Grief Boils Over in Slaying

More than 60 protesters marched on Huntington Beach City Hall and police headquarters Monday, charging racism after investigators confirmed that the gun an 18-year-old farm worker allegedly pointed at officers during a fatal weekend shooting was in fact a toy rifle.

Toting handwritten signs saying “We don’t trust the H.B. Police any more,” relatives and friends questioned police accounts that Antonio Saldivar, who has no history of violence, pointed any weapon at officers before he was killed.

Saldivar was shot about 1:40 a.m. Saturday after a short chase by a patrolman that began and ended in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, a few blocks from the small apartment Saldivar shared with his extended family on Queens Lane.

“[Police] do what they want because we can’t do anything about it,” Susana Campos, Saldivar’s sister, said in a tearful interview. “If he was carrying a gun, where is it? Where are the fingerprints?”

Huntington Beach Sgt. Chuck Thomas, who met Campos during the demonstration, asked the community to have patience, promising that investigators would arrive at the truth.

“A tremendous amount of sympathy goes out to this gentleman’s family as well as the officer,” Thomas said. “We don’t become police officers to hurt people.”

Thomas said the shooting occurred after officers spotted Saldivar late at night, wearing dark clothes, peering suspiciously into a parked pickup truck near Ash Street.

When approached by a uniformed officer, Saldivar fled on foot, Thomas said. The officer eventually caught up to him, and found Saldivar crouched behind a car. The officer, in both English and Spanish, ordered him to stand and show himself. When Saldivar did, he was pointing the rifle at the officer, Thomas said.

Thomas said he cannot explain why Saldivar would pick up a toy gun with police chasing him. “That’s very puzzling. Unfortunately, we may never know.”

Orange County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the shooting.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Steve Doan on Monday said a toy rifle was taken from the scene as evidence, describing it as 20 inches long with a wood stock and blue steel barrel.

“I’m sure it looked real to the officer at the scene that night,” Doan said.

Investigators would not disclose whether Saldivar’s fingerprints were found on the gun or reveal where or how many times he was shot.

Police also refused to disclose the name of the officer who fired the shots, despite a 1995 state appellate court ruling that found that the public interest for full disclosure outweighs the rights of deputies to have their names withheld.

Huntington Beach City Atty. Gail Hutton said the officer’s name is being withheld because of “rumors” that local gang members have threatened Huntington Beach officers because of the shooting. Hutton did not provide details of the rumors.

“I am concerned about the life of the officer,” she said.

During Monday’s protests, Saldivar’s family and friends said they doubted the police account of events, saying Saldivar was a peaceful, hard-working teenager who did not cause trouble.

“We come to this country to work,” said Saldivar’s mother, Epifania Huertero, a hotel housekeeper who described her son as a law-abiding citizen whose only previous run-in with police was when he got caught smoking a cigarette and was underage.

“We’re not criminals,” she said. “The police are racists. It’s not fair that the police kill. The police are supposed to help the youth, not kill them.”

Many neighbors reported being awakened by the sound of gunfire Saturday morning. The most compelling witness account was from a man who lives near where Saldivar was shot. But he saw only the aftermath, after Saldivar was shot and lying on the ground.

Paul Romanowski said he reached his door within 10 seconds of hearing the shots. Saldivar was lying face down and two officers standing were about 6 to 8 feet away, both shining flashlights at Saldivar and ordering him--alternately in Spanish and English--to drop his weapon.

Romanowski said Saldivar--dressed in jeans, a black jacket and black beanie hat--was still conscious, and pushed the toy gun away with his left hand. Then one of the officers kicked the weapon further away and handcuffed Saldivar, who was taken away by ambulance within minutes, he said.

Romanowski, a construction worker, said the toy gun was a Christmas gift to his 5-year-old son, and was left outside in the yard.

Federal and state laws require that toy guns feature brightly colored markings to distinguish them from real weapons. California lawmakers approved a stricter measure last year mandating that “imitation firearms” made or sold in the state be entirely bright orange or green. It’s against state law to use a fake gun in a threatening way--such as pointing it at someone.

A study conducted last year by the state Assembly Committee on Public Safety found at least five cases of children or teenagers in California who were shot in such situations by police since 1988. Three died.

But many of Saldivar’s friends and neighbors do not believe that he ever picked up the gun, and that it is being used to justify the shooting. The Mexican consul for Orange County also expressed concerns.

“There are a lot of questions,” said Consul Miguel Angel Isidro. “There was no indication that this man was committing any crimes.”

Isidro plans to talk with Saldivar’s family this morning, and said the consul’s office has offered to transport Saldivar’s remains to his hometown in Puebla, Mexico. Isidro said his office also will provide the family with legal assistance.