The Brief

The protest on Monday, June 9, started small.

Nathan Tran, a Garden Grove native and community organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, joined a few dozen people outside the federal building in Santa Ana, a local epicenter for immigration enforcement actions that were ramping up across Southern California.

Despite the small crowd, Tran said he saw federal agents wearing riot gear, standing at the ready. He said they were armed with crowd control weapons and rifles with live ammunition.

By the evening, the crowd had swelled to around 500 people and the protest had moved to the downtown Santa Ana area. Officers with the Santa Ana Police Department formed a skirmish line. Tran watched from Sasscer Park, around 30 feet away from the main crowd, as tensions rose.

Police suddenly cleared the crowd with “barrages of rubber bullets, pepper balls, flash bangs, tear gas,” Tran said, without warning or apparent provocation.

He said people in the crowd responded by hurling back water bottles and fireworks.

Tran turned to leave.

Then, “ I feel this like sensation, like I got punched really hard in the jaw,” Tran said. He had been hit in the face with a less-lethal projectile.

The impact left a deep gash on Tran’s chin. Doctors at UCI Medical Center told him they could see the tendons connecting his jaw muscles.

LAist reviewed his discharge report. Tran was prescribed an antibiotic and recommended to remove his sutures within a week. The diagnosis: “Facial laceration, first encounter. Injury due to rubber bullet.”

How we got here

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020 and concerns about the overly aggressive police response to the protests that followed, California lawmakers took steps to protect residents exercising their first amendment rights.

They did so by passing Assembly Bill 48, a 2021 law that bans the indiscriminate use of force against civilians at protests. Law enforcement agencies now have to take several steps including deescalation tactics like dispersal orders before they can use these military equipment such as foam bullets and tear gas. And the law says “projectiles shall not be aimed at the head, neck, or any other vital organs.”

The law also requires agencies to make public reports about their use of force at protests.

The report about June 9 states that officers only fired at noncompliant individuals, and there were no known injuries resulting from their use of force.

Santa Ana said in a June news release that officers responded to the protests on June 9 and the following days “in strict accordance with the law.”

But Tran and other protestors say Santa Ana Police broke the law during those protests. The ACLU SoCal also sent a letter to the police department detailing how they broke AB 48.

Tran said he is considering legal action.

Lawsuits may be the only recourse for Tran and other protestors, because despite the attempts by California lawmakers to rein in law enforcement agencies, there’s no mechanism in place for enforcing the law.

Public reports about protest response provide some measure of transparency, but the reports rely on law enforcement’s own narrative about what took place during protests. Those reports are supposed to be filed to the California Department of Justice, but there is no independent fact-checking process.

In the case of Santa Ana, for example, official version of events do not align with eyewitness accounts or video footage reviewed by LAist.

What the reports say

According to AB 48, law enforcement agencies cannot use projectiles at protests unless a life is threatened or to bring “an objectively dangerous and unlawful situation” under control.

And even then, police officers can only use foam bullets and tear gas after they have used “deescalation techniques,” such as declaring an unlawful assembly. Officers also have to announce several warnings in different languages, give people ample time to leave the area, take caution not to hit bystanders, medical personnel, journalists, or other unintended targets and provide medical assistance to those injured.

Santa Ana officials say police fully complied with the law during the June protests. In the AB 48 reports for June 9, Santa Ana PD said they tried deescalation techniques including calling for additional officers, issuing verbal commands and attempting to “gain voluntary compliance.”

The report also says police officers used projectiles and chemical agents like tear gas only after individuals threw objects including “illegal fireworks, rocks, bricks, concrete, glass bottles, and other unidentified projectiles, directly at law enforcement personnel.”

“In response to targeted assaults, Santa Ana Police Officers deployed 40mm direct impact sponge rounds and CS chemical agents only when specific individuals engaged in violent acts were identified. At no point were kinetic energy projectiles fired indiscriminately into the crowd of protesters,” the police wrote in their report for June 9. Similar language was used for June 10, 11 and 14.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department would also join the Santa Ana police that night. In their AB 48 report, the Sheriff’s Department wrote they “formed skirmish lines with SAPD and worked to move the crowd east. During this effort, individuals in the crowd threw water bottles, rocks, and fireworks mortars/explosives at deputies. OCSD deployed kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents in response to those specific threats.” According to their report, they deployed 23 rounds of pepperballs, four rounds of the foam bullets and one bean bag round.

