0% interest for 24 months. only for a limited time. next at five, a 9-1-1 call that ended in tragedy and a family's fight to understand what happened. the new spotlight on police tactics as a family takes legal action in their search for answers. plus, parents out raged at their school board over reopening plans. hot mic moment administrators are heard saying they want their babe sitters back. also tonight the new push for vaccine outreach and education in san jose. the mayor says he wants an army of volunteers to help target those who are falling behind. plus, vaccines and the variants and the possibility of a third dose booster shot. plus, a man who saw the stars. a poignant story of the day nasa hits a new milestone. >> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc7 news. and we begin tonight with an

anitoch family trying to find answers about the thomas rhett of their son. he died three days after police responded to a 9-1-1 call. what happened during those three days is what has the family taking legal action. good evening, i'm ama daetz. >> i'm dan ashley. thank you for joining us. the family has filed a claim claiming antioch police used a controversial chokehold. ne made the announcement with their lawyers in front of the house where it happened. >> reporter: it was the kind of front yard gathering nobody wanted. >> you have joined a club that nobody wants to be a part of. >> reporter: they are friends and family of angel kinto, a 30-year-old filipino immigrant who died after an altercation with local police in this house on december 23rd. the family says he had mental issues, had experienced paranoia, was grabbing them that night. his sister bella called 9-1-1. >> i was just hoping that they could come in and help

de-escalate the situation. >> reporter: but it appears to have gone the other way. today the family's attorney showed this video shot by the mother showing angel unresponsive on the floor after family members say officers subdued him with a knee to the back of his neck. >> given what we know that we have had a healthy young man in his mother's arms, the police grab him, they, themselves, through the conduct that they engaged in, stuffed his life out of him. >> reporter: angel died three days later without waking up. today attorneys filed a wrongful death claim against the city of anitoch. they are upset that the police department still does not have body cams nor will the police department reveal the names. offi >> eug isug >> reporter: today supporters and family are rallied for more humane treatment of people in mental distress and for banning that controversial chokehold. >> wrongful death in the sense that their conduct caused the death of this person. >> reporter: the antioch police

department did not provide new details today. the contra costa county district attorney is investigating and angel's sister remains grief stricken and conflicted about calling police that night. >> i don't think i will ever not feel bad. if it was the right thing to do, it wouldn't have killed my brother. >> reporter: wayne freedman, abc7 news. there is anger and frustration in oakley tonight. the school board was caught making fun of parents during an online meeting they thought was private and now parents are demanding action. amy holyfield is on the story. >> i was shocked to hear that the district is representing our children this way. >> reporter: that's the reaction from parents in oakley after comments from the school board were broadcast life over a webex call, a call the board thought was private. listen as board member kim beatty talks about what she would do if parents who commented online did it to her face. >> if you are going to call me

out, i'm going to [ bleep ] you up. >> i think the which juan of them spoke about a social media post, how she said come at her and she'll come back at her, something, it was really shocking to hear that. it was appalling. >> reporter: board member implies that parents want their kids to go back to school so they can sit home and smoke pot and says when your kids are home, there is no more friday. >> my brother had a delivery service for medical marijuana. clientele were parents with their kids in school. [ laughter ] >> translator: they see us writing letters. >> monthly, weekly to the board members, you know, detailing ou distance learning. so for them to say that we're doing nothing and we're sitting at home smoking pot is so far from the truth. >> reporter: parents were not only upset by what the school board members said, but also that superintendent greg hetrick was on the call and did not say

anything. >> the superintendent not speaking up and saying, hey, hey, hey guys, seen if it was live, or they were not live, it just makes me wonder what is going on truly behind the scenes. what's being talked about us and it's very uneasy. unnerving feeling. >> reporter: here is audio of board member lisa bressan dean talking about how parents just want their kids back in school so teachers will watch them and she doesn't call them teachers. >> they want to pick on us because they want their babe sitters back, right? >> right. >> that's totally not correct. we want our kids to have a good education. it's important that our kids are learning from the best. >> reporter: the board eventually realizes the meeting is public. >> we have the meeting open to the public right now. >> nuh-huh. >> that's what lori said. >> great. >> f. >> reporter: the damage was

