Josie Montoya

If you see Josie Montoya coming, you can bet she wants something. Canned food for the poor. Money to bury a poor woman's child. Someone to listen when she complains that the police or local government is stepping on her neighbors' civil rights. For most of her 58 years, Montoya has taken it upon herself to help people who live in poor neighborhoods of Anaheim and Santa Ana.

Josie Montoya, tireless defender of the poor in wealthy Orange County, has died. Montoya, 60, of Anaheim, fought against police brutality, domestic abuse and discrimination against illegal immigrants and the homeless. She founded two Anaheim youth centers, a food program and counseled thousands of needy people. She died early Saturday of complications from diabetes at Kindred Hospital in Brea, relatives said. "I'm tired," she told one of her grandchildren Friday evening. "I'm just very tired."

Regarding April 3 story "Fatal Shooting by Officer Is Investigated," it should be mentioned that no other local, state or federal agency has fully investigated this case other than the internal affairs unit of the Santa Ana Police Department. That body is hardly considered to be fair and impartial, given the fact it has the task of investigating abuse and misconduct committed by officers who are co-workers, friends and associates of those doing the investigating. Despite efforts to discredit Marc Creighton Block [attorney for the victim's family]

Josie Montoya is so used to giving help she had trouble asking for it. The Anaheim community activist has been suffering from worsening health problems that have strained her monthly budget of $700 from Social Security. Her arms had turned black and blue from repeated punctures for her twice-weekly dialysis treatments, the result of decades-old diabetes. In less than three months, she had undergone five operations to keep her blood properly filtered. She takes seven pills a day.

Josie Montoya is so used to giving help she had trouble asking for it. The Anaheim community activist has been suffering from worsening health problems that have strained her monthly budget of $700 from Social Security. Her arms had turned black and blue from repeated punctures for her twice-weekly dialysis treatments, the result of decades-old diabetes. In less than three months, she had undergone five operations to keep her blood properly filtered. She takes seven pills a day.

Josie Montoya, tireless defender of the poor in wealthy Orange County, has died. Montoya, 60, of Anaheim, fought against police brutality, domestic abuse and discrimination against illegal immigrants and the homeless. She founded two Anaheim youth centers, a food program and counseled thousands of needy people. She died early Saturday of complications from diabetes at Kindred Hospital in Brea, relatives said. "I'm tired," she told one of her grandchildren Friday evening. "I'm just very tired."

Three Latino activists who were the subject of secret police dossiers in the late 1990s have settled their federal civil rights lawsuit with the city of Anaheim for $50,000. The settlement, approved Tuesday by the Anaheim City Council, closes a two-year investigation into the Anaheim Police Department. A state inquiry into the department in July found no evidence that police had spied on residents in the late 1990s, including two political activists who are now City Council members.

Members of United Neighborhoods renewed calls Wednesday for a civilian police review board to address what they say is continuing tension between the Latino community and law enforcement agencies. "It's something that we're very determined to bring about," said Josie Montoya, co-founder of the Anaheim-based group, formed last year to look into allegations of civil rights violations by police. Anaheim Police Capt.

The 170 preschoolers in this year's Head Start program almost didn't get a graduation party. Because of a tight budget, "we thought two months ago we wouldn't be able to give the children anything," said Josie Montoya, a parent coordinator for the federally funded social development program. So Montoya and other volunteers mobilized, staging a fund-raising benefit carnival, helping the children raise money with a walkathon and seeking donations from businesses.

A Latino activist who has sued Anaheim's police chief over an internal background report that he claims defamed him and violated his civil rights, said Wednesday he hopes the action will serve as a wake-up call to police departments everywhere. "I think this was tremendously dishonorable," said Amin David, chairman of the Latino rights group Los Amigos of Orange County, who filed the lawsuit last week along with two other residents.

Regarding April 3 story "Fatal Shooting by Officer Is Investigated," it should be mentioned that no other local, state or federal agency has fully investigated this case other than the internal affairs unit of the Santa Ana Police Department. That body is hardly considered to be fair and impartial, given the fact it has the task of investigating abuse and misconduct committed by officers who are co-workers, friends and associates of those doing the investigating. Despite efforts to discredit Marc Creighton Block [attorney for the victim's family]

If you see Josie Montoya coming, you can bet she wants something. Canned food for the poor. Money to bury a poor woman's child. Someone to listen when she complains that the police or local government is stepping on her neighbors' civil rights. For most of her 58 years, Montoya has taken it upon herself to help people who live in poor neighborhoods of Anaheim and Santa Ana.

Community service and activism has been Josie Montoya's life since she started volunteering for her church at age 16. "It's a way of life for me," said Montoya, 57, born and reared in Anaheim. "I learned from my father. He always gave people a hand up--he gave whatever he could. He had 10 children, and we were a poor family. But he always had the time and resources to help others. I learned that we are our brothers' keepers." Montoya and Benny A. Diaz Jr.

Community leaders asked the City Council on Monday for a "just and impartial" investigation into a police shooting that left one man dead during a stolen-car investigation. "This death has been seen in the community as something that shouldn't have happened," said Josie Montoya, a spokeswoman for Los Amigos, the countywide community service organization calling for the investigation. "We lost somebody over an incident that could have been handled in a different manner."