Family members and activists confront killer cop Isaac Ibarra
Santa Ana, CA – On Wednesday February 18, Erika Armenta and other members of Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) were holding a press conference outside Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) when they were approached by Officer Isaac Ibarra. Ibarra was one of the officers who shot unarmed 31-year-old Noe Rodriguez on December 1, 2024. Erika Armenta was Noe’s wife. CSO OC members followed Ibarra to confront him for his crimes.
David Pulido said, “This is Isaac Ibarra! He killed a father, a 31-year-old father on December 1, 2024! He shot him 11 times! He and his partner, Luis Casillas, who shot him 18 times! And he doesn’t like that we’re filming him and holding him accountable! You fucking killer! How dare you!”
Isaac Ibarra turned suddenly and lunged towards activists. When they didn’t respond, he changed his tune, saying “Don’t walk behind me! I’m taking that as a threat” and “don’t grab me” even though activists were not touching him and captured the whole incident on video.
CSO OC is demanding that the officers responsible for Noe's death be fired, including Ibarra. They were at the department due to information gathered from a Public Records Act request. Through this request, CSO revealed that Isaac Ibarra and Luis Casillas continue working and have simply been moved to other divisions. Casillas now works in the “Crimes Against Persons Division” and Ibarra works in the “North Area Command Division.”
When Ibarra passed them again, Erika Armenta clutched her daughters closely and said, “May God forgive you: these are the daughters that you made orphans!” and “Look at them closely! You left them without a father! Look at them!”
Matthew Compton said, “You’re a fucking killer dude! You should answer for your damn crimes!”
Isaac Ibarra called the police on activists and lied, claiming that activists pushed him. This lie is contradicted by video footage. In fact, Ibarra pushed activists three times. By the time several patrol cars arrived, Ibarra made one last attempt to provoke a fight, approaching David Pulido within inches of his face and saying that “I’m not at work right now” as an apparent threat.
After the incident Erika Armenta spoke one last time in front of the police station, stating, “I am a member of CSO and we are committed to the fight for police my husband left out accountability.”
Armenta said, “One of the officers who murdered is in the front entrance and passed by me and my two daughters. I believe it was on purpose. Because this department has many exits, not only this front entrance. And he knows us now. We have gone to the city council to speak and put forward our demands for justice for my husband. We are demanding an independent investigation! All they have done is moved the officers to other parts of the department. That is not justice!”
Armenta continued, saying, “This fight does not end here! Recently Santa Ana police killed another man. In a video we saw him with his hands up, and the police have not released the body camera footage. But when the police arrest people with weapons or things like that, the next day they release the footage, at their convenience.”
Armenta referred to the January 28 police killing of 18-year-old Victor Lopez, who was killed in front of his fiancé and one-year-old child in the parking lot of his apartment. Lopez was surrendering to police when he was killed. His family demands the full body camera footage from the incident.
CSO OC continues to demand that Officers Luis Casillas and Isaac Ibarra be fired from Santa Ana PD and that the incident be independently investigated by Santa Ana’s Police Oversight Commission.