Missing You at Christmas

Zac and Carol, Christmas 2005

Christmas with Zac 2009

Christmas with Zac and cousin Claire, 2005

Christmas with Zac and cousin Olivia, 2008

We miss you, Zac. 

Six Months

This Friday, Christmas Eve, will mark the six-month anniversary of Zac's senseless killing. It will also mark our first Christmas without Zac.

We will remember him and observe the anniversary of his death with a special holiday vigil on Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24th, at 5:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on the southeast corner of Zelzah and Chatsworth in Granada Hills.

Please join us as we stop to take a moment to remember Zac Champommier and the wonderful person he grew up to be (thanks to Carol). Let's take the opportunity to be together, as his extended family, and once again pledge ourselves to seeking justice for Zac.

If you knew Zac, or if you're just now meeting Zac and learning about his story... all are welcome to join us.

Merry Christmas.

More truths

From text accompanying this video elsewhere:

Here is a great example of an activist attorney who does what is required to bring the issues into public view where they can be debated and opinions can be formed. In this broadcast, a former police officer discusses how it is against NYPD policy to shoot at a moving vehicle unless the driver presents some other threat (e.g., a gun, bomb, etc.). This must be national policy as it relates to the car-as-deadly-weapon scenario. It must be one of the goals we strive to achieve. The video also includes images of Doug Zerby who was killed last week by police who, as in Zac's case, failed to announce their presence. They, as in case, came to the worst conclusion possible. The police concluded that the water hose nozzle Doug held was a gun. They apparently gave no warning before they shot. Doug apparently didn't even know they were there.

So, we unfortunately have to welcome Doug's family and friends. We all knew the day would come, as it will surely come again.

I hope the writer who penned this is wrong; unfortunately, s/he'll most likely be proven right sooner rather than later.

Five Months

It's been more than five months since Zac's killing and the Sheriff's report on Zac's case is now in the hands of the District Attorney's office which is reviewing it for "penal code infractions."

What you should also know is that the Sheriff's Department recently made the following statements to Zac's mother:

• The shot that killed Zac was fired by a DEA agent.
• Law enforcement officers were indeed debriefing in the public parking lot after serving a warrant elsewhere.
• The deputies were NOT in uniform, NOT in any marked law enforcement vehicles and did NOT identify themselves to Zac; he probably never knew they were officers.
• Zac broke no laws; he did nothing wrong.

 I think the last one is kind of big: the Sheriff's Department has confirmed ZAC BROKE NO LAWS. HE DID NOTHING WRONG.  ALSO - NO CHARGES WERE FILED AGAINST THE MAN DEPUTIES HAD DETAINED MOMENTS BEFORE ZAC WAS KILLED.

I think that's as close to a public retraction we're going to get from Baca regarding his statement that Zac bore some measure of fault in his own killing by "striking an officer." 

"He did nothing wrong." - straight from the horse's mouth. 

Christmas Eve will note the six month anniversary of Zac's death.  

 

Granada Hills Highlanders Tribute to Zac

During the annual Granada Hills High School Marching Band Competition this weekend, the Highlander Marching Band (present and former band members) took to the field and paid a musical tribute to Zac.

In case you didn't know, Zac was a saxophone player with the Highlander Marching Band; he was also section leader and served as vice-president of the Band Council.

Another family searching for Truth

A slideshow of Zac's Altar

Zac's Altar

Zac's Altar

It was a very special day; created by many special friends. We spent the day with magic all around us and met and spoke with hundreds of people all day. We shared stories about Zac and so many people learned for themselves what a great kid he was. Many of them left Zac's altar weeping. Even now, he still moves us and inspires us and we'll still keep fighting for justice for you, Zac. 

More pictures coming soon.

Our Friend Zac

The Justice for Zac site has been getting a lot of traffic from back East, and we are saddened that we are.  Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Danroy Henry.

For those of you who are friends of Danroy's , this is our friend Zac Champommier. Zac was killed June 24, by plainclothes law enforcement officers as he was exiting a parking lot behind an upscale shopping/eating destination on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City, California.

He was only 18 years old, just graduated with honors from Granada Hills Charter High School, was a leader in the Granada High School Highlander Marching Band. He was raised by his mother, an elementary school teacher in the San Fernando Valley. Zac was her only child.

We're still waiting for answers.

Here's the video which was played at Zac's memorial service.

Zac's Altar

Work has been started on Zac's altar for the Dia de los Muertos event at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. We hope you are able to visit his altar and learn more about Zac and what a great person he was.

Dia de los Muertos Celebration - October 30th 2:00 p.m. to Midnight

Hollywood Forever Cemetery
6000 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90038




Here's a link for information on admission, parking and events scheduled for the day! 

Thank You

Assemblyman Mike Feuer (Dist. 42) and Assemblyman Mike Gatto (Dist. 43)

It isn't always easy being the first one to stand up for a cause, especially one so clouded by layers of external complexity, but we are grateful to someone who has shown tremendous fearlessness, leadership and the ability to get things done for taking the time to read and learn more about Zac and his life, as well as about his death and the circumstances surrounding it:

Thank you to Assemblyman Mike Gatto of District 43 for being the first elected official to join the In Memory of Zac Champommier Facebook page. 


