Donna Acevedo's son Joel was the second young man killed in a weekend of back-to-back officer-involved shootings in Anaheim last July that rocked the city. She is entitled to seek solace in the refuge of loved ones far away from the public sphere, but Acevedo processed her loss by transforming into a fierce social crusader. Since her son's death, Acevedo has constantly spoken out at council meetings, protested the Anaheim Police Department and Orange County district attorney's office, and even crashed a wine-tasting fund-raiser with Anaheim's elite in the Colony District! Her car, affectionately dubbed “Maynard,” reminds people via its rear window to “FTP: Film the Police.” Armed with a biting sense of humor and profound sense of justice, Acevedo is a lioness and queen of righteous desmadre, one the city has sorely needed for a long, long time.
