Parents of Stephen Willis, the armed suspect who was shot dead by Fresno Police officers on Saturday, held a news conference.

Parents of Stephen Willis, the armed suspect who was shot dead by Fresno Police officers on Saturday, held a news conference.

"Our son was a happy 23-year-old, he had his whole life ahead of him; he had a scholarship to ITT, he was top of his class, he hadn't missed one day," said Chris Willis, through his tears.

They say their son did not have a criminal background.They say Willis was target shooting the day before, and was taking his gun from the trunk of his car when police confronted him."I never thought that the police shot him, it doesn't make any sense. Why would he aim a gun at officers? He hadn't done anything," said Chris Willis.The Willis' say they don't believe Chief Dyer's account of what happened at the Stoneybrook Apartments and have hired two local attorneys."We have done an investigation and we are secure that there was serious wrongdoing by the police department," said Fresno Attorney Rick Berman."They were shooting wildly, they were shooting uncontrollably, there was no proper training or supervision... I know everybody's nerves are on edge. Everybody's nerves are raw after the terrible tragedy in Oakland. I saw the helicopters flying back after the officers' funeral, but that does not allow our officers to do something like this," said Berman.Meanwhile the Willis' say they don't wish their tragedy on any other family."Nobody should have to go through this; the police are here to protect us, not to execute our children," said Chris Willis.Attorneys are planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Fresno Police Department in the future.They are also calling for an independent police auditor who has the power to conduct their own investigation into high profile events.Two officers went to investigate and minutes later, shots rang out. Police shot and killed the 23-year-old driver of the car. Over thirty rounds were shot by police. At least one round was fired by Stephen Willis. One officer was shot in the leg. Willis was killed.
Chris Willis woke up Saturday morning to find out his 23-year old son was shot by Fresno police.
"It doesn't make any sense. They just murdered him," cried Willis.
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Willis said his son was headed home to his Southeast Fresno apartment complex from a day at the shooting range.
"He was just taking his gun in from the trunk of his car and they started shooting," said Willis.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the department's investigation reveals Willis had been drinking when he erratically drove into his apartment complex.
Two police officers went to investigate. That's when they found Willis with a 6-shooter holstered outside his car.
"It didn't have to turn out this way but unfortunately when the officers gave commands, repeated commands for the firearm to be dropped the individual refused to do so," said Dyer.
A gun battle broke out.
"Officers at that time felt like they were about to be shot," said Dyer.
Bullet holes shredded this van. Investigators said Willis tried to crouch and hide before he was shot and killed. One officer was grazed by a bullet in the left leg. Neighbors said it sounded like the shoot out at the O.K. Corral.
"Bullets! Nothing but shots firing. One right after the other," said Maria Vargas.
"I was laying on the couch and heard heck of gun shots and I got on the floor," said Porsha Smith.
The Willis family said this was gross over-reaction by the Fresno police.
"The police are here to protect us, not execute our children," said Willis.
Police are not sure who fired the shot that hit the officer. He was treated at the scene and released. Willis family lawyers are investigating this shooting on their own.
This is the 5th officer involved shooting in the last three months. 7 officers were involved in shootings last year.

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105 people were arrested in violent Oakland protests over the BART police shooting of an unarmed man

Heavy police presence greeted Bay Area Rapid Transit commuters Thursday after at least 105 people were arrested in violent Oakland protests over the BART police shooting of an unarmed man.The unruly protesters, responding to the Jan. 1 fatal shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant III, smashed store windows, burned cars, and vandalized an Oakland police cruiser as they made their way throughout the downtown area.Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson, beseeched residents to avoid further violence and not tarnish the image of her son."You're hurting people who have nothing to do with the situation. You're vandalizing their property, hurting their cars and breaking their windows. Please just stop it, please," Johnson said at a Thursday afternoon news conference. About 15 people were taken into custody around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, but the bulk of the 100-plus arrests were made after police cornered protesters outside the Paramount Theatre around 11 p.m., said Oakland Police spokesman Jeff Thomason.Charges against them include inciting a riot, assault on a police officer, vandalism, rioting and unlawful assembly, Thomason said. Two of the arrests involved illegal handgun possession and another was for drug violations.
He indicated at least one person, a TV cameraman, was injured in the violence. No police officers were hurt, he said. Police officers patrolled outside BART headquarters in Oakland Thursday to ensure calm during the agency's morning meeting, where many African-American community leaders expressed outrage over the killing of Grant, who was black.Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson told BART directors that Grant's death "appeared to be an execution,'' and he called for BART to hold a public meeting that allows the community to understand the policies and procedures in which police officers shoot people.The Rev. Amost Brown was even more blunt: "It was murder. Not trying to explain away, not trying to explain whethere he had his taser or he had his gun. The evidence was there. And we should all say, that was murder. And this gentleman needs to be brought to justice." Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks said BART appeared to be trying to cover up the incident and alleged, "There was a failure to communicate and acknowledge the taking of a life.''Brooks also contended that most protests in the wake of Grant's death were peaceful and that the violence was caused by "a renegade group'' that wanted to "wreak havoc.''What had started as a peaceful demonstration involving about 500 people at the Fruitvale BART station over Grant's shooting death escalated Wednesday night. Oakland police in riot gear threw tear gas and started making arrests as they tried to break up the demonstration; extra officers were called in for duty."The crowd started to become more agitated, more hostile, started throwing stuff at the police," Thomason said. "We gave a dispersal order four to five times over a 20-minute period, then we had our officers go in and start making arrests."

