Family of man killed by Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy pushes for independent investigation
Family members and supporters of a Lake County man who was shot and killed by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy last month rallied Monday and demanded an independent investigation into his death.
Upwards of 50 people, including local activists, gathered outside the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office as part of a news conference held on behalf of David Pelaez-Chavez, a 36-year-old immigrant farmworker who was fatally shot July 29.
“David was human and his life mattered,” his brother, Alfredo Pelaez, said during the event, which was put together by the North Bay Organizing Project, a Santa Rosa-based organization composed of more than 20 religious, environmental, labor, student and community organizations in Sonoma County.
The group has described Pelaez-Chavez’s death as a call to action for greater law enforcement reforms.
“We are calling for justice and to once again call attention to the criminalization and brutalization of communities of color,” Kimi Barbosa, NBOP’s Police Accountability Task Force organizer, said during the news conference. “Neither children, nor adults, are spared when it comes to the violence enacted by law enforcement.”
Monday’s gathering took place a week after the Sheriff’s Office released an edited video of the deputy-involved shooting, using footage captured by the body cameras worn by the deputies. Critics, such as Pelaez-Chavez’s family, contend the edited video does not show what really happened the day he was fatally shot.
“That video was tampered with,” Alfredo Pelaez said.
The NAACP Santa Rosa-Sonoma County Chapter, as well as the local Committee for Law Enforcement Accountability Now, has joined the call for more transparency and accountability from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
“David should be alive and not another hashtag trend. It is unfortunate that we must continue to plead with our county leaders under these circumstances,” they said in a joint statement.
“We urge the Board of Supervisors to renegotiate the investigative powers of (the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach) as originally outlined in Measure P and to demand from the sheriff the release of the full unedited body-worn and helicopter cam footage. The Letters of Agreement between the county and the Sheriff’s Deputies Association are undermining the intent of Measure P and are in direct contradiction to the will of the voters.”
In 2020, Sonoma County voters approved Measure P, which expanded the investigative powers and financial resources of the county’s law enforcement oversight agency, the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach. Those aspects of the measure, however, were negated in 2021 after the state’s Public Employee Relations Board determined Measure P violated the collective bargaining rights of Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies.
In June, Sonoma County and the two unions representing Sheriff’s Office employees reached a new agreement permitting the county’s watchdog agency to conduct its own investigation into use-of-force incidents, but only after a Sheriff’s Office administrative review is completed.
Local police accountability activists say that while the new agreement does make a way for the voter-backed expansion of local civilian oversight into Sheriff’s Office use-of-force cases, it still doesn’t give the group the more active role in investigations it would have been provided under Measure P.
In an interview with The Press Democrat last week, Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said he anticipates his agency will release the entire, unedited footage obtained by the deputies’ body cameras in about two weeks, though he warned it could take longer.
Calling the shooting a “terrible situation,” Essick expressed sympathy for Pelaez-Chavez’s family, “... I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose a son or a daughter or wife or a husband or brother. Every time something like this happens, I try to put myself in the shoes of the family and think about what they're going through, and I can't imagine. I would be devastated.”
Pelaez-Chavez was killed by a deputy who fired at him from 10 to 15 feet away, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department, which is investigating the incident per county protocol that requires in-custody deaths to be reviewed by an outside agency.
Deputies chased Pelaez-Chavez on foot for 45 minutes through rugged terrain near Healdsburg after he attempted to break into two homes and stole a pickup truck and an ATV, according to investigators.
Pelaez-Chavez was barefoot and holding a hammer and a garden tiller once deputies caught up to him. He made a motion to throw a rock when Deputy Anthony Powers attempted to stun him, which authorities said was ineffective. At almost the same time, according to the video, Deputy Michael Dietrick fired three shots, killing Pelaez-Chavez.
His family believes Pelaez-Chavez’s civil rights were violated and intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. They are raising funds to send his body to Mexico for burial.
Loved ones carried photos of Pelaez-Chavez during Monday’s gathering, including one of his mother beside his son.
Other attendees carried signs containing a variety of messages, including, “Justice for David” and “Help us, don’t shoot us.”
Speakers urged community members to voice their concerns about police reforms and use-of-force transparency, and suggested they work together to bring closure to Pelaez-Chavez’s family.
“We are fighting, but we are fighting peacefully,” Alfredo Pelaez said.