What the community says

People who were at the protests tell a different story. Tran says he was hit in the face with a kinetic energy projectile while observing the protest from a distance, and says there was no threat to officers beforehand — or deescalation tactics or warning from police.

Even public officials were caught in the fray and have criticized the police response to the protests.

Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez said he was shot at eight times with projectiles as he marched alongside residents.

 "I still have the bruises on my back from the eight shots that my own officers fired at me,” he said at a June council meeting. “I still have the holes in my black shirt that my own officers from this city fired at me. I had no weapons on me.”

Hernandez said that the police “would shoot tear gas into the direction that they wanted people to flee, and when your back was turned, they would shoot you.”

Daniel Diaz, who runs the local, community publication The Santanero, captured livestream videos which show the Santa Ana Police firing foam bullets at a group of about 100 protesters standing at an intersection holding signs and chanting on June 12. In the video, the police do not appear to give warnings before firing the shots. In his video, Diaz is heard recounting that the bullets were also cracking residential windows.

When LAist reached out to the Santa Ana Police Department about the discrepancies in the report and the conflicting narratives from eye witnesses, the department declined to comment.

ACLU SoCal sent a letter to Chief Robert Rodriguez on June 13 claiming that Santa Ana police violated the law while responding to protests.

Reisberg with the ACLU SoCal told LAist their letter “was based on reports that our office received in the form of intakes and on coverage in the news that was showing that SAPD's use of these so-called less lethal weapons was clearly violating state law.”

Reisberg said that under the law, police have to take steps to deescalate the situation first.

“You can just see from the videos that they weren't doing that,” Reisberg said.

The Santa Ana Police Department replied to the ACLU’s letter, Reisberg said, stating “they acted reasonably.”

“But the state law requires a whole lot more than just acting reasonably,” he said.

So who oversees the police?

The discrepancies between the police reports about the protests, eye witness accounts and video footage reveal a flaw in California’s protest laws, policing experts told LAist.

Law enforcement agencies are required to make public reports about their use of force at protests. But many don’t, and others like Santa Ana Police Department file reports that protesters say don’t capture what went down.

Former Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, a lead sponsor on Assembly Bill 48, said it should be up to the California Department of Justice to make sure law enforcement agencies are complying with the law.

The DOJ doesn’t see it that way. The law requires the DOJ to compile and publish a list of law enforcement websites where agencies provide public access to incident reports and detail how they are following AB 48, according to agency spokesperson Elissa Perez but it doesn’t ask the agency to do much else by way of enforcement.

“The bill [AB 48] does not include requirements for DOJ to review, audit, or enforce law enforcement agency requirements,” Perez wrote to LAist.

According to the California constitution, it is the duty of the Attorney General to enforce state laws.

Another enforcement mechanism members of the public have are lawsuits. The process is long and tedious, but it can be effective. Settlements are typically paid with general fund taxpayer dollars — the money typically earmarked for public parks and public works.

In 2020, the Voice of OC reported that taxpayer funds were used to pay around $24 million to settle lawsuits and legal claims against the Santa Ana Police Department from 2011 to 2020.

While people can share instances of police misconduct with the ACLU, Reisberg has another idea for members of the public who are worried about excessive policing of protesters: put city leaders on notice.

“ Community pressure is essential and there has been amazing community pressure in Santa Ana at the city council. Basically people standing up and saying to their elected representatives, this is not acceptable,” Reisberg said.

How to keep tabs on Santa Ana

• Read tips on how to get involved in your local government.
• The Santa Ana City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
• You can check out the Santa Ana City Council full calendar here and learn how to submit a public comment. 

LAist summer reporting intern Kahani Malhotra contributed to this report.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Just inches away from where workers warm up handmade tortillas at Guisados in Pasadena, Pablomanuel Maldonado puts the finishing touches on different drinks before calling out to his customers.

“Provecho,” Maldonado, owner of coffee pop-up the Caffeinated Cart, says to each customer before quickly redirecting his attention to the next, treating each one like he’s known them for years.