done. parents created an online petition calling for the board to resign or be recalled. >> i thought the board members were advocates for my child's education and had her interest at heart, and after last night's incident it really has me thinking that they don't. >> reporter: the superintendent put out a written statement calling what was said at the meeting unfortunate and truly inappropriate comments and saying the kids deserve better. in oakley, amy holyfield, abc7 news. california lawmakers have agreed on $1 billion plan to get kids back in the classrooms this spring. the safe and open schools plan would require county health departments to offer teachers vaccinations. schools seeking funding would have to begin with vulnerable students including homeless students, foster children, english learners and kids in younger grades. it would overhaul $2 billion proposal from gavin newsom.

late today contra costa county announced that teachers, grocery workers and other essential workers are eligible to receive the covid-19 vaccine. residents who work in education and child care. food and agriculture and emergency services can sign up for a vaccine free of cost. as santa clara county plans to expand their eligibility criteria. that means calling on the help of volunteers. >> reporter: in the capital of silicon valley an old-fashioned approach is being used in the fight againscod-. e particularly need volunteers who speak spanish and other languages to help in out rachel. >> reporter: the mayor is calling for volunteers to sign up through silicon valley strong, an initiative that connects residents with non-profit organizations. in this case, a big push to have the public assist with vaccine education and awareness. >> to ensure that we are getting information to everyone so that

they can make good decisions and, hopefully, so they can be vaccinated to protect themselves and their families. >> reporter: the latino community in san jose has been disproportionately impacted by covid-19. to illustrate the disparity, roughly 12,000 latino seniors have been vaccinated out of more than 45,000 citywide, which equates to 26%. that's compared to 60% of white seniors who have already received the vaccine. county officials have now set up pop-up vaccination sites, including the one at the mexican heritage plaza which will expand hours next week. >> every neighborhood, every single zip code to be at an 85% level. >> reporter: community health workers say they are battling vaccine misinformation. while outreach is key, they say most people need to hear if from a voice they trust. maria from healing grove health center hopes the county provides vaccines to her clinic so they are team can vaccinate the patients they serve. >> when you want to share the

information to the community, you need to see each person and what is good for the family to have the vaccine, what is -- how is feeling later. >> reporter: meantime, work continues in the areas hardest hit by the virus. >> we need to follow the science and get vaccinate today get back to work, back to school, back to normal and i think that's the real issue. >> reporter: a monumental effort to educate the public about a potentially life-saving vaccine. in san jose, chris nguyen, abc7 news. still ahead, the intensifying race between coronavirus variants and vaccines. is there a tipping point that gives one a deadly edge. and what the top white house advisor is saying about when businesses bounce back and when the country sees a sense of normalcy. making history as an astronaut and the first images from today's truly incredible mars landing.

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tonight both pfizer and modesto say new tests suggest their vaccines should still protect against the south african variant of covid-19. now, the lab tests were public this week and made public this week and found both produced a lower level of antibodies against the muted strain and while both companies express confidence in the short term, planning is, of course, already underway for what may come next. >> reporter: as health officials track the new variants of covid-19 the question in the background, how do you stop the virus from making an end run around the world's vaccines? even with the pace of vaccinations accelerating, some experts worry about a scenario where dangerous strains like the one that emerged in south africa start to spread as quickly as another variant from the u.k. has already done. dr. katherine blish is an infectious disease expert at stanford. >> we have trouble because we have a partially resistant

variant with a chance to develop more mutations and become more ras ent. >> reporter: companies have become working on updated verlgss of vaccines with modesto exploring a potential third dose booster shot while oxford/astrazeneca, whose vaccine performed poorly against the south african variant, is working to produce an update by the fall. a researcher says the modern rna and virus-based vaccines have an advantage because their genetic formulas can be adjusted quickly. >> tweaking the vaccine i think is not an issue. companies already are thinking of doing that and in fact some may be. >> reporter: tweaking them may not mean going back to the drawing board. the fda is leveraging the trial data that's already available. >> tens of thousands of people, a few hundred people who get this tweaked vaccine, and you can measure the quantity oflizi

