Judge Releases Videos of Police Shooting Unarmed Men

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Judge Releases Videos of Police Shooting Unarmed Men
by Andrew Emett
July 16, 2015

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A U.S. district judge ruled that the video of police officers shooting two unarmed men in Gardena, California be released after they remained sealed for 2 years. And it reveals why law enforcement organizations fought to keep the footage suppressed.

After remaining sealed for over two years, the videos of police officers shooting two unarmed innocent men were released to the public by a U.S. district judge on Tuesday. Although several law enforcement organizations fought to keep the footage suppressed, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson decided to release the videos in favor of the public’s interest. After watching the videos, the families of the victims have called on the Department of Justice to investigate the Gardena Police Department.

At 2:30 a.m. on June 2, 2013, Sgt. Christopher Cuff responded to a 911 call regarding a possible robbery. Although the caller had simply reported a stolen bicycle, the dispatcher misinterpreted the theft report as a robbery with unknown weapons involved. Observing two men riding in front of a Carrows restaurant, Sgt. Cuff mistook them as thieves and ordered them to stop.

After encountering the police sergeant, Eutiquio Acevedo Mendez and Garcia Jose Amado put their hands in the air while attempting to explain to the officer that they were helping their friend look for his stolen bike. Although Sgt. Cuff had been wearing his audio recorder at the time, he did not turn it on because he later claimed that activating the device would have distracted him.

In an effort to clear the confusion, Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino ran towards the scene to inform the officer that his friends were helping him look for his brother’s stolen bicycle. Instead of listening to Diaz-Zeferino, Sgt. Cuff ordered him to stop and place his hands in the air.

According to a memo from the district attorney’s office, Diaz-Zeferino raised his hands and pounded on his chest while explaining to the officers that they were detaining the wrong people. As two more patrol cars arrived in front of the Carrows restaurant, three officers exited their vehicles with guns drawn. According to the district attorney’s memo, dash cam videos from the patrol cars show Diaz-Zeferino lowering his hands and reaching for something in his pocket when the three officers opened fire killing him and shooting Mendez in the back.

But according to the recently released dash cam footage from two patrol cars, Diaz-Zeferino appears confused as he raises and lowers his arms while standing between Amado and Mendez. As his friends remain motionless with their hands raised, Diaz-Zeferino removes his baseball cap a moment before officers Christopher Mendez, Christopher Sanderson, and Matthew Toda open fire.

According to the autopsy report, Diaz-Zeferino was shot eight times. Bullets struck him in the back, arm, hip, and knee. Mendez was also shot in the back leaving bullet fragments near his spine. Although Mendez survived, Diaz-Zeferino was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m.

After filing a civil rights lawsuit in 2013, the families of Diaz-Zeferino and Mendez received a $4.7 million settlement from the city. But the police department suppressed the release of the dash cam videos that recorded the incident. On June 8, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and the Los Angeles Times filed a motion arguing that the suppression of these videos was a violation of the public’s right to information.

On Tuesday, Judge Wilson decided the public had a right to view the footage due to the fact that the city paid to settle the lawsuit filed by the victims’ families. In his 13-page decision, Judge Wilson wrote that the “defendants’ argument backfires here — the fact that they spent the city’s money, presumably derived from taxes, only strengthens the public’s interest in seeing the videos.”

After viewing the footage of the shooting, the families of Diaz-Zeferino and Mendez have called for the Justice Department to investigate the Gardena Police Department for possible civil rights violations.

“Nothing is sufficient, not even the money. A life is more important than the money,” said Augustin Reynoso, Diaz-Zeferino’s brother. “I want the Gardena Police Department to be investigated more deeply. That’s why I’m here, for justice.”

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Police Barring Release of Videos Showing Cops Killing Unarmed Innocent Man
by Andrew Emett
June 30, 2015


While the LA County DA ruled the Gardena police were justified to shoot an innocent man and his friend, the victims’ families, who watched the videos, contradict the official narrative.And now the Gardena Police Department is seeking to suppress the video.

