At the January meeting, Acosta joined a number of people protesting a plan, proposed by Mayor Allan Mansoor, to have city police trained to enforce immigration law.
Supporters of the enforcement plan, including Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist, also were in the audience.
A city tape of the meeting shows that while speaking to the council, Acosta started to urge those who agreed with him to stand up and continued to tell them to stand after the mayor said it wasn’t allowed.
The mayor called a recess of the meeting. Officers tried to get Acosta to leave and then forcibly escorted him out.
Friday morning, attorneys questioned Costa Mesa Police Officer Dan Guth, who was sergeant at arms for the council meeting and arrested Acosta.
Peelman asked Guth questions to show police saw the meeting as a powder keg, and they arrested Acosta to prevent an explosion.
“We’ve got two sides that are both passionate about an issue, and tension was building inside the council chambers,” Guth said, explaining the mood just before Acosta was escorted out.
He then described how, after refusing to leave several times, Acosta started to walk out with officers guiding him by the arms, but he spun out of their grasp and aggressively grabbed the text of the speech he’d left on the podium.
“At that point you’ve had three different police officers tell Mr. Acosta to leave; he’s refused to leave,” Guth said. “The longer he stays, the more volatile the situation becomes.”
As officers tried to propel Acosta out of the chambers, Guth told the court, he became combative, grabbing the door frame and kicking. Guth said he sustained bruises.
