The comments came five days after Lopez, a 13-year-old eighth grader, was shot and killed at 3:14 p.m. as he walked on a Moorland Avenue sidewalk in southwest Santa Rosa. Investigators said a Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy mistook the BB gun the boy was carrying for an assault rifle.
Santa Rosa police are acting as the lead local investigators under a two-decade-old protocol that hands such investigations over to separate agency.
The District Attorney's Office is providing oversight and legal assistance. The office has assigned an attorney and an investigator who Ravitch said have decades of experience and have participated in previous investigations of fatal officer-involved incidents.
An advocate from the office also has reached out to the Lopez family, Ravitch said.
A separate investigation has been announced by the FBI.
Numerous details about the shooting remain unanswered, including the names of the deputies, and the type of weapon that was used.
The boy's death has prompted a series of protests, vigils and marches, with members of his neighborhood and a wider crowd of parents and schoolchildren, nearly all of them Latino, demanding answers.
More events are planned by organizers this week, including a protest and march on the Sheriff's Office on Tuesday.
Ravitch's statement appeared to be an attempt to respond to the rising outcry.
"Each of us wonders how his death could have been prevented and what we can do to keep something like this from ever happening again. Underlying these questions is a nagging concern about the lasting impact of this tragedy on the community's trust in our law enforcement officials," Ravitch said.
The first-term district attorney and longtime prosecutor is running for re-election next year.
"I, along with all of the members of the DA's office, extend our deepest sympathies to everyone impacted by this tragedy," she said. "The cooperation of all will begin the healing and assist in ascertaining the truth."
You can reach Staff Writer Brett Wilkison at 521-5295 or brett.wilkison@pressdemocrat.com.
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