Policing Archives - Page 13 of 21

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

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

To people of color, Chico seems less friendly, more hostile Chico State promises "Safety Summit"

by Leslie Layton and Denise Minor

When Vickie Nailing first came to Chico to pursue a master’s degree in 2015, she was taken aback by how friendly people were. She loved the community’s “hippy vibe” that reminded her of the 1970s.

“When I would pass strangers they would look me in the eyes and smile,” said Nailing, a graduate student in the Teaching International Languages program. “I’m from L.A. I wasn’t used to that.”

Nailing left Chico one year later to train English teachers in Ukraine on a Peace Corps program. When she returned in January, she sensed that something in the city had changed. Nailing, an African-American re-entry student, says she sometimes found herself facing upfront hostility and defensiveness. read more

Governor shares his views on death penalty, race bias Gavin Newsom explains why he imposed a moratorium on capital punishment

photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The San Quentin death chamber has been shut down, as well as the state’s lethal injection program.

by Leslie Layton

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a passionate defense of his moratorium on use of the death penalty in California, pointed Tuesday to well-documented inequities in the criminal justice system that helped lead him to his decision.

The process that places convicts on Death Row is “error prone,” Newsom said in a telebriefing with members of the ethnic media. “I think it’s a racist system that disproportionally affects black and brown people.”

Newsom told journalists belonging to the Ethnic Media Services network that economic and geographic inequities in the criminal justice system also played a role in his decision, as well as practical and moral considerations. read more

Butte County slow to ID recent deputy shooters ChicoSol request results in the naming of nine officers

by Dave Waddell

At a time when California has made certain law enforcement officers’ records more available for public inspection, Butte County officials have been slow to even identify the sheriff’s deputies involved in two recent shootings.

In fact, the names of the officers who shot wanted parolee GD Hendrix of Berry Creek on Nov. 15 are still not known to the public – several months after District Attorney Mike Ramsey quickly issued “preliminary findings” justifying the killing.

Conversely, after receiving a written request from ChicoSol, Butte County this week did release the names of the nine Sheriff’s Department deputies who fired their guns in a later killing – that of armed suspect Richard Moulton on Jan. 28. read more

Citizens group responds to DA’s ruling Letter to the community on death of Myra Micalizio

by CCJ

Recently the Butte County District Attorney found that Butte County deputy sheriffs acted in reasonable self-defense when they shot to death a Palermo woman in April 2018. Concerned Citizens for Justice (CCJ) disagrees with that decision.

We believe that the community should find the following facts alarming:

1. Both deputies were wearing body cameras that they did not turn on until after the shooting.

2. The victim was shot five times in the back.

3. She was not armed.

4. She was known to be mentally ill. read more