>> reporter: other proposed strategies include possibly mixing and matching second doses from different vaccines. that's because different versions may activate the immune system in slightly different ways potentially creating a strong overall effect. >> so we might gain a benefit of some immunity to parts of the protein that aren't just that one little protein that sticks out. >> reporter: many researchers believe vaccines are in a solid position in the near term in part because of the protection they offer against severe disease. but health officials worldwide will likely be watching for what some described as a dangerous red line. that would be a vaccinated patient to begin turning up in hospitals with more severe infections. a sign that tweaked vaccines may be needed to protect against a shifting threat. >> it is a moving target. keep in mind, even with a successful vaccination program, several of the researchers that we spoke with expect that covid vaccines will need regular updating, perhaps every few years to be ready for any outbreaks in the future.

a lot of peoplere the coronavirus will end. and when will we return to a accepts of normalcy? today the white house advisor on covid-19 explained why that answer is so i wielusive. >> one of the reasons the public is fatigued is no one is asked to prepare for a marathon. people were told this is a sprint and it will be over soon. so i think the president, who on a town hall this week said, look, he is very hopeful by christmas. that's a reasonable answer. but the rest of us, the rest of us are hired to get the job done, not make forecasts and make predictions. so there is a lot we don't know about the future. we don't exactly what will happen with the variants, what how many people will take the vaccine. we don't know a lot of things. so we are trying not to give a false sense of security and a false sense of precision where none exists. and that was white house

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that's yes for less. get the best bargains ever for every room and every budget. at ross. yes for less. i was holding on to my desk thinking it was an earthquake. i mean, there was a roar and the whole house was shaking. >> but it was not an earthquake. it was a frightening afternoon for a north berkeley homeowner and a driver of this pickup loaded with rocks. the truck apparently lost its brakes coming down moran avenue, which is a very steep street. the truck hit a telephone pole, snapping it in two, flew over a retaining wall and slammed into the garage. house. unfortunately, there is no word on whether the driver was hurt. the homeowner had remain inside fostruural damage. ed the house residents are being asked to cut back on water use due to this year's meager rainfall

totals reservoirs are at 66% capacity this week. they have not set a specific conservation goal but they are asking users to check their homes for leaks, to stop washing cars at home and replace leaky faucets and shower heads. in february, we are starting to run out of real estate, although we can get a good bhit more rain before it's over with this season. >> we can. as californians, i think we know we always have to conserve because you never know, spencer. >> sandhya. so sorry. >> that's right. >> sandhya. >> it's all good. let me show you live doppler radar. you will notice that a storm is pushing into the pacific northwest. the back end of this system is going to slide across the bay area and we will get our share of some wet weather. it's not going to have the kind of intensity that it will have

across the pacific northwest. we will get much needed rain locally as we head into the late night and early morning hours. you see the clouds gathering from our abc7 roof camera. a little peek of blue in san francisco where it is 57 degrees, low 60s san jose, 54 half moon bay and our exploratory camera looking towards the financial district. low 60s concord and livermore. our east bay hills camera sun getting ready to set, light rain in the north bay late tonight, damp for the morning commute, and the next wave of showers comes in early saturday morning before most of your weekend plans get underway. late tonight through tomorrow it's a level one on the storm impact scale. north bay rain tonight and then it spreads. so tomorrow morning's commute give yourself a little more time because it is going to be wet. under a 0.25 inch of rain is expected. the hour-by-hour forecast by 11:00 the north bay is getting rain. it starts to break up a bit heading towards the south bay.

