VISTA —— About 150 people came together Saturday in Townsite Park to discuss ways to respond to and deal with three recent fatal deputy-involved shootings in Vista.

Residents and activists demanded an independent audit of the Sheriff's Department and accused deputies of racial profiling. All three of the men shot to death by deputies were young Latinos. Sheriff's Department personnel have repeatedly denied that race played any role in the shootings.

The Vista City Council is scheduled to discuss whether to seek an independent audit of the Sheriff's Department's policies on the use of force, when it meets Tuesday.

As the sun began to set Saturday evening, dozens of representatives from various human rights and Latino groups spoke at the Townsite gathering, which was organized by several activist groups.

The gathering was a calm but passionate follow-up to a loud and tense Aug. 10 community meeting sponsored by the Sheriff's Department and city of Vista.

Unlike the previous meeting, no city or county officials spoke at Saturday's event, though City Councilmen Frank Lopez and Stephen Gronke attended, along with at least a couple of plain-clothes sheriff's deputies.

"We need some changes," Lopez said after the event. "We need to work on things here."

Reached by telephone Saturday night, Mayor Morris Vance said he decided not to attend the event —— during which Spanish was spoken almost exclusively —— because he doesn't speak the language. He added that the event was an opportunity for speakers to express themselves without city officials around. Lopez said council members were not directly invited to the gathering.

The shootings have prompted action from the Latino community in Vista and throughout Southern California.

The area will soon have its first League of United Latin American Citizens council, said Gilberto Flores, executive director of the Orange County chapter of the league.

"We're here to stay," he said. "The need is here."

It will be about a month before the 10-member council is formed, he said.

"Depending on how the authorities handle these cases right here, we're ready to send in federal intervention if necessary," Flores said.

As the meeting ended, participants broke into two groups to work on drafting a letter to the City Council detailing questions and concerns residents have and organizing a candlelight vigil for each of the three men who were killed. The first vigil will be held Aug. 28, on the one-month anniversary of the first shooting near where it took place.

Several speakers brought up similar shootings that have happened in the past in Vista and elsewhere in the county and said deputies have shown a lack of respect toward Latinos.

"The killings that happened here in Vista are not new," said Fred Albury, a member of the North County Coalition for Peace and Justice. "How they're being handled is not new either."

The three shootings that galvanized the meeting occurred during a five-day period from July 28 to Aug. 1.

Deputies shot and killed Sergio Garcia Vaszquez, 32, on July 28 after he allegedly threw a 10-pound weight at them while they were investigating a domestic disturbance at a duplex on North Citrus Avenue.

Jorge Ramirez, 26, was shot to death the following day after he reached into his clothing as deputies chased him as a suspect in an armed robbery committed earlier that night. Deputies thought Ramirez, a parolee named in Vista's gang injunction, might have a gun, but he only had a knife, Lt. Tom Bennett said.

A few days later, on Aug. 1, a deputy fatally shot Jesus Eduardo Manzo, 23, during a foot pursuit. Deputies contacted Manzo, a convicted vehicle burglar, during an investigation into a stolen vehicle, Capt. Clay Reynard said. Manzo was reaching toward his hip for what the officers thought might be a gun when he was shot at close range in the upper torso, Reynard said. The object on his hip was a multipurpose tool, he said.

Most of the people involved with Saturday's gathering agreed that more community meetings would be needed.

"There were a lot of questions that went unanswered (after the meeting Aug. 10)," Mario Mendoza said. "It's important to continue the dialogue."

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