Officers Assaulted While Breaking Up Student Fight at Entrepreneur High School; Viral Video Prompts Investigation
By Manny Sandoval
Afight between three female students at Entrepreneur High School in Highland escalated Thursday afternoon, April 24, when two San Bernardino City Unified School District police officers were assaulted while attempting to break up the altercation — a moment captured on cellphone video that quickly spread across TikTok, X, and other platforms.
The incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. in the school’s parking lot. Video filmed by a bystander shows the students striking and yelling at each other as officers attempt to intervene. The confrontation intensifies when one of the teens pulls a female officer by the hair, prompting the male officer to tackle the other student to the ground. Several adults also appear during the fight, with at least one seemingly joining the altercation.
According to the video, both officers were physi-
Colton
By Colton PD
Tcally assaulted. The students were eventually subdued, handcuffed, and taken into custody after backup officers arrived. Their names have not been released due to their age.
Much of the public response in the comment sections commended the officers — particularly the male and female officers involved — for demonstrating restraint during the highly charged situation.
Inland Empire Community News contacted SBCUSD Communications Director MaryRone Goodwin by phone on Friday, April 25, and followed up via email with questions regarding student disciplinary actions, whether the officers’ response aligned with law enforcement policy, and to confirm whether one of the adults seen in the video was a parent of one or both of the girls involved.
As of publication, neither Goodwin nor the district has responded.
The incident remains under investigation.
Police Department Holding Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operation May 1, 2025
he Colton Police Department will have additional officers on patrol on May 1, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Their focus will be specifically on identifying violations committed by drivers and motorcycle riders.
The primary factors contributing to motorcycle crashes include unsafe speed, improper turning, right-of-way violations, driving under the influence, and unsafe lane changes.
Among these, speeding is the most common cause, accounting for nearly one-third of all crashes in the state.
To help protect you and your family, keep the following tips in mind while driving or riding:
Drivers:
Always check twice for motorcycles in your mirrors and blind spots.
Use your signal when changing lanes.
Never follow a motorcycle too closely. Always keep a safe distance.
When at an intersection, allow enough space before turning.
Motorcyclists:
Always wear a DOT compliant helmet and protective gear.
Consider adding reflective tape to make it easier for other drivers to see you.
Always keep your lights on, even during the day.
Don’t assume drivers see you; signal well in advance before changing lanes and watch for turning vehicles.
Although lane splitting is legal, the practice is not encouraged at high speeds in free-flowing traffic.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In the CSU, the Threat to Higher Education is Coming from Inside the House
By Dr. Thomas F. Corrigan, professor
This Thursday, April 17, Cal State San Bernardino faculty, staff, and students will demonstrate against the austerity and authoritarianism gripping our university and U.S. higher education generally.
The rally is part of a National Day of Action for Higher Education, and the stakes couldn't be higher.
In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has gutted the Department of Education and federal research programs while weaponizing investigations, federal funding, and visas in an attempt to cow universities, their faculty, and students.
At CSUSB, vital research grants have been canceled, including the U-RISE program, which prepared students for Ph.D.s in biomedical fields. The Department of Education also launched a dubious investigation into CSUSB's alleged involvement in The PhD Project—a program that helps Black and Latino students pursue business degrees. CSUSB international students are among the hundreds nationwide who have had their visas revoked for things like minor traffic infractions. And undocumented students study and live amid the persistent threat of ICE raids.
This is more than reckless costcutting, xenophobia, and bigotry—it is also straight out of the fascist playbook. Because colleges and universities specialize in independent thought, they represent a challenge to authoritarian power. So, Trump seeks to bring us to heel.
Trump is not the only threat to higher education, though. In the CSU system, the Chancellor's Office and campus administrations are engaged in their own austerity and authoritarianism.
