Andy Lopez shooting left mark on Sonoma County
A small garden has taken root in the hard-packed soil of the ragged vacant lot on the southern outskirts of Santa Rosa where 13-year-old Andy Lopez was shot and killed by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy one year ago.
The flowers stand at the opening of a tent sheltering a defiant memorial for Lopez, with candles, crosses and photographs of the teen's smiling face tacked to the walls. Under U.S. and Mexican flags, two handwritten signs proclaim 'Andy's Rule: Never shoot to kill unless the need to do so is apparent and obvious.'
Deputy Erick Gelhaus spotted Lopez carrying what the deputy thought was a high-powered assault rifle, but turned out to be an airsoft BB gun made to look like one. The deputy called out at least once. The boy didn't drop the gun. Eight shots later, Lopez died in a moment that forever changed the lives of two families and fueled long-held suspicions of police even beyond the poor and largely Latino neighborhood where he died.
The Oct. 22, 2013, shooting was a flashpoint that drove people into the streets with repeated cries against discrimination and the heavy hand of police.
The refrains of injustice, which were echoed nationally in places like Ferguson, Mo., where another teen was shot and killed by police, put Santa Rosa on the map of a national conversation about race and police practices.
Lopez's death has spurred legislation in Sacramento and revived a push to create a process for civilian review of law enforcement in Sonoma County.
'It is part of our lives right now,' said Caroline Bañuelos, chairwoman of the Community and Local Law Enforcement Task Force formed in the wake of the shooting. 'Whenever I see a police officer, it is the first thing that comes to mind.'
Cleared of wrongdoing
Gelhaus was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the district attorney and a Sheriff's Office internal investigation found he did not violate department policy.
For some, those steps — which closed the nine-month investigation into the shooting and allowed Gelhaus to return to patrol — have meant it is time to move on from what was a tragic mistake.
Yet for others, including a group of residents and activists who have devoted hours at protests and government meetings and stood alongside an unprecedented number of middle- and high schoolers when they left class to take to the streets, this is just the beginning. It is the start of a long fight to address a cataclysmic rift between the Latino and minority communities and law enforcement. The FBI continues its investigation of whether Lopez's civil rights were violated.
'As we look at a year of time that's passed by, we do have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us,' Supervisor Efren Carrillo said. 'It will always be a part of our community. A child died, and a deputy's life is forever altered. And a community is still grieving.'
Sheriff Steve Freitas declined requests to discuss the impact of the shooting last week. Quietly, those who work in law enforcement have discussed wanting to speak out in support of Gelhaus and the split-second decision he made. Privately, they say he was horrified by the outcome. Rank-and-file members of the Sheriff's Office and local police departments who were asked to talk publicly about their reactions declined to do so, saying that should come from the top of their departments.
Community discussions
The impact of Lopez's death went far beyond the people, agencies and even issues directly involved, pulling residents from across the county into discussions about how law enforcement can build better relationships with those they serve.
'The community is taking a look at itself, at what we are willing to accept and what we are not willing to accept,' said Hank Schreeder, acting chief of the Santa Rosa Police Department.
'I think we have all been changed by what happened on that tragic day,' Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said. 'Certainly it has impacted the work we do at the District Attorney's Office with regard to how the public views us.'
Yet those at the heart of a shooting so tragic and contentious largely have avoided discussing the events or reflecting on its aftermath in a public way.
Lopez's parents, Rodrigo and Sujey Lopez, have kept private and, about six months ago according to friends and neighbors, quietly moved to Southern California. They are pursuing a federal civil rights lawsuit that their attorney predicts will yield millions of dollars in damages.
Both Gelhaus and the deputy on patrol with him that day, Michael Schemmel, have repeatedly declined requests for interviews through their attorney, Terry Leoni. She did not respond to a new request to speak to her clients last week.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: