New lawsuit filed against City in Tyler Rushing case Tyler's dad says City is withholding records

Paula & Scott Rushing

by Natalie Hanson
posted Oct. 2

Scott and Paula Rushing have spent six years fighting the City of Chico over its role in the killing of their son, Tyler.

Now, the Rushings face yet another hurdle -— they’ve been denied police records about the 2017 shooting and tasering of Tyler.

Scott Rushing, a Ventura resident, has filed a lawsuit claiming the City of Chico violated California’s public transparency laws by refusing to provide Chico Police Department records.

It is not the first time Rushing has claimed the City withheld records of his son’s death from his family. read more

Is Tyler Rushing case finally headed to trial? Judge denies Chico’s latest moves to thwart police-violence lawsuit

photo courtesy of Rushing family

Tyler Rushing

by Dave Waddell
posted July 26

Editor’s note: An emailed statement from Police Chief Billy Aldridge was added to this story the morning of July 28. Because of an email glitch, his statement was unfortunately missed at the time of the story’s posting.

The City of Chico’s efforts to avoid a civil trial over the tasering of an incapacitated Tyler Rushing -– legal moves Rushing’s father calls “bullying” -– seem now at an end with a recent ruling by a federal judge.

“It looks like we’re going to get our day in court now -– or week, or whatever it takes,” said Scott Rushing, speaking by phone while visiting Sunday, with his wife Paula, the Ventura cemetery where their only son’s ashes are interred. July 23 was the sixth anniversary of Tyler’s slaying by a private security guard and Chico police. Tyler, who operated a window-washing business, would be 40 years old had he not been killed. read more

The tracks of our tears Attending 'Memorial for the Fallen' for victims of police killings

photo by Karen Laslo
At left, Gabriel Sanchez is now 17 and was only 10 when his father, Eddie Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Sanchez, was killed by Chico police. At right is Gabe Sanchez’s stepmother, Sheryl Sanchez.

by George Gold
guest commentary July 24

While this great Smokey Robinson song isn’t directly related to the event held yesterday honoring some of the precious lives lost at the hands of the Chico Police Department, there were tears in the room as we listened to the parents, uncles, brothers and sisters tell stories of people who should be alive today.

If we could just get our police to grow some humanity and some skills in how to de-escalate difficult interactions between police and our neighbors, we might see some progress. read more

Saturday event recalls people killed by police Memorial brings 7 families together on fifth anniversary of Tyler Rushing’s death

Paula Rushing with her late son Tyler

by Dave Waddell
posted July 21

The year was 1976 and Paula Staben from Santa Paula was a senior child development major at Chico State. She lived off campus at Gordon Hall, an “all-girls dormitory.” As that year’s activities director for Alpha Chi, Paula frequented the sorority’s distinctive yellow house at the corner of Fourth and Orient streets. There, she coordinated events such as theme dinners and movie nights.

Paula completed her bachelor’s degree, returned to Ventura County, and married Scott Rushing, a real estate broker and property manager. She became mom to Tyler and, a couple of years later, to Hillary. She directed a preschool. She launched a 17-year public school teaching career after her children went off to school. read more

City of Chico takes case to Supreme Court Justices asked to nix trial over Tyler Rushing's Tasing

by Dave Waddell

The City of Chico has escalated its increasingly expensive legal fight with the family of Tyler Rushing by petitioning the highest court in the land.

A Southern California law firm last week filed a motion on behalf of the City with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn an appellate court ruling that ordered part of the Rushing family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the City to proceed to trial.

Seth Stoughton, a top expert on police use of force and a professor of law at the University of South Carolina, said in an email reply to questions that the City’s so-called petition for writ of certiorari has a “snowball-in-hell chance” of being granted by the high court. read more

Tyler Rushing in grasp of deputy when shot by cop New videos reveal details kept secret by DA Ramsey

Tyler Rushing

by Dave Waddell

(Editor: This is part 2 in a three-part series on newly released documents and video obtained through Public Records Act requests and with the help of an attorney. Read part 1 here.)

A Butte County sheriff’s deputy had both his hands on the flailing, severely wounded Tyler Rushing and was about to “sweep” him to the floor when Chico police Sgt. Scott Ruppel rushed forward and shot Rushing twice at nearly point blank range.

That’s one of the interesting details that emerge in newly released video related to the July 23, 2017, killing of Rushing on the site of a downtown business. read more