On Friday, October 22, 2004, four persons were arrested by Santa Ana Police at an anti-police brutality march held in conjunction with the National Day of Protest against Police Brutality. Two persons were taken into custody for allegedly obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties; another two were arrested because they were carrying bullhorns.
Since that time, three of these cases have been settled in Orange County Superior Court. Two protestors plead guilty to a misdemeanor and were given a year of informal probation, required to pay a small state restitution fund fee, and perform several hours of community service; another person agreed to pay $350 as part of a "civil compromise" in return for the criminal charge against them being dropped. Naui Huitzilopochtli, one of the protestors arrested by Santa Ana Police on the night of October 22nd for carrying a bullhorn, has decided to fight the criminal charge pending against him. He has retained the services of both Victor Cueto, Esq. and Ronald Talmo, Esq. -- the latter being a prominent Orange County Civil Rights Attorney -- to defend him in court. The Santa Ana City Attorney's office is prosecuting Huitzilopochtli for allegedly violating Section 10-153 of their Municipal Code which states in part that "[i]t is unlawful for any person to cause, allow, or permit the emission or transmission of any loud or raucous noise from any sound-making or sound-amplifying device in his possession or his control". In the trial brief that Naui's attorneys filed on his behalf at his last court appearance, they argued that the the Santa Ana City Ordinance regulating the use of a "sound-amplifying device" violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because certain provisions within it give the police too much power and discretion to decide how it should be enforced. Although the Santa Ana City Attorney's office asked for yet another extension at his last court appearance, we expect the case, "People of California v. Naui Huitzilopochtli" (Case No. A61170), to finally go to trial on the morning of Tuesday, June 14, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-47, Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, California. We ask that those persons who attended the last court appearance come to this one -- and bring a couple of friends! Bring as many people as possible! Show your solidarity with Naui, who, like three other protestors on the night of October 22nd, was arrested in a capricious and arbitrary manner by Santa Ana Police merely for exercising his First Amendment right to free speech and expression during a non-violent demonstration! REMEMBER: AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL! By showing up to this trial, we'll be sending a strong message to Santa Ana Police that we will no longer tolerate them trampling all over our constitutional rights! TAKE A STAND TO DEFEND CIVIL LIBERTIES! For more information, please contact (714) 270-5392 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================= ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE ============================= Article posted online at http://www.ocorganizer.com offering a brief summary about what transpired at the Friday, October 22, 2004 anti-police brutality march in Santa Ana, California and some actions that occured in response:: http://www.ocorganizer.com/html/reports_from_the_hood.html "Defendant's Trial Brief" that was filed by Civil Rights Attorney Ronald Talmo in "People of California v. Naui Huitzilopochtli", Orange County Superior Court, Case No. A61170: http://la.indymedia.org/uploads/trialbrief.pdf Excessive force complaint filed by the author of this message with SAPD Internal Affairs Unit on 11/19/04 re: arrest of protestor at O22 march; and SAPD's letter of 2/15/04 re: results of their "investigation" of the complaint: http://la.indymedia.org/uploads/sapdcomplaint_response.pdf Two articles posted online at la.indymedia.org regarding a well-documented 2003 incident at a City Council meeting showing that Santa Ana Police contempt for civil liberties is not a relatively new phenomena: http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/02/31849.php http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/03/36505.php __________________________________ Discover Yahoo! Stay in touch with email, IM, photo sharing and more. 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