Even on her first day as an intern in the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office, the local criminal justice system was already intensely personal for Citlalli Vazquez.
That morning, she awoke to find her car windows shattered from a drive-by shooting outside her parents’ home in Cambodia Town. After quickly filing a police report, Vazquez headed to work, where she was assigned to observe a courtroom with her fellow interns. Inside, by chance, Vazquez found herself watching a case involving two of her friends from middle school. One was facing an attempted murder charge for shooting at the other over a relationship dispute.
“It was really intense, but also sad,” Vazquez, now 25, said. “Sad to see that people who had similar backgrounds as me were in different places.”
Later that day, Vazquez had a conversation with Pastor Gregory Sanders, who has long been an advisor for the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Over the five years since that meeting, Sanders has helped her grapple with the difficulties of making a difference in her community through the proper channels.
“I knew that was my goal but I guess I didn’t realize how heavy that was going to be,” Vazquez said.
On Tuesday, Vazquez took a major step toward achieving her goal when Sanders led the opening prayer at her swearing-in ceremony at Long Beach City Hall: She was now a full-fledged deputy city prosecutor — where she will help handle misdemeanor criminal cases in the city.
Vazquez, whose parents immigrated to Long Beach from Tepechitlán in Zacatecas, Mexico, said two major events in her life propelled her toward becoming a prosecutor, intent on helping administer a justice system she knew was far from perfect.
The year Vazquez was born, 1999, her cousin was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.
She saw first-hand the effect it had on her cousin’s daughter – who was her best friend growing up.
“Because I was so close with her, I was so close to the impact it had on her,” Vazquez said.
Eight years later, her cousin was exonerated after it was revealed that a witness lied at his initial trial. The day and time he allegedly picked up bullets from the scene of an attempted murder, surveillance video showed he was across town getting his taxes done.
Meanwhile, while her aunt was fighting to free Vazquez’s cousin from a malfunctioning justice system, her father was in need of its protection. Because of violence in the neighborhood, he had to wear a bulletproof vest to work at his small convenience store on Atlantic Avenue near Long Beach Poly High School – where Citlalli attended high school.
Tired of dealing with theft from his store, Clemente Vazquez started a community watch program and encouraged increased police patrols in their Central Long Beach neighborhood.
That was met with opposition from local gang members and resulted in threats.
During that time, the family’s cars often had windows smashed and tires popped, Citlalli Vazquez said. It reinforced for her the need for the justice system — not just its failures.
“I think that there’s few people who really truly understand the effects of both sides and I think that’s why I was meant to be a prosecutor,” she said.
Although most have assumed her passion for criminal justice would lead her to become a defense attorney, Citlalli Vazquez said she chose the other side because she “wanted the demographics of prosecution to change.”
Once she settled on that goal, she never wavered.
During high school, she earned enough AP credits to bypass an entire year of college at UC Irvine.
Citalli would record voice memos from her notes and listen to them on car trips.
Her mentality when studying was “I have to be the most prepared person in the room or else I don’t feel confident in myself,” Citlalli Vazquez said.
Those unique preparation methods have paid off. She passed the bar exam on her first attempt.
State Sen. Lena Gonzalez also attended Vazquez’s swearing-in ceremony, complete with a mariachi band and tacos.
“There’s a lot of kids in our community that probably would have never expected to be the next prosecutor, lawyer or state senator if it wasn’t for these opportunities,” Gonzalez said. “I thank our city prosecutor and our city for just saying yes to these internships.”
At the City Prosecutor’s Office, Citlalli Vazquez said she plans to use her lived experience to guide her decision-making.
“In the spirit of equality and justice, both sides of the courtroom need to have people who are passionate about fairness and equality,” she said.
Via email, her father wrote in Spanish that he expects his daughter to have a big effect on Long Beach.
“The impact will be a better life not only for herself but for her community,” her father wrote in an email to the Long Beach Post. “I know she will try to find ways to help her community so there isn’t so much injustice, especially due to people’s economic situations.”