Santa Ana PD Officer Luis Casillas, who killed Noe Rodriguez and brutally attacked Florentino Lopez, forced on leave
Santa Ana, CA – On October 28, Santa Ana City Manager Alvaro Nunez announced that Officers Luis Casillas and Marco Benavides have been put on administrative leave. This was an important victory for Community Service Organization, Orange County (CSO OC) and the result of nearly two years of grassroots organizing with impacted families.
Since December 2024, CSO OC has fought alongside Erika Armenta to demand justice for her late husband, unarmed 31-year-old Chicano Noe Rodriguez. Chief among her demands were that the cops who killed Rodriguez during his mental health crisis, Officers Luis Casillas and Isaac Ibarra, be fired. Both men were involved in violent incidents just one month after the killing. However, neither officer was placed on leave; instead, both were allowed to continue working.
CSO OC started working with the family of Florentino Lopez this month to demand justice after he was brutalized by SAPD in a viral video. They learned the officers responsible were Casillas and Officer Marco Benavides, who beat 15-year-old Mario Diaz in June 2025. CSO OC buckled down to hold these criminal cops accountable and to stop them from further violence against Santa Ana residents. They confronted the city council on October 6, protested at Santa Ana PD with members of the Lopez family on October 14, and returned with them to the city council on October 20, demanding Casillas and Benavides be held accountable.
As a result of the blatant police brutality against Florentino Lopez, CSO’s pressure on the city and its work since 2024, and the vulnerability of politicians during election season, the administrative leave of Officers Luis Casillas and Marco Benavides was won. This was something the city was unwilling to do with Casillas and Isaac Ibarra last year despite their multiple crimes, and therefore it was something that the people earned through struggle.
CSO OC continues to demand that Noe Rodriguez’s killers, Officers Luis Casillas and Isaac Ibarra, be fired and jailed. It also demands that Officer Marco Benavides be fired and jailed for brutalizing Mario Diaz and helping Casillas brutalize Florentino Lopez.
If you are interested in fighting alongside families impacted by police violence and in building community control of the police, reach out to CSO OC on Facebook, Instagram, or email at [email protected]