Modesto officers assailed over 2004 fatal shooting
By CHRIS TOGNERI
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: January 17, 2005, 04:37:13 AM PST
Friends and family of Sammy Galvan, fatally shot by Modesto police
officers in August, marched downtown Saturday to demand justice for
what they said was an unnecessary death.
Chanting "Sammy Galvan will be heard, justice will be served" and "Hey
hey, ho ho, these killer cops have got to go," about 55 people met in
front of the Modesto Police Department at 10th and G streets at 11 a.m.
The rally ended at Graceada Park, where family and friends delivered speeches railing against the police.
"We want to show the public that changes need to be made here," said
Susan Galvan, Sammy's mother. "They're trigger-happy. They totally
murdered him."
Police said officers Lyndon Yates and Mirl Morse shot Galvan when he
confronted them with a knife as they investigated a domestic dispute.
Sammy Galvan's criminal history included three convictions for assaulting a peace officer.
There were three witnesses to the shooting, police officials said: the two officers and Galvan.
But Galvan's girlfriend, 23-year-old Yesenia Perez, said she saw the
shooting and that the police version is "not true." She would not
describe her version.
"I don't feel comfortable talking about it," Perez said, struggling to
speak through tears. "I'm always going to have that image (of Galvan
being shot). I'll always remember that. I see that. And I don't even
know how to take it in. I don't know how to deal with it."
The timing of the protest — less than a week after two Ceres police
officers were shot, one fatally — was unfortunate, Susan Galvan said.
"I was kind of worried about the timing, but why should we move it? We
planned this in November. And this needs to be opened to the public,"
she said. My son's life was important, just like theirs."
Susan Galvan said the family filed a complaint against the police in
December. Their lawyer has advised them not to discuss the shooting,
she said.
Modesto police spokesman Rick Applegate said the department completed
an investigation of the shooting and sent the findings to the District
Attorney's office. They are awaiting a response from the office, he
said.
Yates, Morse back at work
Yates and Morse remain on the job, Applegate said.
That the officers have not been punished, Galvan's mother said, is an outrage.
"(The department) may have some good officers, but most are labeling
our children at a very young age and hunting them down," Galvan said.
At the protest march, friends and family described Galvan as "hardworking," "talented" and "a good person."
"He was always smiling," his 21-year-old brother, Danny Galvan, said. "We were just so tight."
Mother waiting for apology
Susan Galvan said she wants an apology from the department. She said the police have made no effort to contact the family.
Applegate said the police could not comment on the shooting or the rally.
"We were prepared to make a statement, but a complaint was made against
the officers, so by law we cannot make a comment," he said.
Sammy Galvan was the second son Susan and Ramon Galvan lost. In 1988,
the Galvan's oldest son, James, died at age 11 from meningitis, Susan
Galvan said.
Sammy Galvan was 22 when he died. His younger brother, Gilbert, named his newborn son Sammy.
Bee staff writer Chris Togneri can be reached at 239-2152 or
Last Updated ( May 11, 2006 at 06:16 PM )
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