Several law enforcement organizations filed court documents last week seeking to suppress videos that recorded officers killing an unarmed innocent man and shooting his friend in the back. Attorneys for the police believe the officers should not be held accountable for their mistake and are fighting to bar the release of the videos. Although the district attorney claims that the victim appeared to be reaching for a weapon, multiple witnesses and an attorney for the victims’ families, who watched the videos, contradict the official narrative.

After his shift at a local restaurant ended on the evening of June 1, 2013, Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino joined his friends and his brother at Mis Amigos Bar in Gardena, California. Sometime after midnight, Diaz-Zeferino’s brother, Augustin de Jesus Reynoso, walked across the street with his bicycle to buy a lottery ticket at a CVS store. As he exited the CVS, Reynoso realized that his bike had been stolen.

A CVS employee called 911 reporting that Reynoso’s bicycle had been stolen. Although the caller told the dispatcher that he didn’t think the thief was armed, the 911 dispatcher did not relate this information to the officers responding to the theft. According to Gardena police Lt. Steve Prendergast, the theft report was misinterpreted as a robbery with unknown weapons involved.

Responding to the 911 call, Sgt. Christopher Cuff observed two men riding bicycles in front of a Carrows restaurant and ordered them to stop. Mistaking them for thieves, Sgt. Cuff ordered them to put their hands in the air. Unbeknownst to the police sergeant, Eutiquio Acevedo Mendez, and Garcia Jose Amado were Reynoso’s friends who were helping him look for his stolen bike.

In an effort to clear the confusion, Diaz-Zeferino ran towards the scene to inform the officer that his friends were helping him look for his brother’s stolen bicycle. Instead of listening to Diaz-Zeferino, Sgt. Cuff ordered him to stop and place his hands in the air.

According to a memo from the district attorney’s office, Diaz-Zeferino raised his hands and pounded on his chest while explaining to the officers that they were detaining the wrong people. As two more patrol cars arrived in front of the Carrows restaurant, three officers exited their vehicles with guns drawn. According to the district attorney’s memo, dash cam videos from the patrol cars show Diaz-Zeferino lowering his hands and reaching for something in his pocket when the three officers opened fire killing him and shooting Mendez in the back.

But witnesses inside the restaurant, including the Carrows manager, assert that Diaz-Zeferino’s hands were nowhere near his waistline or pockets.

“The guy they killed had his hands up. I know that,” the manager recalled. “You could see his arms high up in the air.”

After watching the dash cam videos of the shooting, an attorney for the families of Diaz-Zeferino and Mendez said the footage clearly shows Diaz-Zeferino’s hands were empty and in front of his body when the officers opened fire. Both Mendez and Amado also confirmed that Diaz-Zeferino was not reaching for his pockets when the three officers gunned him down in front of the open restaurant.

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner autopsy report, Diaz-Zeferino was shot eight times. Bullets struck him in the back, arm, hip, and knee. Mendez was also shot in the back leaving bullet fragments near his spine. Although Mendez survived, Diaz-Zeferino was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m.

After filing a civil rights lawsuit in 2013, the families of Diaz-Zeferino and Mendez received a $4.7 million settlement from the city. But the police department continues to suppress the release of the dash cam videos that recorded the incident. Attorneys for the Los Angeles County Police Chief’s Assn., California Police Chiefs’ Assn., California State Sheriffs’ Assn., and California Peace Officers’ Assn. believe that the $4.7 million settlement purchased their right to keep the footage of the shooting sealed.

“The defendants paid over $4 million to buy their peace,” the attorneys for the law enforcement organizations declared in a statement.

On June 8, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and the Los Angeles Times filed a motion arguing that the suppression of these videos is a violation of the public’s right to information. Last week, the Los Angeles County Police Chief’s Assn., California Police Chiefs’ Assn., California State Sheriffs’ Assn., and California Peace Officers’ Assn. filed court documents to keep the footage suppressed from the public because releasing the videos would breach a “law enforcement privilege.”

The three officers who shot Diaz-Zeferino and Mendez were immediately placed on paid administrative leave, but have returned to full duty. The Gardena Police Department refuses to release their names.