A group of young people in Antioch, California have embarked on a hunger strike to demand that the Antioch Police Department rescind the hire of Officer Michael Mellone, who departed the San Francisco Police Department after being one of two officers who fatally shot Luis Gongora Pat in San Francisco’s Mission District.

The six young people are using the hashtag #6Forced2Strike. You can provide financial support to the hunger strikers here.

Mellone quit his job in San Francisco shortly before internal discipline was to start and applied for and was hired in Antioch. Senate Bill 731, which failed to get a hearing in the CA Assembly on August 31 would have introduced a decertification process for CA officer misconduct. CA is one of only 5 US states that cannot currrently decertify police officers.

To keep up to date with the status of the strike, check in with:

Justice Advocates and Resources of East County (JAR)

Make a Stand in Your Community

Hunger Strike Antioch