BY NORTON SANDLER

SAN JOSE', California - Concurring with the pleadings of a deputy district attorney, a grand jury in this city refused on June 25 to indict Santa Clara County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Langley for the killing of Gustavo Soto Mesa.

Mesa was gunned down by Langley on March 2 following a car chase. The cop claims his gun accidentally discharged as he and Mesa fell to the ground moments after Mesa's van crashed into a fire truck and ambulance. Eyewitnesses from the neighborhood testified that the cop shot Mesa in the back from several feet away.

In Santa Clara County, all killings by the police are taken to a grand jury to decide if the cop should be indicted. In spite of numerous killings, no cops have been indicted in recent years.

Outrage over the Soto Mesa shooting and the previous cases where cops were exonerated has resulted in the formation of the Human Rights Defense Committee. This group has organized several protests including a demonstration of some 300 on March 16. Since then the group, which meets weekly, has carried out a range of activities including holding community forums. Several people who participate in the Human Rights Defense Committee meetings have had relatives killed by area cops.

Hoping to blow off some steam and convince the broader public that the killing was indeed accidental, District Attorney George Kennedy took the highly unusual step of having the grand jury's proceedings opened to the public. His assistant Deputy District Attorney Sanderson conducted the hearing. No judge is present, only the grand jurors. No Latinos served on this 18-members jury panel in a county with a substantial Latino population. Fifteen jury members were white, one was Black, and two were Asian.

Among those attending the proceedings were Emilio Diaz and Cornelius Hall. Diaz's brother, Art, was run over and killed by a Santa Clara County Deputy in 1994. The cops claim Art Diaz ran in front of their car when they were chasing him. Emilio Diaz said he and supporters have been meeting every week since his brother was killed.

"Even the Highway Patrol says it couldn't have happened the way the cops claimed," Diaz explained. Since the protests around the Soto Mesa case have grown, Diaz added, "the district attorney has said he will take Art's case to a coroner's inquest."

Hall's son, Jerrold, was killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) cop in 1992. The cops said a radio had been stolen on the train allegedly by a young Black man. "My son was not a known felon, he was unarmed, he had no weapon. There was no justification for shooting him," Hall emphasized. Hall has a civil suit pending against the cops that is scheduled to go to trial later this year.

At the grand jury hearing, cop Langley testified he heard a "popping sound" as he and Soto Mesa allegedly were falling to the ground. He claimed he didn't realize until later that Soto Mesa had been shot by his gun. In spite of the blood gushing from Soto Mesa's head, Langley handcuffed him. Langley claimed he has fired 800 to 1000 rounds at the practice range but had never heard a popping sound like the one from his gun.

Patricia Silva witnessed the shooting from her living room window some 15 feet away. She testified that she heard Langley say, "Stop or I will sh...," then he shot Soto Mesa and again said, "Stop or I will shoot," and then handcuffed Soto Mesa. Silva said the exploding gun made a "loud sound." Her testimony was corroborated by two additional Latino witnesses.

At the conclusion of the hearing Sanderson told the grand jury, "It would be in my opinion inappropriate to find an indictment in this case." An hour and half later the grand jury returned with a decision.

"This is the justice we have," said Pablo Soto, the father of Gustavo Soto Mesa. Human Rights Defense Committee activist Gary Woods stated, "The grand jury is a biased private court of the district attorney, especially when it comes to investigating police officers."

"We're going to continue fighting until they treat people like human beings, not animals," added committee leader Rachel Perez.  
 
 
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