Sign-carrying demonstrators who braved Wednesday evening’s freezing winds near City Hall to protest Chico police violence came in a wide range of ages.
They included Jeremiah Lozada, age 5, whose sign demanded justice for his uncle, Eddie “Gabe” Sanchez, who was killed before Jeremiah was born. Chico police Detective Mark Bass , now a sergeant, shot the fleeing Sanchez in 2015.
Standing near Jeremiah in a line of about 15 protesters at the corner of Fourth and Main streets was 81-year-old Emily Alma, a leader of Chico’s Concerned Community for Justice (CC4J), which organized the protest along with the group 40 Grandmothers.
“Little Jeremiah was the prize-winning trooper in that cold, cold wind!” Alma said later. “He never whined once, or even said ‘I’m cold’ or ‘when are we going home?’” He just kept smiling and holding a variety of signs. He told me he never met his Uncle Gabe.”
