It’s been over a year since massive protests unfolded around the country calling for a stop to police brutality after the murder of George Floyd, and unfortunately, not much has changed. In Santa Ana, another family and community find themselves in the same situation as they mourn and demand justice for Brandon Lopez, a man who is said to have been suffering a mental health crisis when he was shot and killed by police in late September.
According to the Anaheim Police Department, Lopez, 34, was spotted at around 5 PM on September 28, driving a stolen vehicle in Santa Ana. When police attempted to make a traffic stop, Lopez is said to have driven off, prompting a police pursuit. Eventually, Lopez’s vehicle became disabled in an area under construction on Bristol Street and Santa Ana Boulevard, where he was then surrounded by APD and Santa Ana police officers.
SAPD spent three hours attempting to convince Lopez to get out of his car before being relieved by the Anaheim PD SWAT personnel and Tactical Negotiators.
Anaheim PD said in a press release that Lopez had previous warrants for armed robberies but did not disclose any further details on the call that was made about the stolen car. Lopez’s cousin and Santa Ana council member Johnathan Hernandez, who overlooks the district where his cousin was killed, said that because he knew his cousin’s history, he attempted to help officers de-escalate the citation but was denied each time.
“My cousin was born and raised in Santa Ana. When we were kids, he went through a lot of experiences that changed him drastically,” Hernandez said of his late cousin. “He was in and out of the system from juvenile up to the point where he died—he died at the hands of the system.”