Jimmy Eugene Lopez

Shortly before 2 in the morning on 4 July 2024 Hemet police gunned down 26-year-old Jimmy Eugene Lopez as he sat in an intoxicated stupor on the sidewalk unarmed. Beforehand, a worker at a bar had called 911 to report a man who was “super intoxicated,” and she had tried to get him an Uber. She said a gun had fallen out of his pocket, adding that “he’s too drunk to do anything.”

In response to the family’s announcement of their intent to file a lawsuit at a July 26, 2024 press conference, Hemet police released heavily edited bodycam video. It showed Lopez sitting on a sidewalk with his back against a wall, visibly intoxicated and incapacitated. The family obtained independent video of the killing of Jimmy from the Hemet Theatre’s public street camera. That film showed that Jimmy sat up and put his open hands up in the air and then on top of his head, compliant. He vaped and then moved to stand up, when the cops opened fire. According to the family’s lawyers, police fired more than 100 shots at Lopez. The California Department of Justice determined that Lopez was unarmed. The “gun” recovered at the scene was an airsoft gun, a low-powered toy that fires plastic pellets used in games similar to paintball.

Lopez, a father of two young daughters, age 4 and 6, was well liked. Family, friends and members of the community have formed “Jimmy’s Army” and have turned out for press conferences and protests organized by @JusticeforJimmyLopez, that many groups including OPA activists have attended. His mother, Mandie Diaz, an OPA endorser, attended the Partisan Defense Committee Holiday Appeal at Eastside Café in January 2025. The League of United Latin American Citizens and other members of the Hemet community appeared with Jimmy Lopez’s mother before the Hemet City Council meeting demanding Justice for Jimmy on October 22, 2024.

Despite the Hemet PD’s promises of “transparency” in the weeks after the shooting, the autopsy was not released and officers involved in the shooting were not named! A copy of the autopsy still has not been given to the family. The coroner’s office in Perris, CA confirmed that there is an autopsy on file but it hasn’t been authorized for release. The sheriff Chad Bianco, who is both sheriff and coroner of Riverside County, has not given permission for its release. Sheriff Bianco, a former member of the Oath Keepers, recently ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor of California.

In September 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released the cover-up report mandated by AB1506, “Report on the Investigation into the Death of Jimmy Eugene Lopez on July 4, 2024 - Riverside County AB 1506 - September 2025.” The eight Hemet officers’ names follow with the number of times each of them shot Lopez in parentheses: Oswaldo Rodriguez (8), Christian Coley (4), Maxwell Guerrero (8), Antonio Cervantes (6), Joshua Bishop (10), Dominic Delbono (7), Alan Lizardi (18) and Kenneth McWilliams (8). This totals 69 rounds. Riddled with this onslaught of bullets, Lopez suffered massive injury to every part of his body. The attorney general report states that Lopez had a .43% blood alcohol content, enough to pose a grave risk of coma or death. He also had cannabinoids and amphetamines in his system. The report lists these facts without the autopsy or toxicology report having been released.

The family demands answers and justice for Jimmy Lopez! The police archives on Jimmy Lopez’s killing must be opened to public scrutiny. This means the full autopsy and all the video and recordings of the incident, not only the ones selected by the Hemet Police Department. It means all statements or reports, recordings and personnel records of the eight Hemet cops named in the AB1506 report, including from any prior police agencies they worked for. We also call for release of text and email communications by any of the officers. Jail the killer cops! Justice for Jimmy Lopez!