According to information currently available through an LA County Sheriff's investigation and news reports, Downey police officers were responding to a fire in a palm tree along the railroad tracks at Old River School Road and Firestone on October 12 and were approaching a homeless man named Manuel Vargas at around 6:51pm to see if he had information about the fire. The officers say Mr. Vargas raised a stick and held a pocket or folding knife with an almost 3 inch blade on it. Officers fired multiple times (a news report I read said 10 times. The coroners report has not yet been released when this petition is being posted) hitting him every time in the chest. He was declared dead at a local hospital.

This petition is offered to government officials in decision making positions.
* We demand that all Downey Police Officers be trained and be required to carry out non-violent and non-lethal apprehension of people they wish to question. With all options available to the officers including tazer, a club to knock away the knife if they felt threatened or a bullet to the leg or arm if they felt like their life was a risk from a man with a stick and knife with a three inch blade why would ten gunshots need to go to his chest?
* We demand that all records and accounts of the killing be made public;
* We demand that all officers involved in the shooting death of Manuel Vargas be made public;
* We demand that all officers involved in the shooting death of 42-year-old homeless man, Manuel Vargas be removed from their positions and charged appropriately for their crimes;
* We ask that you look into the October 22 killing of an unarmed man described as running from police, but looked "aggressive" when he stopped and turned around, with the same vigor we have asked for in the above petition.

We are aware that not all officers would participate in such activity and would look first to other options for subduing a man with a stick and knife with a 3-inch blade. We ask that those in power ensure the safety of the public by holding officers to the highest standards of duty. We ask that you stand with us against injustice and reckless and lethal abuse of power.