Group rallies at EC Courthouse to protest

The Black Lives Matter group in Imperial Valley held a peaceful rally at El Centro Courthouse on Saturday.

Organizers said it was not against police, but against the use of excessive force by police.

“To support the African-American community with regards to what they’re going through with police brutality,” Raul Urena said.

Urena said a recent arrest that gained attention through a video posted on social media made him be part of the rally.

“That occurred with Eduardo Saenz on November 15th,” Urena said.

In that case, a video shows police allegedly arresting a Latino man who police allegedly had been speeding through El Centro streets endangering lives and had resisted arrest.

Calexico resident Valeria Moran said she saw excessive use of force in the video.

“Police should have remembered their training and acted upon the situation. And tried to de-escalate the situation not try to make greater harm,” Moran said.

A Yuma demonstrator said problems with police are hitting too close to home.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s not only big city issues. Now it’s becoming little city issues,” Kimberly Adkins said.

Urena insists he is pro-police, not anti-police.

“Because I want to make sure that the police departments in our county and in our nation are the most transparent, the most efficient,” Urena said.

San Diego resident Michal Mendez said he’s there to promote accountability.

“Elected officials and the police department accountable,” Mendez said.

However, Mendez said the actions of the man arrested in the video might have posed a threat to the community.

“He was endangering lives, that’s true. He still has a right to be taken into custody without being brutally beaten,” Mendez said.