Rev. Bernell Butler, the cousin of Tyisha Miller, plans to lead rallies both at the Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. Jurupa Valley Station in Rubidoux and at the County Courthourse in downtown Riverside, in protest of the shooting death of Richard Burrola, a long-time Riverside County employee by a deputy from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Jurupa Valley Station.

Press conference today, Thu Aug. 14 at 4pm

More information on shooting:

By Mary Shelton

A Riverside County Sheriff’s Department deputy shot and killed a Hispanic man in Rubidoux on Aug. 8 and members of his family questioned the department’s version of the tragic incident.

Richard Burrola, 50, was shot and killed in front of his house as neighbors and family members including his mother, father-in-law and grandson. His niece, Tammy Durado said that family members have told her that the deputy, whose name has not been released, pepper sprayed and kicked Burrola down on the ground. When Burrola rose up from where he was lying, the deputy shot him point-blank three times in the chest. When Burrola was lying on the ground bleeding to death, the deputy called for backup and then handcuffed him. Burrola died at approximately 10:10 that night at Riverside Community Hospital.


Durado and other members of her family had protested on behalf of Tyisha Miller in 1999 and now are experiencing a tragic loss first hand themselves.


Sgt. Turnier, from the Jurupa Valley Station referred all calls regarding the shooting to the Riverside main office, which provided its version of the shooting.


According to a press release issued by Sheriff Bob Doyle’s office, a deputy, whose name has not been released, was dispatched out to a residence on Mintern Street in Rubidoux to handle a reported incident of domestic violence. Burrola, they said, did not respond to the deputy’s directives and was armed with a tire iron and another metal object. He fired an unclosed number of times at Burrola when he said Burrola had advanced towards him and struck him with a metal object.


After the shooting, both Burrola and the deputy were transported to local hospital for medical assistance. The deputy was treated and released for undisclosed injuries, but Burrola died of his injuries in less than an hour.


The Jurupa Valley Station of the Sheriff’s Department has been the subject of controversy in recent months.


On July 4, Deputy Sheriff James Reynolds, who worked at the station, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine and for destroying evidencene, following an investigation that began a month earlier. Four other deputies were placed on paid administrative leave until the department completes an investigation in relation to whether they had any knowledge of Reynolds’ activities. The Black Voice News discovered recently that one of those deputies, Gary Colbert, had been involved in the beating Dr. Ronald K. Bailey, while assigned at the Moreno Valley Police Department. Last month, a jury in U.S. District Court awarded Bailey 5,000 in damages in relation to a law suit stemming from that incident..


The release stated that the department has initiated both administrative and criminal investigations into the shooting as is standard in these situations. The Central Homicide Unit is conducting the criminal investigation along with the County Coroner’s office, which is affiliated with the Sheriff’s Department.



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