although at 5:00 a.m. you are going to see the wet weather across the bay area, notice by 8:00 a.m. as it's pushing to the south bay it breaks up a bit. still going to be scattered showers right on through noon and can't rule out an isolated shower or two into the early afternoon. so most of it will come through in the morning, but there could be a few pop-up showers later in the day. rainfall totals you will see about 0.4 inch city mountain view, 0.18 inch in oakland, santa rosa. so just under a 0.25 inch as i mentioned. morning temperatures 40s, 50s, make sure you grab that umbrella before you head out the door because you will be using it in the early part of the day. tomorrow afternoon it is back to winter. cooler weather. today we had upper 50s to upper 60s. tomorrow it's going to be back to average for this time of year. mid 350z to the low 60s. so you might want to grab that jacket. the accuweather forecast seven-day forecast, scattered showers with a level one system for your friday. some other showers coming through on saturday, very spotty for the morning hours. drying out and warming up.

it will feel like spring next week when the 70s show up monday and tuesday. dan and ama. >> feel free to call me something different, sandhya. i can't blame you. >> i would not do that. >> no worries. >> it's all good. all right. well, still ahead here, a man who saw the stars

success for nasa. it landed its most sophisticated rover yet on mars. >> confirmed! perseverance safely on the surface of mars! ready to begin. >> i love seeing that excitement. nasa says there was no guarantee the landing would be smooth since only 50% of previous mars landing attempts have been successful. within minutes of landing perseverance sent the first images back to earth. the rover will stay on mars for about two years searching for ancient signs of life. >> that's amazing. it was back in 2012 nasa announced its intent to launch a new mars rover mission by 2020. any samples the rover collects will not come back to earth until about 2031. ten years from now.

perseverance also describes a stockton man who went from being a farm worktory astronaut. >> kenya whitworth has the story of his remarkable journey. >> i started off working on the land. >> reporter: jose hernandez spent his entire childhood working alongside his parents in these california fields. every year his family would travel from mexico to california spending months at a time doing hard labor. >> that's why i think my work ethic came from. >> reporter: still learning english, jose excelled in math and science and by 10 years old he knew that he wanted to be an astronaut. after watching the last apollo mission on tv, it was 1972, and he told his dad about his dream. >> he validated the dream. he empowered me to believe i could do it. >> reporter: he began applying to nasa, a process that took him 12 years. he was rejected 11 times. in a sea of more than 12,000

candidates, he was finally selected in 2004. two years later he got his wings an in 2009 he was the flight on the sts on spatial discoveries, flying a 14-day mission to the international space station. he became the first first-generation mexican astronaut. at the end of the mission, weather changed their flight path forcing them to land in california instead of florida. >> i always call it "poetic justice." why? because it's about 80 miles from where i used to pick strawberries in the ontario-chino area. >> reporter: were there people on the way up that doubted you because of your background? >> it wasn't very blatant, but you perceived it. but i also think it also had to do a lot with having an impostor syndrome. sometimes you can't help when you say, hey, do i really belong here? >> reporter: a husband and

father of five, jose left nasa in 2011 moving back to stockton, running his consulting business, investing his time in the community, and buying his own land. and whi his lifeemains on the to mars. when you watch stuff like this, do you miss it a little bit? >> oh, yeah, i miss it a lot. i miss it a lot. i am hoping one day the phone rings and says, hey, jose, you know, have we got an opportunity for you. i will say, put me in, coach. >> reporter: abc7 news. >> put me in, coach. you know he would go. nasa is all about reaching for the stars, quite literally, and he certainly did as a young man and as a kid decide to live a very fwig and special life. he achieved so much. >> yeah, what an incredible life so far. not over yet. great to their that story. that does it for us. "world news tonight" with david muir is next. i'm ama daetz. >> i'm dan ashley.

from all much us here, we appreciate your time. hope to see you again in a half an hour for the news at 6:00. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (beeping sound) ♪ ♪ ♪ save on select new volvo models during our presidents day sales event, now through march 1st.

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