Our father, Michael Nida, was killed by Downey Police on October 22, 2011. The police now claim that they were looking for someone who had robbed a nearby ATM but it was not our Dad they were looking for and he did not fit the description. We think they stopped him only because he is Latino. When he tried to leave, the police opened fire on him with an MP5 sub-machine gun, shooting him five times; twice in the back. He was unarmed and the police have admitted that they killed an innocent man.

We want to stop this from happening to other families and we hope police in CA will stop using the MP5 and any other sub-machine gun, unless in a SWAT situation.

The MP5 machine gun should not be used in standard policing and should be restricted to use in closed quarter SWAT situations. Police are not at war with CA citizens and do not need a gun that can fire up to 700 rounds per minute for community policing.  

Please sign this petition and call on the California legislature to introduce a bill to restrict use of the MP5 to police forces engaged in situations requiring SWAT.

To read more about our father, Michael Nida, please visit: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-20124838/police-seeking-robber-kill-unarmed-innocent-man/