Local taco chain Guisados partnered with the Caffeinated Cart to bring its coffee to the people of Pasadena in a space where Maldonado can chat up his customers and serve his Latino-inspired signature coffees. 

Nearly all of his drinks have names in Spanish, a nod to his Mexican roots. By far his best seller is the “Cereal Killer,” a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, where customers can choose between Cocoa Puffs or Cap’N Crunch Crunch Berries. 

Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, prepares a Cereal Killer at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.

(

Isaac Ceja

/

The LA Local

)

Though he’s only been operating at this location for the past three weeks, small touches — like Virgen de Guadalupe candles, a new coffee blend from local roaster Picaresca and a shiny new drink menu on the wall — make his corner of the restaurant feel welcoming.

“For the first time, I don’t feel tired. I feel mentally at peace, and it’s like, ‘Damn, this is what I love doing,’ you know?” Maldonado told The LA Local. “I get excited to come here. I get excited to get out of bed.” 

Maldonado recently transitioned from working full-time at Bristol Farms during the week and doing coffee pop-ups on weekends to serving coffee full-time at Guisados.

The Caffeinated Cart began in 2020 when Maldonado started selling bottled lattes in his hometown of Compton before eventually popping up at local markets like Angel City Market and the Beach Flea. 

Only a couple of years after he started, Maldonado was selling out at the pop-ups.  Today, he has over 23,000 followers on Instagram.

Maldonado’s partnership with Guisados began in 2025 via an Instagram story when owner Armando De La Torre Jr. put out a call for coffee pop-ups at his Guisados location in Long Beach. 

A photo illustration of the Caffeinated Cart’s most popular drink the Cereal Killer, a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.

(

Isaac Ceja

/

The LA Local

)

After connecting with De La Torre, Maldonado began popping up outside the Long Beach location for six months. But Maldonado said permitting issues with the city’s Health Department forced him to stop. 

Nearly a year after their initial collaboration, De La Torre invited Maldonado to Pasadena to show off the space he had in mind for him, but the Caffeinated Cart owner had mixed emotions. 

Maldonado was concerned about going to Pasadena and leaving behind the community and regular customers he had in Long Beach, but he was excited by the idea of finally having a physical space, even if it wasn’t completely his own.

Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, hugs his former boss who visited him at his new coffee residency at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.

(

Isaac Ceja

/

The LA Local

)

“We’re in a world where… everybody gatekeeps and then everybody stops each other from growing, and coffee’s been so welcoming, man,” Maldonado said. “The community I’ve built around me has just been so welcoming, and a lot of people just truly do trust us.”

Leo Abularach, co-owner of Picaresca in Boyle Heights, has been a longtime supporter of the Caffeinated Cart. He told The LA Local that he loaned Maldonado over $3,000 worth of equipment to help him get started. Abularach even let him use his business delivery service, so Maldonado would no longer have to run to the store for things like extra milk.

“He has always been there for Picaresca. He is part of our family,” Abularach said of Maldonado. “He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and I think his personality is one of the reasons why people love the Caffeinated Cart.”

Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, pours coffee beans into a grinder at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.

(

Isaac Ceja

/

The LA Local

)

Customers Adriana Acevedo and Eilene Gonzalez saw the Caffeinated Cart on TikTok. When they realized it was around the corner from their workplace, they decided to give it a try.

“It’s amazing. It tastes really good. Like, no notes. Amazing,” Acevedo said after finally trying the coffee in real life on a recent Wednesday morning. 

“Yeah, for first timers, now I think we’re going to be returners,” Gonzalez added with a laugh. 

Pablomanuel Maldonado, right, talks with customers Adriana Acevedo, left, and Eilene Gonzalez, centert, at the Caffeinated Cart inside of Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.

(

Isaac Ceja

/

The LA Local

)

The two praised the welcoming service offered by Maldonado, and after Acevedo mentioned she loves caffeine, Maldonado even gave her an additional shot.

“I’m all about making it affordable. I don’t charge extra for alternative milks. You want extra shots? Bro, get extra shots. I’m not going to charge you extra,” Maldonado said. 

“We’re all for the people,” he said. “We want to make sure people can still come back and not have to feel like ‘Was the $7 coffee worth it?’”

