We will never be the same because of you,
We will never be the same without you,
You will be remembered.
–From a poem by film director Lee Mun Wah in remembrance of Marc Anthony Thompson
by Dave Waddell
Marc Thompson had a big smile – broad and gap-toothed — and an even bigger personality. He made a mark on people, “like a blazing star across the midnight sky,” in the words of activist Lee Mun Wah, one of Thompson’s mentors. And he had dedicated his young life to fighting against a litany of social injustices. read more
by Dave Waddell and Leslie Layton
Tyler Rushing, who died during a chaotic confrontation in close quarters with Chico police, most likely succumbed to an earlier “devastating gunshot” wound from a private security guard responding to a burglary.
That’s the conclusion of Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey in a 17-page report made available to ChicoSol and other news media prior to a press briefing by Ramsey this morning. read more
photo by Karen Laslo
A Cal Fire helicopter flies over the 50-acre fire that broke out in vegetation along Highway 32 today. The fire was 5 miles northeast of Chico, Cal Fire said, and forced the closure of one lane on Highway 32.
by Dave Waddell
Scott Rushing stood Sunday across Main Street from the title company building in which his son, Tyler, was shot to death July 23 by Chico police.
“I guess you could call it his mausoleum,” said Rushing, before conducting a moment of silence in memory of his only son and other victims of law enforcement killings in Butte County. Rushing said he found it “particularly abhorrent” that his son’s body was Tased and handcuffed after the fatal shooting. read more
by Dave Waddell
In a year of three deadly officer-involved shootings within five months in Butte County, overall attendance is down markedly among law enforcement personnel in Butte College’s annual Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) academy.
However, the Chico Police Department, involved in two of those fatal shootings, is sending three officers to the CIT academy, after having almost no presence there in recent years. read more
Editor’s Note: ChicoSol asked Diane E. Schmidt, the ranking professor of public administration in the department of political science and criminal justice at Chico State, to comment on the two deadly law enforcement shootings in Butte County that have taken place since the March 17 Chico police shooting of Desmond Phillips, a 25-year-old mentally ill black man. We have elected to run her response as a guest commentary. read more
