TO ALL NOTE: There is absolutely no smoking allowed in the community room or at the college.   Independent Civil Rights Commission Members Justice Cruz Reynoso (Ret.), Chair.  Professor of Law, Emeritus, UC Davis School of Law.  Vice-Chair, United States Commission on Civil Rights (1994-2005); Former U.S. Army Special Agent, Counter Intelligence Corps, Washington, D.C.; Associate Justice, 3rd District Court of Appeal,Sacramento (1976-1982); Associate Justice,California Supreme Court(1982-1987); Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2000; Hispanic Heritage Foundation Award in Education, 2000;  United Nations Commission on Human Rights, U.S. Delegate, 1980 Session-Geneva, Switzerland. Felix P. Barros. California Dept. of Corrections (1972-2001): Correctional Officer- Lieutenant; Parole Agent (retired); gang specialist trainer within CDC. Joan Branin, J.D. US Air Force, Judge Advocate General Corps, Lieut. Col. (retired); California Dept. of Personnel Administration, Labor Relations Counsel IV.   Rev. Richard Chiolis. M.Div, San Francisco Theological Seminary; Marriage, Family, and Child Counselor; Former Mediator, Sacramento Family Court (retired); Presbyterian clergy (retired).   Irma Diaz. Pre-school Teacher; Associate in Arts, Early Childhood Education specialist; PTA, Lee Jr. High School, Woodland.   Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald. BA, UC Davis; Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. Former Chair, Davis Human Relations Commission.    Rev. Vernon Holmes. BA, CSU Hayward;  M.Div., Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary;MA, GTU; Former Pastor, American Lutheran Church, Woodland; Evangelical Lutheran clergy (retired ). Matthew Jacobs, J.D. Former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.  He is currently a principal in a private law firm in Sacramento, where his practice includes white collar criminal defense.  Ruth Jones, J.D. Former prosecutor in street crime section, NYC District Attorney’s Office; criminal law professor at McGeorge School of Law.  William Kopper, J.D. Private Law Firm.  Former Mayor of Davis; Former President of the Yolo County Bar Association.