by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

The City of Claremont will release records regarding the death of Diego Rios by January 27.

The 30-year-old Rancho Cucamonga man died November 28, 2025 following a traffic stop and use of force incident by Claremont Police Department officers. The announcement of the records release was made by City Manager Adam Pirrie at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Claremont City Attorney Alisha Patterson at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Diego Rios on November 28, 2025,” Pirrie said. “The Claremont Police Department is fully cooperating with investigators by providing all evidence and information to assist with the investigation. The Los Angeles County medical examiner will determine cause of death and sheriff’s department and district attorney will release the findings in the case after the investigation is complete. California Penal Code Section 832.7 provides for a 60-day deadline to disclose records related to use of force cases under investigation. The city intends to comply by this January 27, 2026 deadline. The family of Diego Rios have also made a request to view records prior to their release publicly, and the police department will work to schedule a time for the family to see records prior to them being released.”

Community members, and Rios’ friends and family continued pushing for transparency at Tuesday’s meeting.

Victor Rios Jr. asked why his younger brother’s belongings, including his vehicle, were still in CPD possession, and when they would be released. CPD Chief Mike Ciszek said the department would, “take a look at that and maybe get it released sometime this week … We’ll talk with the sheriff’s department to make sure they have no other reasons for that and we can release that.”

(L-R) Justin Kennedy and Nate Trevizo at a January 10 rally outside city hall for Diego Rios, who died November 28, 2025 following a traffic stop by Claremont Police Department officers. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Rios’ father, Victor Rios Sr., asked the city for the names of the officers involved in the traffic stop and if they were still on the job.

“I don’t know that we can, at this time, disclose their status with regards to employment,” said City Attorney Alisha Patterson. “That might be something that is protected by personnel confidentiality. I can’t say for sure on the spot, but I think the plan is to release names at the same time that other information is publicly released.”

California Assembly Bill 748 states police have 45 days to disclose police body camera footage in most instances. Patterson claimed AB 748 “… keys off of the date of a request, not the date of an incident. And it gives an agency up to 45 days, but sooner if the records are available sooner. And the city will also comply with that deadline. But that doesn’t supersede the 60-day deadline that gives the agency time to investigate something that is serious and not release information that could jeopardize that investigation.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau continues to lead the investigation, with assistance from CPD and The LA County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division.

The Courier requested surveillance camera footage from Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and Granite Creek Community Church, which are both adjacent to where the traffic stop took place. Granite Creek Community Church teaching pastor Meko Kapchinsky said the church turned over its footage to CPD and was directed by its legal counsel not to release it to anyone else while the investigation in ongoing. Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center spokesperson Amber Brenneisen said it did not have footage of the incident.

Patterson said the city has not been served with a criminal or civil lawsuit related to the case.

Patterson and Ciszek have been in contact with the Rios family’s legal counsel, Arnoldo Casillas of Casillas & Associates.

Rally for transparency

Family, friends, and supporters of Rios gathered outside city hall January 10 for a two-hour rally for transparency, many wearing shirts memorializing him, and say they will be there every Saturday until they get answers from the city.

Family and friends of Diego Rios gathered outside Claremont City Hall January 10 to call for transparency in the investigation into his death. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

It began with a moment of silence for Rios and Renee Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman who was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross January 7 in Minneapolis.

“Diego is a lover, not a fighter,” his brother, Victor Rios Jr., said at the rally. “He was gentle, sometimes to a fault. I used to criticize him for it. He avoided conflict. He avoided aggression. He would’ve been the last person to resist arrest and fight the police. It doesn’t add up.

“Any reasonable person would want to know how their loved one died. Our family wants to know why he died. This community wants to know why he died. And let me be clear that asking for answers is not radical. Asking for transparency is not anti-police. It is the bare minimum … If this were a clear, straightforward situation, we would have seen the body camera footage by now. We’ve all seen it in other cases. They show the timeline. They answer questions. But here, after six weeks, there’s still no body cam, no clear explanation, no transparency. That does not build trust. Silence does not build trust. Delay does not build trust. Transparency does.”

A GoFundMe campaign started by Rios family had raised $21,240 as of Wednesday evening. The fund is earmarked for his burial, an independent autopsy, and potential legal fees. Go to gofundme.com/f/diego-rios-memorial to learn more. An information and memorial page is at facebook.com, search “Justice for Diego.”