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Juan Merced fatally shot in a BMW that had crashed on the 4200 block of Foothill Boulevard. Two other people were injured by gunfire

At about 2 a.m., police found Juan Merced, 21, of Oakland fatally shot in a BMW that had crashed on the 4200 block of Foothill Boulevard. Two other people were injured by gunfire in that incident, police said, but didn't elaborate.man was found shot and killed in a crashed car early Saturday in Oakland and two other people were shot and wounded in the latest spate of violence that police believe was related to illegal street races known as sideshows.Another car was found crashed and riddled with bullets at 51st Avenue and Foothill, a half-mile away, but it was unclear whether that crash was related.Police said the triple shooting appeared to be related to sideshows, the reckless displays of stunts and speed by drivers who often are intoxicated and typically don't have drivers' licenses. The BMW was among a group of cars that had congregated in the area, police said.But Merced's family and friends said they found it hard to believe that the victim, whom they called "Johnny," would participate in a sideshow."He doesn't engage in sideshows," said Merced's close friend, Sharhonda King, 23. "He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person."King described Merced as "sweet, kindhearted, very caring, loved to laugh and loved to joke." He was somewhat shy and liked playing video games and going on the computer to look up information about cars, she said. He worked at a Sleep Train store in East Oakland, his family said.
Merced's girlfriend, Jourdan Clark, 20, said, "He really didn't have any enemies. He was just loved by everyone."Police said the shooting is the latest example of the violence that can erupt at sideshows, which started in Oakland in the late 1980s and have been linked to dozens of deaths and injuries and property damage, including instances in which police have been shot at and pelted with bottles and rocks.
Oakland Police Deputy Chief Dave Kozicki said the size of crowds at sideshows has declined to fewer than 100 people, from an average of several hundred in the mid-1990s, due to tougher law enforcement and 30-day vehicle impounds. But he said the violence associated with sideshows has escalated.
The increased violence "is just part of the situation we are seeing in general in Oakland," Kozicki said. "We're seeing too many people settling problems with guns; the sideshows are just one example." Some recent sideshows have involved death and property damage unrelated to firearms, however. Saturday's slaying comes two weeks after a 22-year-old woman was killed when her car was hit head-on as she participated in a sideshow at 47th Avenue and Foothill. And on April 12, two cars apparently involved in a sideshow plowed through the front yard of a bungalow-style home at 2040 90th Ave. near Bancroft Avenue in East Oakland at about 4:20 a.m., breaking a gas line and touching off a blaze that destroyed most of the three-bedroom residence.Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente said Saturday that police could cut down on sideshows by confiscating and selling vehicles associated with the gatherings rather than just impounding them for 30 days - the current limit under state law. In 2007, the council repealed a 2005 ordinance that enabled police officers to seize cars used in the sideshows, after the state Supreme Court ruled that similar local laws are superseded by state law, which only allows police to impound cars for 30 days in this kind of case.
In spite of the fact that Oakland's car seizure law has been repealed, De La Fuente said, "We should push the envelope" and seize cars anyway. "As a city, we get sued for everything anyway. ... By the time someone gets his day in court, we'll have had his car for a long time."

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Marco V. Mendez,Andre Piazza were arrested and two assault rifles seized

The suspects were identified by police as Marco V. Mendez, 32, of Hayward, and Andre Piazza, 26, of Oakland. It was not clear if they knew each other. Police said Mendez had gang tattoos and told officers he was a member of an Oakland street gang.
Two men _ one an admitted gang member _ were arrested and two assault rifles seized by police early Sunday near a street shrine for a 15-year-old boy killed last week by officers who said he pointed a sawed-off rifle at them.
The arrests and gun seizures happened about 3:10 a.m. Sunday in the area of 78th Avenue and Rudsdale Street, near a street memorial for Jose Luis Buenrostro-Gonzalez.
The 15-year-old Buenrostro-Gonzalez, who police said was associated with the same gang as Mendez, was fatally shot last Wednesday by gang unit officers who said he pointed a sawed-off rifle at them. The boy's family has said he had his hands up and was not a gang member.Two officers on patrol in the area Sunday morning said they saw Mendez on a corner. As he started walking away the officers shined a spotlight on him and said they could see he was concealing a gun, which he discarded by a parked van before fleeing into backyards. The gun turned out to be a loaded AR-15 assault rifle and Mendez was arrested a short time later in the area, Officer Roland Holmgren said.Piazza was arrested after he approached officers at 78th and Rudsdale saying he needed to move his car, which was parked a short distance away
with the passenger door open and the engine running. An officer saw what turned out to be a loaded AK-47 assault rifle on the front seat, partially covered by a jacket, and Piazza was arrested.Both men refused to talk to investigators. They were arrested on suspicion of different weapons violations.
Mendez was also arrested on suspicion of participating in a criminal street gang. Both men have prior felony convictions and could be prosecuted by federal authorities.Holmgren said the assault rifles ``have been manufactured for destruction of human life,'' and that police would continue to ``aggressively patrol...to get them off the street.''

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Isaiah Rider

Former Atlanta Hawk Isaiah Rider was in custody Sunday on outstanding arrest warrants after Berkeley police responded to a report of a disturbance between a taxi driver and a passenger.
Officers arrived on the scene to find the passenger was Rider. They arrested him on a no-bail warrant issued by Oakland police for unlawful firearm possession and another warrant for grand theft.

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