VISTA —— The sun set Sunday on Townsite park, revealing the glow of dozens of candles lit by community members in remembrance of three men fatally shot by sheriff's deputies in a string of incidents several weeks ago.

Sunday was the one-month anniversary of the first of three deputy-involved shootings that took place between July 28 and Aug. 1 in Vista. About 100 people attended the vigil, double the number organizers expected.

The Coalition for Peace, Justice and Dignity organized the vigil as a way to pay respects to the men and continue to shine a light on the shootings, coalition member Ricardo Flavela said.

Several groups from throughout the county got together after a meeting with city and county officials Aug. 10 in an attempt to organize and mobilize the people in Vista, he said.

Flavela said that as the group does its work, more people are coming to them with stories of alleged abuse by deputies.

At a meeting the coalition organized last week, community members drafted a letter demanding answers to certain questions and calling for an independent review of the Sheriff's Department's policies and training.

Coalition members read the letter to the crowd Sunday in English and Spanish.

"For a month, a cold fear of the sheriff's (deputies), their cars, their uniforms and their guns (has) been embedded into the life of the community," Tina Jillings read solemnly at the vigil. "Yet, it has been one month that this community has awakened."

The letter asked for a series of questions to be answered in writing within five working days. Among them:

- What is the policy for using lethal force?

- What is the training that is taught in the police academies in regard to apprehending suspects and dealing with persons who need psychological attention?

- What specific steps are followed in the process of investigating these cases?

- What forms of discipline and punishment are applied to officers when civil and human rights have been violated?

- What are the statistics of officers assigned to the various communities throughout the city?

- What has happened with the officers involved in each of the shootings?

The letter is going to be presented to city staff soon and sent to Sheriff Bill Kolender, station Capt. Rob Ahern and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, coalition members said.

Friends and family members of the three men attended Sunday's vigil, some reading prayers and poems.

A brightly decorated makeshift altar showcased pictures of two of the men, Jorge Ramirez, 26, and Jesus Eduardo Manzo, 23. A picture of the third man who was killed by deputies, Sergio Garcia Vaszquez, 32, was unavailable, so coalition members made a plaque in his memory.

The Sheriff's Department has refused to discuss specifics of the three cases until investigations are complete, though they have said all three men were uncooperative with deputies. Department personnel have said that Manzo and Vaszquez ran from deputies who repeatedly ordered them to stop and that deputies only fired shots when they thought each man was reaching for a weapon. Ramirez was aggressive toward three deputies and reportedly threw a dumbbell at one of them, authorities said.

The coalition is planning a similar vigil every month until the Sheriff's Department has completed its investigation into the shootings, which is expected to take up to six months. Small, loosely organized vigils are also being planned for tonight and Thursday, the anniversaries of the last two shootings.

"The community is united," said Mario Moreno, one of the organizers of the vigil. "The community is keeping this alive."

Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 761-4414 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.