Protesters March In Santee Against Police Brutality, Racism

SANTEE, CA — Hundreds of people peacefully gathered and marched against police brutality and racial injustice during two demonstrations Sunday in Santee — despite concerns from some participants and residents over the planned protests.

Organized by San Diego Unity, the "peace march" started at 3 p.m. at the Cameron Family YMCA on Riverwalk Drive. Protestors marched to the Santee Sheriff's Station on Cuyamaca Street, where they listened to speeches and knelt in a nine-minute moment of silence for George Floyd. Floyd, an unarmed black man, died on Memorial Day after a now-former Minneapolis police officer pinned his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.

Clergy leaders led the crowd in singing "This Little Light of Mine" and the group left hundreds of flowers on a gate outside the sheriff's station before they marched back to the YMCA, where the protest ended around 5:30 p.m.

Earlier in the day, a crowd gathered at 1 p.m. at the corner of West Hills Parkway and Mast Boulevard, then marched down Mast and onto the bridge over Santee Recreational Lakes. The protest wrapped up around 4:30 p.m.

Both protests were planned by Santee and other East County residents.

Jay Wyatt, who helped organize the march to the sheriff's station, said he thought it was important to hold a protest in Santee because of the city's stigma.

"There's a stigma that's attached to Santee and that's attached to East County," he said at the start of the event. "We want to trash that."

"We want to make sure that people in Santee are comfortable with minorities," he added. "We're tired of being scared of them, and we're tried of them being scared of us."

The city of Santee, a suburb in San Diego County, has a history of racially motivated attacks and skinhead activity in the area, including a brutal attack by five white men in 1998 that left a black Marine paralyzed.

In recent years, however, the city has worked to rebrand the community and rid itself of the nicknames "Klantee" and "Santucky." In fact, last year Santee hired a marketing company to help develop a brand to market the city to businesses, potential residents and visitors.

But the stigma of Santee has persisted, especially after recent incidents that were considered racist and anti-Semitic.

In May, a man was seen wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood while grocery shopping at the Vons store on Mission Gorge Road. Days later, a couple wore swastikas on their face masks at the Food 4 Less store on Cuyamaca Street.

Both incidents sparked outrage from local officials, residents and others on social media. The sheriff's department also launched investigations but no charges were filed.

The incidents inspired the city to take steps to address intolerance in Santee, including expanding the Community Oriented Policing Committee. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors also revived the Human Relations Commission, which stopped meeting in the 1990s after public interest waned.

The recent incidents, however, didn't prevent small demonstrations from taking place last week in Santee. Small groups of peaceful protestors have gathered daily since June 1 at the corner of Cuyamaca Street and Mission Gorge Road to protest police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of Floyd's death.

Around the same time, some residents began organizing to protect local businesses. The Facebook group "Defend East County" launched after a May 30 protest in La Mesa ended in arson, looting and vandalism. Several businesses were also damaged that weekend in downtown San Diego as peaceful protests turned violent.

In response to the devastating riots, the city of Santee imposed an overnight curfew every night beginning May 31, with the exception of Saturday.

Many businesses were boarded-up and some closed early throughout the week and into the weekend. On several nights, the so-called "defenders" posted outside businesses in the city.

In a video shared on social media, a man with a bull whip seemingly taunted and laughed under the guise of "protecting the city."

"This act and others like it that have been played out on social media, are inexcusable," the city said in a statement. "The city of Santee remains resolute in our complete condemnation of these displays of intolerance and insensitivity. These acts are antagonistic, cruel and threatening. We know many of you are disgusted and so are we."

One of the organizers of Sunday's second march also shared a video on Twitter that showed two men who claimed to be part of an armed 5,000-member militia.

"Santee doesn't mess around," one of the unidentified men said in the video. "This is East County — we are not gonna let these little whiny punk kids take over and do what they did to La Mesa. La Mesa was not prepared. Santee is prepared."

The men also claimed to be operating with the blessing of the sheriff's department, which the department denied.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," the department said in a statement.

"The men and women of the sheriff's department do not condone hate or any acts of intolerance in our communities. We are a county that is welcoming of people from all backgrounds."

The incidents resulted in some supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and local groups such as SD Peaceful Protest to not endorse Sunday's events and even discourage people from participating due to safety concerns.

"Thank you to all who still showed up," Wyatt told the crowd. "That pushback has definitely validated the reason for us being here."

Despite concerns from both sides leading up to Sunday's protests, both marches were peaceful. There were no clashes during the protests.

"I am East County," said John Sepulvado, who helped organize the second march.

"We're not outsiders. We're not infiltrators. We're not trying to make a mess in someone else's town; this is our town, too."

Also see:

• National Guard Leaves San Diego County After Peaceful Protests
• Cars Caravan Across San Diego County To Protest Police Violence
• Law Enforcement Agencies Across San Diego County Cease Chokeholds
• 3 Arrested For Curfew Violations In Santee
• 2 Arrested For Pointing Gun At Protesters In Santee
• Thousands Raised For La Mesa Businesses After Devastating Riots
• Santee Grocery Shopper In KKK Hood Sparks Sheriff's Investigation
• Man With Swastika Mask Spotted Shopping In Santee Store