“33 shots, 17 hit!,” is just one of many chants that have been heard for the past week in front of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s station in Norwalk, Ca. Activists and family members of the late Fred Holder—a 28 year old man who was killed by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies over the summer—have been gathering daily to let their voices be heard.
“My kids looked up to him,” said Holder’s sister, Hali Montana Holder, during an interview. “Uncle Fred’s not coming back baby. Do you know how hard it is to break that to a four year old?"
On June 23, Holder was driving an allegedly stolen box truck “erratically” near the Tacos Gavilan on Rosecrans Avenue in Norwalk, Ca. Deputies assigned to the Norwalk station conducted an initial traffic stop on a residential street off the 605 freeway. When approached, Holder refused to exit the vehicle. Dashcam footage shows Holder driving away from deputies at 9:50 A.M., and a short chase ensues. The truck Holder is driving stops at the Alondra Blvd off-ramp of the 605 freeway. Deputies perform a felony stop and exit their vehicles with guns drawn. Seconds later, a barrage of bullets are fired, striking Holder more than 10 times and killing him.
Deputies allege that Holder pointed “what they believed to be a firearm” at them, but no body camera footage has been presented to corroborate this claim. Later it was discovered that the alleged gun that deputies claimed they saw, was more than likely an L-shaped lighter. No firearm was found on Holder or at the scene.
“We had just spoken with him the day before he was killed,” Holder’s sister told L.A. TACO yesterday during a protest. “I was getting my hair done, we video chatted, all was good.”
“Then the next day the police killed him.”
The Holder family plans to protest outside the Norwalk station for 33 straight days to bring attention to Holder’s killing. The 33 days is symbolic of the 33 bullets that were shot at him.
“It was supposed to be a traffic stop. Why couldn’t you guys corral him in like others?” Montana Holder wonders. “Other people make it into custody alive."
Holder’s family is also demanding a meeting with Sheriff Alex Villanueva. “Alex Villanueva has not met with us despite his claims that as Sheriff he always meets with impacted families,” said Montana Holder. The family is also demanding the release of additional dashcam footage and other evidence. “With all those cars and officers this is the only footage we get?”
According to Sheriff Sgt. Juan Sanchez and the Whittier Daily News, as of June 2021 only 135 of the 165 deputies assigned to the Norwalk station were wearing body cameras. The three officers involved in Holder’s killing “didn’t have them.”
