Hundreds rally statewide against police brutality in wake of Lopez death

KTVU

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Santa Rosa and in cities throughout the Bay Area and the state Saturday to protest the police killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Sonoma County last month as well as what they say is an epidemic of police brutality.

The protests in Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento Los Angeles and elsewhere were part of a "National Day of Action for Andy Lopez" organized by the Answer Coalition and the California Statewide Coalition Against Police Brutality.

Andy was walking and holding a toy AK-47 rifle in rural Sonoma County the afternoon of Oct. 22 when county sheriff's deputies on patrol in the area spotted him and yelled for him to drop the weapon, according to the sheriff's office.

When the boy turned toward the deputies, Deputy Erick Gelhaus, 48, shot him seven times, according to authorities.

Andy's family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Gelhaus and the county.

The killing has sparked outrage within the community, state and nationwide, with many decrying the incident as a tragic example of police brutality that protesters say often targets low-income black and Latino citizens.