We here at the blog are very happy and thankful that he did. Here's a link to Assemblyman Gatto's Facebook  page. Please stop by his page and thank him personally.  Tell him what a great kid Zac was and that we need more help from people like him to make sure that this can never happen to another person, another family, another community, ever again.

Who's next, L.A.? Team Zac would love all of our elected officials to read more about Zac's story and join our Facebook group.

Time to bulk up

At over 1,000+ members, the In Memory of Zac Champommier Facebook group is a bona fide grass roots movement, and if  at least HALF of those members were registered voters.... well now we're looking at not only a grass roots movement, but a grassroots political voting block and those tend to grow rather rapidly with enough organization and nurturing.

Thankfully, Zac has lots of friends who have studied with various legendary community organizers and activists, and we're told now is the time for us to "bulk up" politically so that we can flex our collective voting muscle come election time.

How can you help?  Join the Zac Political Party -- REGISTER TO VOTE!

If you are 18, it's time for you to register to vote!  Our friends at Rock the Vote are here to help! Here's a little bit about Rock the Vote and their organization (from their website):

Rock the Vote's mission is to engage and build political power for young people in our country.

Founded twenty years ago at the intersection of popular culture and politics, Rock the Vote is growing its team and its campaigns in 2010, to support the tidal wave of young people who want to get involved in elections and seize the power of the youth vote to create political and social change.

Over the last two decades, Rock the Vote has registered more young people to vote than any other organization or campaign, and we intend to register and turn out millions more in 2010 – and to be the best-informed place online where young people can find out what they need to know before casting a ballot.

After years of declining participation at the polls, a new generation of young voters has arrived. Millions of new voters between the ages of 18 – 29 cast ballots in 2004, 2006, and 2008. Rock the Vote is dedicated to building the political power and clout of the Millennial Generation by registering and turning out young people, by forcing the candidates to campaign to them, and by making politicians pay attention to youth and the issues they care about once in office.

If any of the local politicans in both Porter Ranch where Zac lived (Los Angeles Council District 12, Congressional District 27) or Studio City where Zac was killed (Council District 2, Congressional District 28) would like to speak with us about our support and possible endorsement for your candidacy or upcoming re-election (hello Mitch Englander, Brad Smith, Brad Sherman , whom we've spoken to and have been impressed with his time and consideration to our cause, and  Mark Reed!), drop us a line: justitia dot vobis at gmail dot com and we'll talk.

800 1000 and climbing

Noted: The Zac Champommier Memorial Facebook group has reached the 800 1000 member level. 1000 2000 is just around the corner!

If you haven't joined the Facebook group, now is a great time; click the link above and while you're at it, check out the Official T-Shirt of Team Zac. 

If you're already a member, why not invite your friends to join Zac's page, too? Let's see how long it takes to get to 1000  2000!

Getting out of our foxholes

Zac's case was recently mentioned on a radio program. Please take a listen:

At the Police Commissioners meeting

Board of Police Commissioners meeting room

(click on photo to enlarge)

Some of Zac's friends made a trip downtown recently and spoke to the Police Commission about the events that occurred on the evening of June 24, 2010. We made some other visits too that day. We'll tell you more about those visits later.

You know, anyone can speak before the Police Commission. They aren't scary and they don't bite. See for yourselves; here's a video clip of that meeting -- click here. Fast forward to the 15 minute mark.

Who sits on the Police Commission board? Well, that would be:

		President John Mack Former President of the Los Angeles Urban League  Vice President Alan J. Skobin Vice President and General Counsel of Galpin Motors Commissioner Richard E. Drooyan Partner in the law firm of Munger, Tolles and Olsen Commissioner Robert M. Saltzman Associate Dean at USC Law School Commissioner Debra Wong Yang Partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Los Angeles office

And what is the purpose of the Police Commission? 

from the LAPD website: 

Under the City Charter, the Board of Police Commissioners is the head of the Police Department. The Board sets overall policy while the Chief of Police manages the daily operations of the Department and implements the Board’s policies or policy direction and goals.

Studio City Shooting - Meet Zac

Here's a video montage of Zac Champommier that was made by a friend and shown at his memorial service. It pretty much captures Zac's essence: sweet, loyal, fun, devoted son and friend, inspired musician, honors student... innocent, beautiful boy. He was all those things and more. Zachary Champommier was shot and killed by law enforcement officers on June 24, 2010 in Studio City, California. He was only 18.

Studio City Shooting - Zachary Champommier

Laurel Canyon & Ventura Blvd., Studio City

 a.k.a. "High Intensity Drug Traffic Area''  

Oh really?

If you've arrived here from a Google search of  "Studio City Shooting" after seeing a rather diverse group of family and friends holding vigil on the streets of Studio City in honor of 18-year-old recent Granada Hills Charter High School graduate Zachary Champommier, you've come to the right place.


There are some handy links on the left which you can click to read more about Zac's story. We  hope you'll come back and visit; we'd like you to get to know Zac and so we'll post some more about him soon. Until then, please bookmark this site and visit often for the latest news and action updates. Thank you for visiting -- Zac would be happy you did.

August 6th Vigil for Awareness

Some video from today's Vigil for Awareness for Zachary Champommier

Beep beep for Zac!



Family and friends line the streets of Studio City to raise awareness for Zac Champommier.




At the end of the vigil, a friend of Zac's takes to the bagpipes for a touching rendition of Amazing Grace.