Alex Darocy Photography

The family of Frank Alvarado was joined by community supporters for a protest at the Salinas Police Department on October 22, which is National Police Brutality Day. Frank Alvarado was killed by Brian Johnson and Scott Sutton of the Salinas Police department on July 10 of this year. Frank Alvarado Sr. "We got to keep working hard to show the police department that we are united and they have to stop destroying Latino families," said Frank Alvarado's father, Frank Sr. at the beginning of the rally, which began at Salinas City Hall. Officers with the Salinas Police Department killed four people in 2014: Angel Ruiz was killed on March 20 by Sergeant Mark Lazzarini, Officer Daniel DeBorde, and Officer William Yetter; Osman Hernandez was killed on May 9 by Sergeant George Lauricella and Officer Derek Gibson; and Carlos Mejia-Gomez was killed on May 20 by Sergeant Danny Warner and Officer Josh Lynd. After leaving City Hall, the group of about 50-75 people marched t...

On October 17, workers, union reps, labor organizers, and community supporters returned to the Santa Cruz Dream Inn for a second rally in a month's time as workers at the hotel continue to demand a fair contract during negotiations. Management wants workers to take a three-year wage freeze, with raises limited to 1% and 2% in the fourth and fifth year. Dream Inn Workers have been negotiating with the Dream Inn for several months now and this offer continues to be unacceptable to them. "We're here for the long haul. This employer doesn't want to give wage increases," said Cesar Lara, Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council at the rally. The Monterey Bay Central Labor Council (MBCLC) is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). 65 labor unions are affiliated with the MBCLC, including Unite Here! Local 483, the union that represents Santa Cruz Dream Inn workers, as well as many other work...

On October 22, the organization Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom (HUFF) participated in the 19th annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and Criminalization with a demonstration in front of the Santa Cruz Police Department. This week, HUFF announced that after analyzing the citation records of SCPD Community Service Officer B. Barnett, they have found that he has disproportionately targeted homeless people and African-Americans. According to HUFF, nearly three of every four of Barnett's citations made downtown were issued to homeless people for essentially victimless crimes, such as sitting, smoking, and skateboarding. Additionally, nearly 10% of the citations Barnett issued were to African-Americans, in a county where 1.4% of the population is black according to a recent census. Barnett patrols the downtown area and Pacific Avenue, and HUFF has received complaints about him since last year. After filing a California Public Records Act re...

Witnesses to the recent tasing and arrest of a man in Santa Cruz describe the incident differently from the account communicated by police through the reporting of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Individuals on the scene report excessive force was used when officers with the SCPD arrested Oliver Howard near the Court House on Water Street on the afternoon of October 13. They say officers struck Howard with a baton, tased his bare body, piled on top of him, wrenched and twisted his limbs, and grinded his face and body into the ground, all unnecessarily. Ryan Kiar of the Santa Cruz Police Department was the first officer to initiate contact with Oliver Howard.. Debra Ellis was driving on Water Street that afternoon on her way to a medical appointment when she observed what she called an "aggressive police officer" pursuing a man near the Court House who was backing up with his hands raised above his head. She immediately exited her car because she wanted to be a witness to wha...