Tracking Hate Archives - ChicoSol News

Siskiyou County new frontier for resisting anti-Asian violence Hmong father killed by officers, escalating tensions

photo courtesy of Zurg Xiong’s Facebook support page

A July 17 rally in Yreka drew participants from Chico and from across the country.

by Sandy Close / Ethnic Media Services

YREKA — Over 600 Hmong Americans from across California and from as far away as Milwaukee and Minneapolis converged on a recent Saturday at the Siskiyou County courthouse in Yreka to demand a federal investigation into the June 28 fatal shooting of a Hmong father of three by law enforcement agencies.

Chico State University students and Chico-area residents were among those participating in the July 17 rally.

The protest has turned this sparsely-populated county nestled in the foothills of Mount Shasta into the newest flashpoint of resistance by Asian Americans against a surge of anti-Asian violence in the state, according to Mai Vang, a Sacramento City Council member who spoke at the rally. read more

Follow and like us:

Chico cops report zero hate crimes in 2018 Anecdotal reports tell another story

photo by Karen Laslo

2017 Desmond Phillips vigil at Chico Police Department.

by Leslie Layton

Zero. That’s the number of hate crimes that took place in Chico in 2018, according to reports to the FBI from the Chico Police Department and Chico State’s University Police Department.

That zero doesn’t reflect what happened to an African American man, who has said he was pelted with beer cans last year by several white people in a pickup truck who were using the N-word. He never reported the incident to police, but his girlfriend saw the bruises.

The zero also doesn’t reflect other unreported incidents, and it doesn’t reflect incidents that may have been driven by hate that didn’t surface in a police report or court hearing. And it certainly doesn’t reflect overt and subtle offenses that left people who were subjected to them feeling hurt and scared. read more

Follow and like us:

Charges filed against Chico man in connection with racist graffiti Bona to enter plea on Wednesday

by Leslie Layton

A Chico man who had been previously committed to a mental health facility was charged Friday with vandalism and violating civil rights, according to a press release from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.

The press statement says Thomas David Bona, 33, was charged in Butte County Superior Court and will return to court to respond to charges at 8:30 a.m. June 19.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey’s statement says Bona was charged after committing “various acts of racist and non-racist graffiti throughout the City of Chico over the last two months.” read more

Follow and like us:

Chico police investigating graffiti suspect CPD says the graffiti assault was a hate crime

by Leslie Layton

Chico police are investigating a suspect in the June 2 graffiti assault that defaced 10 southwest sites in town with swastikas and racist language.

The man police say is a “potential suspect,” Thomas David Bona, 34, was arrested Wednesday in connection with a separate incident and was booked into Butte County Jail on suspicion of vehicle vandalism and a hate crime. A CPD press release says the man was “hitting at passing vehicles” early Wednesday near East Avenue and Tom Polk Way. Deputy Chief Matt Madden said Bona used a racial slur during an argument with an African-American motorist. read more

Follow and like us:

Graffiti assault defaces Chico sites with racist language Activists want more police attention to the problem

photo courtesy of Miguette Sansegundo

A swastika was drawn using what might have been a black marker.

by Leslie Layton

Police said today they’re investigating “possible leads” after a graffiti assault in southwest Chico left 10 sites defaced with racist insignia.

Swastikas and the wording “White Power” were found early June 2 on many of the walls that were struck, including those of a Mexican restaurant and private homes and businesses. A photo appearing on Facebook also shows vicious, spray-painted graffiti that included the N-word, the word “Nazi,” the letters “SS” and a swastika on the side of a building. read more

Follow and like us:

Racist graffiti unsettles campus community Police investigating hate crime

by Leslie Layton

Racist, homophobic and sexist graffiti was used to deface faculty bulletin boards, photographs and office doors in Butte Hall during the April 6-7 weekend, according to police and faculty.

The Chico State University Police Department (UPD) released a brief statement that says it’s investigating the graffiti incident as a hate crime and “seeking to identify suspects.” UPD estimated the damage and clean-up cost at $400.

Police were contacted Sunday morning and the graffiti that had defaced the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice was promptly removed. read more

Follow and like us:

What is ChicoSol?

ChicoSol is an independent, reader-supported online journal that runs on donations and occasional fellowships as it works to provide cross-cultural feature writing and bold investigative reporting. Our stories usually reflect national issues but focus on the Chico area of the Northern Sacramento Valley. We’re journalists who believe that fact-based reporting sustains healthy, participatory democracy. We post comments from readers on stories when commenters identify themselves by name. To learn more read here.

Officer-involved fatal shootings in Butte County, 2017-21, and agency involved

March 17, 2017 Desmond Phillips, 25 (Chico PD)

July 23, 2017 Tyler Rushing, 34 (Chico PD)

Aug. 17, 2017 Mark Jensen, 56 (Butte County Sheriff's Office)

April 7, 2018 Larry Siordia, 33 (Butte County Sheriff's Office)

April 26, 2018 Myra Micalizio, 56 (Butte County Sheriff's Office)

Nov. 15, 2018 GD Hendrix, 48 (Butte County Sheriff's Office)

Jan. 28, 2019 Richard Moulton, 52 (Butte County Sheriff's Office)

Oct. 14, 2020 Stephen Vest, 30 (Chico PD)

ChicoSol wins top 2020 honors

For the second consecutive year, ChicoSol was recognized for outstanding work by judges for the California News Publishers Association (CNPA.)

ChicoSol won awards in four categories in the 2020 Journalism Awards contest run by CNPA. Our stories were recognized in the investigative reporting, health reporting, election coverage, and public service journalism categories for digital publications.

Dave Waddell’s story, “Conflict of interest in Stephen Vest killing probe?” placed fifth in investigative reporting.

Leslie Layton’s reporting that began with the story, “Butte County Latinos hit hardest by the pandemic” placed third in two separate categories — coverage of the pandemic (health reporting) and public service journalism.

“The public service effect of Ms. Layton’s July article is impossible to miss in the subsequent two entries, and I applaud ChicoSol on its efforts to highlight a disparity and follow that reporting through…”, wrote a CNPA judge. “This is classic and clean public service journalism.”

Finally, Layton’s story, “An election ends Gridley’s ‘political slumber‘” placed fifth in the category for local coverage of the 2020 election.

Thank you readers and supporters!

Were callers to dispatch warning that Stephen Vest was in trouble?

The Chico Police Department media log suggests Stephen Vest was likely on East 20th Street as of 6 p.m. — and possibly much earlier.

9:09 a.m.: Caller says a man is on East 20^th Street jumping in front of cars. He’s described as a thin white man 5-feet-9-inches tall wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and backpack. Police arrive almost 26 minutes later and report him “gone on arrival.”

5:59 p.m.: A man on East 20th Street behind Petco is “trying to cross and then running in the road.” Log states: “Appears very confused or 11550” referring to the under-the-influence Health & Safety code section. Police arrive quickly and report him “gone on arrival.”

Sometime around 7 p.m., Vest was seen at that location in a hooded sweatshirt by an acquaintance who worried that he might get hit, says Lisa Currier. Sometime around 7:30 p.m., Vest had an encounter with a security guard in the area of Community Park, says Butte County DA Mike Ramsey.