El Cajon sued over arrests at vigil
Protesters say event for Alfred Olango was peaceful and police had no basis to act.
SAN DIEGO — Protesters arrested at a vigil for Alfred Olango have filed a lawsuit, claiming police wrongfully ordered them to disperse and violated their civil rights.
According to the suit — against the city of El Cajon, its police force, the San Diego County Sheriff ’s Department and the county — the Oct. 1 gathering was peaceful, and protesters were forced to leave simply because the vigil was an inconvenience for police.
A dozen people were arrested for refusing to leave a parking lot behind Los Panchos Taco Shop where police shot and killed Olango, 38, Sept. 27. Two minors who allegedly witnessed police arrest their mother also are named as plaintiffs in the suit, along with the San Diego branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.
“When defendants issued the order to disperse, there was no valid legal basis for declaring the assembly to be unlawful,” according to the lawsuit. “The dispersal order was solely due to the inconvenience to police officers of monitoring a peaceful vigil at midnight.”
The lawsuit also alleges that police intended to make a statement to prevent future demonstrations.
The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to stop wrongful orders to disperse and the arrest of peaceful protesters.
Police said after the arrests that a fight had broken out between a few protesters and that someone reportedly left to get a gun.
“Sensing this shift in the demeanor of the crowd, and out of concern for community safety, officers declared an unlawful assembly and ordered the group to disperse,” police Lt. Rob Ransweiler said in a statement the next day.
Jeff Provenzano, 31, was one of those arrested. He has participated in protests since the El Cajon police shooting and said the turnout that night Oct. 1 was one of the smallest and most quiet.
“For them to come in with such a show of force when people were just talking and praying was absolutely ridiculous,” he said a day after his arrest. “There were crazier things happening other days, and the cops didn’t do anything.”
The incident with Olango began after his sister called police and told them that he was not “acting like himself.” Others called 911 to report a man walking into traffic.
Two officers found Olango behind the taco shop. When he took a shooting stance and pointed at them, police said, he was shot. Video released later showed Olango pointing a silver vape smoking device.
El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells declined to specifically address the lawsuit, which was filed Monday. However, he said, he agreed with the police actions in response to the protests, including the declarations of unlawful assembly.
“I think the police have acted exemplary through all of this," he said. “I think they've shown great compassion, great restraint. They've been very careful to prevent violence and have done a good job of protecting citizens at the same time.”
david.hernandez @sduniontribune.com Hernandez writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Union-Tribune staff writer Lyndsay Winkley contributed to this report.