Though it was only a Wednesday, customers kept trickling in, keeping him busy throughout his shift, and even Maldonado’s old boss from Bristol Farms, Dina Urquilla, came to support. 

Maldonado said he’s still saving to open up his own shop in the future, but for now, he says he looks forward to making coffee every day in his corner of Pasadena.

A view of some of the trinkets at the Caffeinated Cart inside of Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.

(

Isaac Ceja

/

The LA Local

)

Warm temperatures are on tap again today as we head into a toasty weekend with temps set to reach the triple digits in desert communities.

L.A. County beaches will see daytime highs from 67 to 72 degrees. It'll be between 69 and 76 degrees along the Orange County coast. More inland areas like downtown L.A., Hollywood and Anaheim will see temperatures from 75 to 81 degrees.

Meanwhile, the valleys will see varying temperatures. Areas closer to the coast will see highs from 78 to 83 degrees, and further inland, temps will stay in the upper 80s, up to 89 degrees.

Meanwhile in Coachella Valley, temperatures will rise to 101 to 106 degrees.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the valleys will reach the 90s for Mother's Day, up to 100 degrees in the Antelope Valley too. Come Sunday, an Extreme Heat Warning kicks in for the Coachella Valley, where temperatures will stay in the low 100s, with up to 109 degrees possible. Make sure to stay hydrated!

Jessica Wang has experienced delay after delay for nearly two years as she tried to open Gu Grocery in Chinatown. Her father, a contractor, had told her it would take nine months.

Instead, she says, there have been issues with city permits, inspectors, inaccurate information, illness and wayward appliance installers which have pushed things back.

The community didn't take nearly as long. In two weeks, 134 donors contributed nearly $12,000 to keep Wang afloat. But money can't solve her problem — she still needs the city's approval to open the doors.

Wang signed the lease at the end of 2023, envisioning a Chinese-Taiwanese grocery store and community hub where seniors could use EBT to buy fresh tofu, where kids from nearby elementary schools could stop by after class, and where her mother, Peggy, could teach neighbors how to make their grandmother's pickles.

Now, more than two years into a five-year lease, and nearly out of money after paying for permits, buildout, and rent on a space she can't operate, Wang launched a GoFundMe campaign a few weeks ago. The response showed the community believes in Gu Grocery and wants to see it succeed. But she's still waiting for at least seven final inspections by the city before she can open.

The story of Gu

The name "Gu" carries layered meaning: the character 菇 means "mushroom" in Chinese, a traditional symbol of prosperity, while the sound "gu" also means "auntie" in Mandarin — honoring intergenerational caretakers. Wang's mission for the space is to provide a place to purchase Chinese-Taiwanese pantry staples and prepared foods, and to host community workshops.

The communal aspect is central to Wang's vision of social entrepreneurship, not solely focused on profit. In addition to workshops, Gu Grocery plans to accept EBT and offer senior discounts for those on fixed incomes.

"I wanted a space where I could share knowledge and share culture and also just learn from the community," Wang said.

Ultimately, she hopes to convert the store into a worker-owned co-op.

Wang grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and worked as a pastry chef at San Francisco's State Bird Provisions before a pre-diabetic diagnosis at age 29 prompted her return to L.A. She began volunteering with API Forward Movement, a local nonprofit focused on health equity and food access in AAPI communities, and saw firsthand the need during COVID food distributions at L.A. State Historic Park.

Chinatown had lost its last two full-service grocery stores in 2019. Last fall, the neighborhood lost another: Yue Wa Market, a small produce shop that had served residents for 18 years before rising rent and pandemic losses forced it to shut its doors. The closures hit especially hard in a neighborhood where, according to American Community Survey data, half of the residents are low-income and one in five are seniors 65 and older — many of whom rely on walking to shop.

Jessica Wang (center, in black) and her mother Peggy (left, in white and red) smile while serving customers at a farmer's market pop-up for Gu Grocery.

(

Daniel Nguyen

/

Courtesy Gu Grocery

)

Permitting woes

Much of bringing Gu Grocery to reality has been made possible by support from Wang's friends and family. Her father, Willie Wang, serves as her general contractor. When plans were submitted to the city in March 2024, he told her the buildout would take nine months if everything went smoothly.

