VENTURA COUNTY STAR – Oxnard wrestles with tension over police shooting

By Cindy Von Quednow, Gretchen Wenner
Posted October 24, 2012 at 8:01 p.m.

The activist and the police chief were almost within arm’s reach, but proximity didn’t blunt the speaker’s harsh criticism of the city’s police force or his call for the chief to resign.

Such tension was expected at Tuesday night’s Oxnard City Council meeting. At least six uniformed officers were on hand for parts of the meeting, which took place the night before Wednesday’s funeral for Alfonso Limon, 21, a bystander accidentally killed by officers in a gunfight Oct. 13.

The shooting came on the heels of ongoing demonstrations at council meetings and elsewhere around town after a separate in-custody death in June.

One community group, Todo Poder al Pueblo Collective, has been alleging police harassment, especially in Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood. Member Elliott Gabriel was the activist who called for Williams‘ resignation. Others in the community have been pushing for calm as investigations continue…