The CSU claims that California’s tight budget requires campuses to take aggressive "budget mitigation" measures. At Sonoma State, 21 academic programs were eliminated, and at least 46 faculty won’t have contracts re-
newed. Eight other CSU campuses have received faculty layoff notices.
At CSUSB, it’s more a “death by a thousand cuts.” Widespread course cancellations have left many part-time lecturers (who are disproportionately women and people of color) without work, and students without needed classes. Administrators pack the remaining courses with more students than are pedagogically appropriate. Campus offices operate with overworked, skeleton staffs. Faculty research time has evaporated, and some are being told not to print their exams!
Yet, at California Faculty Association’s San Bernardino chapter, we refer to this as a “so-called budget crisis.” Why? As California Faculty Association’s March 2025 report, Short-changing Students, shows, the CSU has reduced investment in instruction while increasing spending on management, campus police, investment portfolios, and new facilities.
The figures are staggering. Chancellor García’s compensation approaches $1 million annually, and her office’s budget is up 116% over the past decade. Campus presidents recently received raises of up to 29%, and CSUSB President Tomás Morales’s compensation was $638,000 in 2023—more than twice the Governor's. Meanwhile, CSUSB’s management personnel headcount is up 50% since 2010, even though enrollment has remained flat. At the end of the last academic year, the CSU sat on an incredible $11.6 billion in reserves, investments, and cash. And this year, the CSU entered into a controversial $17 million deal to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu service throughout the curriculum—and they did so without any faculty consultation. Some “budget crisis,” huh?
The CSU has an authoritarian streak, too. In response to last year’s campus protests against the genocide in Gaza, the CSU has used an interim “Time, Place, and Manner” policy to crack down on inconvenient campus expression.
Read more at IECN.com.
This video still captures a female student approaching the female officer from behind and pulling her hair.
How Artists of Color Are Reclaiming the Inland Empire Through Art
By Marlena Brown, Contributing Writer
In a region often overshadowed by nearby creative capitals, a quiet but powerful cultural movement has been unfolding in the Inland Empire in recent years. It’s happening not in corporate galleries or glossy museums, but in street-facing spaces, community corners, and coffee-scented art collectives.
It is a movement being led by men of color who are visual artists, musicians, educators, and storytellers. They are reshaping what it means to create art, build community, and reflect the soul of a place.
For Michael Segura, it started with graffiti. For Cam Gnarly, with a song sung at his grandmother’s kitchen table. For Duan Kellum, it was live screen-printing at a San Bernardino event. For Francis Almendarez, it was the realization that his family's untold stories held as much value as anything hanging in a gallery.
Their mediums may differ - paint, poetry, beats, and moving images but they share a common truth: that art is more than expression. It’s a tool for visibility. A weapon for transformation. A bridge between people and power.
At the heart of this movement is a deep connection to place. Not just in terms of geography, but in how the land, its people, and its layered histories shape the artists’ work and sense of purpose. For each of them, the Inland Empire is more than a location, it is both canvas and collaborator.
“Art is how we build the world we want to live in,” says Segura, the Executive Director of the Garcia Center for the Arts.
That world wasn’t handed to him, it was organized, painted, and power-washed into existence by volunteers and visionaries like himself. Before the center was officially open, Segura and a group of young community organizers gathered to clean the space, paint its walls, and begin imagining what it could become.
“We just showed up and put in the work,” he recalls. “The first studio I ever had was right here. That space helped me get into my MFA program at the University of New Mexico.”
This blend of artistry and activism runs deep in the Inland Empire’s creative landscape. It’s what you’ll find at Creative Grounds, a studio located in downtown San Bernardino, co-founded by Duan Kellum, a former teacher turned full-time artist. Kellum and his creative partner, Jay, created the kind of art space they would want to hang out in.
“It was kind of selfish at first,” Kellum laughs. “We
just wanted a place we would like and want to hang out all the time. But turns out a lot of other people needed that too.”
