Newport Beach, CA – Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers chased and then killed 45-year-old Jose Velasquez in Newport Beach Saturday, February 1, at about 7 a.m.

At least seven police cruisers and one police helicopter pursued a vehicle onto Newport pier, with police pulling up with their squad car doors already open and guns drawn as they slowed to a stop. They fired over a dozen shots before issuing any verbal commands and before many bystanders had time to flee the pier.

Bystanders said Velasquez was driving calmly and didn’t seem to have an intention of hurting anybody. They also described feeling fear as gunshots started and having to shield their children, and feeling traumatized after.

SAPD stated Velasquez was a Menifee, California homicide suspect, in their attempt to justify the reckless shooting. SAPD chased him from Santa Ana all the way to Newport Beach after receiving a call to assist from the Menifee Police Department.

Along with the two police departments, an Orange County district attorney’s office truck was present. When members of Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) tried to ask questions, DA’s people were not clear about their reason was in being there and they referred members to the Newport Police Department.

SAPD claims a firearm was recovered, but Newport Police Department (NPD) also blocked public access to the entire pier, making public view of the scene impossible. Police also have a history of making false claims about suspects having firearms – for example, in the cases of Steve Salgado, killed by SAPD in January 2017 and Brandon Lopez, killed by Anaheim PD in 2021.

This is SAPD’s second killing in only 62 days. Noe Rodriguez was killed on December 1, 2024. Police arrived on the scene after being called about a man with a rifle walking in downtown Santa Ana. Police arrived and in less than four minutes began shooting nearly 30 rounds at Rodriguez. The item he was holding turned out to be a replica. They did not try to de-escalate the situation, and they gave commands only in English, although Rodriguez spoke only Spanish.

Members of CSO OC went to the site to investigate both shootings and talk to witnesses. If you know more about what happened and have evidence, or if you know the family of Jose Velasquez, contact CSO OC at 714-367-6350 or on Instagram @cso.oc.

In both cases, SAPD revealed minimal information about the shootings and no information about the officers involved. CSO OC is building a campaign to demand transparency from Santa Ana's police department, called the 24/48 Campaign.

David Pulido of CSO OC stated, “We are demanding that the names of the officers involved are released within 24 hours of a critical incident and unedited video released within 48 hours. Families deserve better when their loved ones are killed or hurt. They deserve to know what happened and who is responsible.” If you are interested in joining this effort to demand transparency from the police department, contact CSO OC.

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