Instead, she’s experienced delays from all directions, from slow bureaucracy, to issues with contractors. A hood installation contractor rescheduled multiple times, she said, then doubled his price the day before a rescheduled appointment. Drywall contractors said their workers had been detained by ICE and never returned.

The process hasn't just taken time — it's been expensive. One inspector approved a makeup air unit for the kitchen hood system, she said, only to have a senior inspector overturn the decision and order a complete replacement at nearly $6,000. Her father paid out of pocket — even as he was recovering from March surgery to remove a cancerous lung growth.

"Who would have thought that something an inspector asked us to do would be completely overturned by another inspector?" Wang said. "That's just so wild."

LAist has reached out to the city's Department of Building Services for comment but has not heard back.

The financial toll

Wang estimates she's spent more than $200,000 so far — more than $100,000 on buildout and permits alone, plus a full year of rent on a space she can't operate, equipment, insurance and taxes.

She draws no income from Gu Grocery. To cover personal expenses, she teaches fermentation workshops through her other business, Picklepickle, though that work has been inconsistent lately. Her health insurance doubled this year. The GoFundMe money, she said, is a "rainy day fund" in case she needs it to pay future bills.

The financial strain has touched her entire family. Her mother, who received a small inheritance when Wang's grandparents died, got scammed late last year trying to grow that money to help with the store. Targeted through online ads, she was convinced by an "investment tutor" based in Taiwan to hand over cash to a stranger in a parking lot.

"I didn't realize this would become part of what it's like to have aging parents in the age of technology," Wang said. "But it's scary how they get targeted."

Black sesame noodles from Gu Grocery's popup menu. Wang uses black sesame for higher nutritional value and plans to offer the dish as one of the prepared foods when the store opens.

(

Aunty J

/

Courtesy Gu Grocery

)

Rice balls with house pickles from a Gu Grocery pop-up. Wang has been teaching fermentation and pickling workshops for 15 years and plans to serve pickles alongside all meals when the store opens.

(

Aunty J.

/

Courtesy Gu Grocery

)

Addressing Chinatown's needs

Once Gu Grocery opens, it won't operate as a full-service market — there won't be a meat counter. Instead, it will function like a corner store with a focus on healthy prepared foods: butter mochi, sesame noodles and daily congee.

"Something that Chinatown has never had was prepared food that is EBT eligible," Wang said.

In 2020, Wang surveyed seniors through API Forward Movement's Tai Chi fitness program to understand their shopping habits following the closure of local grocery stores. Many told her they now ride the bus to Super King on San Fernando Road in Glendale, nearly 5 miles away, for produce deals, or rely on family members to drive them to 99 Ranch in Alhambra. Some grow their own food in gardening plots, Wang said, "but they can't produce everything they need."

Willie Wang (left), Jessica Wang (center), and Peggy Wang (right) pose inside Gu Grocery. The signs display the store's values in both English and Chinese — Willie's reads "body health" and Peggy's reads "mushroom auntie," playing on the dual meaning of "gu."

(

Daniel Nguyen

/

Courtesy Gu Grocery

)

The community response

When she launched her Go FundMe in mid-April, she was overwhelmed by the response. "I have a hard time asking for help," said Wang. "So actually receiving help, it's very moving."

The donors range from former pop-up customers and friends to a range of assorted well-wishers — a musician who had her food once at an event, fellow food business owners, farmer's market regulars and even her insurance agent.

"The generosity is beyond my expectations," Wang said. "Some of these people only had my food once. People are showing their support truly in a personal way and really believing in the vision."

The GoFundMe money helps Wang stay "afloat for now," but she's had to rethink her opening strategy. She won't be able to afford full inventory when she opens. Instead, she plans a phased opening: prepared foods only, served through a takeout window, then using revenue to slowly stock shelves with the retail items she originally envisioned.

The community raised more than $14,000 in three weeks. After nearly two years of delays, Wang is still waiting for permits. She hopes to open by Father's Day — her general contractor dad's birthday. But she's learned to expect the unexpected.

Many donors sent her direct messages saying simply: "We got this, Jess, we got you."