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Multiple residents urge police accountability after July 4 confrontation at Martinez block party
Summary
Several Gonzales residents described an incident at a July 4 block party in which officers restrained an autistic teenager, accused the Martinez family of interfering, and arrested a family member; speakers called for training, oversight and accountability.
During the public‑comment portion of the July 21 Gonzales City Council meeting, several residents described a July 4 incident at a Martinez family block party and urged the council and police department to investigate and adopt new training and accountability measures.
Henry Martinez Jr., a party host, told the council he filmed an incident on his property and said officers “came into my yard” and pointed guns at children and neighbors. He said his husband was arrested on what Martinez Jr. called an incorrect probation claim and said the family had received death threats and slurs on social media. “This has to stop,” Martinez said.
April Martinez said officers failed to de‑escalate and “kept touching” a teenage guest who told them he was autistic and did not want to be touched; she said her husband “should never got arrested” and called for officers to be held accountable and retrained. Arturo Scribe described being threatened with a taser after trying to help remove the minor from the situation. Andrew Martinez and Harry Martinez III said family members intervened to protect a rookie officer and said they were met with force; Andrew Martinez said Officer Perez pointed a gun at him.
Several other speakers echoed those accounts and pressed for an investigation and improved training. Pepper Osmeligan summarized calls for “accountability” and “real consequences for misconduct,” saying the family’s treatment felt “racial” and “targeted harassment.” Vanessa Marroquin said she witnessed officers ignoring the teen’s repeated statements that he was autistic and said the scene escalated to arrests and weapons drawn in front of children.
Other commenters raised broader community concerns about policing and social media posts. One speaker said a former mayor posted that people present “should have been shot,” and speakers said they had not seen an investigation into that social‑media post.
Council members did not take action during the meeting; the public‑comment period is a forum for residents to address council and the council stated it would not comment or take action at that time. No police department statement or investigation outcome was presented at the meeting.
Speakers asked the council to require de‑escalation and disability‑aware training for officers, to investigate alleged social media threats, and to report back to the community.