Now, Creative Grounds hosts screen-printing classes, community art shows, open mics, and Friday morning coffee pop-ups that double as artist salons.
“We’ve had poets crying during spoken word, DJs spinning outside, and families painting over hate speech with love,” Kellum says. “And somehow, it all makes sense here.”
That sense of community, of people gathering around art to connect, grieve, and grow also pulses through the music of Cam Gnarly, a San Bernardino-born artist whose blend of hip-hop, soul, and melody is deeply personal.
“When I was little, my grandma would make us sing at the dinner table,” he says. “That was the first time I saw people respond to me emotionally through music.”
His early love of music led him through choir, school plays, and eventually into freestyle sessions at college parties. “I blended my love for music, singing and freestyling. I realized my voice was my instrument,” Gnarly recalls. “Once I started leaning into that, I knew I wanted to make music.”
Gnarly’s music is rooted in emotional honesty, his lyrics touching on joy, heartbreak, and the journey in between. “We’re all just trying to make sense of ourselves,” he says. “If I can do that through music, maybe it helps someone else do the same.”
That same spirit of self-reflection guides the work of Francis Almendarez, an interdisciplinary artist and assistant professor at Cal State San Bernardino, who uses photography, sound, and video to archive the stories often left out of textbooks and art history.
“I grew up in South Central L.A., watching TV that didn’t reflect me,” Almendarez says. “So, I started asking: where are our stories? Who’s telling them?”
For Almendarez, storytelling is survival. His work often includes collaboration with family; his mom, dad, and aunts whose lived experiences become part of the art itself. “Sometimes the process of creating art heals more than the finished piece,” he says. “It’s a way of honoring one another, reclaiming memory, and passing it forward.”
In the Inland Empire, those memories matter. “Spaces like the Garcia Center or Creative Grounds, those are our archives” Almendarez adds. “They carry wisdom you don’t find in books. They hold our histories.”
In a place where creative infrastructure has historically been underfunded, each of these artists are building something lasting. Whether through murals that spark conversation, music that moves emotions, or workshops that pass on the tools of expression.
“It’s not about institutions validating us,” Almendarez says. “We validate each other by showing up, by creating, by continuing the work.”
Each artist’s work has grown out of a personal journey, but their paths intersect around shared values: authenticity, accessibility, and a deep commitment to holding space for others.
From organizing art walks and mural projects to mayoral forums and park cleanups, Segura’s mission was clear: reclaim public space through creative expression.
“Somebody told me, ‘You’re a social practice artist,’” Segura recalls. “That clicked. I realized I wasn’t just painting; I was organizing. I was building dialogue. I was using art as a tool for connection and change.”
Using art as a tool for connection and change is something Kellum witnesses firsthand. “We’ve invited local artist to feature their art in our gallery, hosted open mics, Day of the Dead celebrations, youth classes, and even protests against hate,” he says. “We wanted to create a space for the community to come and feel safe and express themselves and they do.”
Gnarly uses art as a tool for self-connection and reflection. “It’s about giving people something honest. Something spiritual. My newer songs are like mantras, musical reminders of faith, perseverance, and self-acceptance. If I’m going to speak, I want it to mean something,” Gnarly says.
Almendarez echoes that urgency. “I don’t want to make work that floats above reality,” he says. “I want it to touch something deep in people, especially those who’ve never seen their lives reflected in art.”
These artists are not only telling their own stories, but they are also building platforms where others can tell theirs.
“You want to change the world,” Kellum says. “But maybe the real power is in changing how someone sees themselves.”
Maybe that’s how movements begin. Not with a grand opening or viral moment, but with four men of color in four different mediums, each finding their voice, and using it to build up the community around them.
PHOTO MICHAEL SEGURA
Micahel Segura and Just SB's co-director, Miriam Nieto at the National Orange Show VIP reception.
PHOTO MICHAEL SEGURA
Duan Kellum conducting a screenprinting/poster making workshop for JUST SB.