Border-crossing journalism from the Sacramento Valley
by Dave Waddell
posted Oct. 11
SACRAMENTO — A veteran police practices expert told a jury Thursday (Oct. 10) that it was “imaginary fear” that led Chico police to tase a seemingly incapacitated Tyler Rushing.
That consultant, Roger A. Clark of Santee, testified in federal court that Rushing “was no longer a credible threat” when officer Alex Fliehr jolted his body with a taser shot as Rushing lay semi-prone on the bloody floor of a downtown Chico business on July 23, 2017.
by Yucheng Tang
posted Oct. 11
The District 3 City Council race feels like deja vu to many Chico voters.
Two years ago, Monica McDaniel and Dale Bennett both ran for the District 3 council seat, with McDaniel narrowly losing by about 200 votes. This year, the two are once again competing for the same position.
McDaniel remembers feeling incredibly nervous while waiting for the results and frustrated upon learning she had lost. McDaniel believes this year there could be a different outcome.
Tyler Rushing
by Dave Waddell
posted Oct. 10
SACRAMENTO – Jurors on Wednesday (Oct. 9) viewed video clips from Chico police officers’ body-worn cameras that captured the last instants of Tyler Rushing’s life.
A dominant color in the scene was the bright red of Rushing’s blood framing his semi-prone body. After bleeding out for the better part of an hour following a serious gunshot wound to his chest from a private security guard, Rushing was shot twice more by a Chico police sergeant and lay on the floor of a title company’s women’s restroom.
by Dave Waddell
posted Oct. 6
On the eve of a long-awaited civil rights trial over their late son’s tasing by Chico police, Scott and Paula Rushing are “cautiously optimistic” about getting justice for Tyler.
The Estate of Tyler Rushing v. City of Chico will be tried beginning at 9 a.m. Monday (Oct. 7) in Courtroom 4 on the 15th floor of the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse, 501 “I” Street, in Sacramento. Judge Dale A. Drozd of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California will preside.
by Yucheng Tang
posted Oct. 1
Editor: ChicoSol will cover the races for four City Council seats that voters will decide in the Nov. 5 General Election. The first in our series is District 1, where candidate Michael O’Brien has outspent opponent Michael Johnson by almost nine times. (See graphic below.)
Candidate Mike O’Brien is the head of Butte County Interagency Narcotics Task Force and a former Chico police chief; his opponent, Mike Johnson, is a businessman running an IT consulting business and a U.S. Navy officer.
by Yucheng Tang
posted Sept. 26
This story was updated Sept. 28 as more detail on the policy emerged.
On a list of 174 locations on the Chico State campus, only three are listed as “Public” that are available for sound-amplified assembly, marches, protests, and debate between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays by reservation, based on the newly-introduced, California State University (CSU) Interim Time Place Manner policy.
