The Santa Ana City Council on Tuesday voted to issue a formal apology to the family of Edgar Vargas who was wrongfully arrested, beaten and handed over to federal immigration officials 10 years ago in a case that sparked a fight for immigrant’s rights in the city.  

A decade after her son’s arrest, Vargas’ mother, Olivia Arzate, still carries the anguish of those terrible events.  

In surveillance footage of the June 2014 arrest that surfaced later, officers with the Santa Ana Police Department, who were responding to a burglary call, are seen using excessive force to arrest him.  

“Officers appear to repeatedly hit [Vargas], then 27, and swing a baton at his legs as lies face down on the ground,” the Los Angeles Times reported.  

Later, they would turn him over to agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

“Edgar Vargas was essentially brutalized by Santa Ana police,” Carlos Perea, executive director of the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo. “Then he was transferred over to ICE wrongfully and he was falsely accused of trying to harm a police officer.”  

Years later, in 2019, a federal grand jury indicted a former SAPD officer, Brian Booker, for misconduct and lying about using self-defense as a cover for the brutal arrest.  

“They beat him, arrested him for resisting arrest when he had given up,” Santa Ana City Councilman Benjamin Vasquez said.  

Now, the city council is making a formal apology to the Vargas’ family.  

“We want to make sure we understand that this kind of culture is not accepted in Santa Ana,” Vasquez added. “We want to highlight the things that happened in the past that led to police oversight, that led to a sanctuary city, that we are a city of immigrants and we’re going to protect everybody.”  

Vargas’ mother told KTLA in Spanish that it is an honor to be granted this apology. Sadly, her son passed away two years ago.  

Immigrant rights activists in Santa Ana credit Vargas’ case turning the city into a sanctuary and for preventing law enforcement from working directly with ICE.  

“Edgar Vargas in many ways was the spark that started the fire,” Pera explained.  

A 46-year-old Riverside County man was taken into custody after a group of vigilante teenagers, one of whom the man had sent nude photographs of himself, set up a sting to have him arrested late last week.  

The Nov. 15 incident, according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, unfolded around 4:30 p.m. at Nicolas Road Park in Temecula.  

Authorities told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson that deputies were tipped off that the suspect, now identified as Homeland resident William Vandenbush, was allegedly meeting a minor at the park for “sexual purposes.”  

“When deputies arrived at to that scene, there were probably 20 other juveniles there,” RCSD Sgt. Diedre Vickers told KTLA.  

While many of the teens had their cellphones out and recorded the encounter, deputies detained the 46-year-old and waited for detectives to respond to the scene.  

“The investigation revealed that Vandenbush sent nude photographs and agreed to meet a minor for sexual purposes,” the release detailed.  

The Homeland resident was arrested and booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta to await charges for sending harmful matter to a minor, contacting a minor for sexual purposes and arranging to meet with a minor for sexual purposes.  

“Good for the teens but scary at the same time,” Faye Houck, a Murrieta resident who often brings her children to the park.  

She and Tamryn Jung, also a mother from Murrieta, said that they find the situation alarming because of the risks of confronting an alleged sexual predator.  

“I’m a former teacher and I would say that although they think it’s admirable, that they wanted to do this, I think the risk would outweigh the benefits,” Jung said. 

Sgt. Vickers agreed, saying these situations are even dangerous for law enforcement who have the proper training in these situations.  

“Not just kids, it’s risky for anyone that decides to do this type of vigilante investigation,” she explained. “You’re catching someone at their most vulnerable time. There’s no way to predict what they’re going to do, how they’re going to react.”  

The Sheriff’s Department’s news release echoed Vickers comments, saying, “This action unnecessarily jeopardized the safety of everyone in the vicinity of the park.”  

The investigation into the incident remains open and anyone with information is urged to contact Investigator Alissa Morris or Deputy Kevin Au at 951-696-3000.  

Emergency crews are attempting to rescue a woman from a tunnel in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called to the 500 block of South Bixel Street around 8:20 a.m. on reports of a female entering a tunnel and being unable to exit, the Los Angeles Fire Department stated in a news alert.

The patient was able to communicate with arriving crewmembers and did not mention any injuries and did not seem to be in distress, the Fire Department stated.

An Urban Search and Rescue Team was also sent to the location.

Sky5 was over the scene at 9:45 a.m. where crews could be seen standing near a ladder leading into the tunnel.

Check back for updates on this developing story.