Zelalem Eshetu Ewnetu: Familys and Friends Accounts

1.

Zolla

I met Zolla through our mutual friend Yimesker in the fall of 2010 at Idaho State University. My

first impression of Zolla was that of an individual who was down to earth. I remember the first

time we met, he was very excited to meet me as there werent a lot of Habeshas in the area so it

was a surprise to see one let alone live in the same area. In all honesty, not much time passed

before Zolla and I clicked and became close friends who came from similar backgrounds. When

I met him in the fall of 2010, he was going into his senior year of college. He majored in

Mechanical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering with an emphasis in Physics. I, on the other

hand, was a freshman in college planning to pursue a degree in Technology. As our friendship

grew stronger throughout the semester, I started to notice that Zolla was no ordinary man and

that he was a born genius. He was taking 7 classes as a senior in engineering school which is

next to impossible for most people. His constant drive and determination illustrated his

intelligence that one cannot deny. My interaction with him and the conversations I have had

with him were full of wisdom and knowledge. I believe he instilled the right mindset in me

through our interactions with one another. Zolla was able to push me into the right direction

as I also majored in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering which I graduated with that degree in

spring of 2015. Zolla graduated way ahead of me in the fall of 2011 (Dec). It took him four and

half years to complete arguable two of the hardest majors at the university and he was able to

take extra physics classes, such as quantum mechanics, in his last semester. He was one class

shy from getting a minor in physics and one class shy from getting a minor in math when he

graduated. Zolla and I used to hang out almost every weekend and talk about education, life,
our future, and many other topics which I believe have played a big part into the man I am

today. Because of his wise advice, I stand today with my head held up high as one of the top

performing engineers at a nuclear power plant here in Arizona.

Of course, our friendship did not stop when he graduated and moved to California. During his

final semester, he applied for and got accepted into Cali State University in Long Beach where

he pursued a masters in engineering. He attended CSU for about a year, from 2012 to 2013,

before dropping out to work for California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The job he got

was not easy to get as he had to take a state wide exam given by CPUC and rank among the top

candidates. He got one of the top 3 scores on the exam effortlessly and I know that because he

confessed to me in one of our conversations that he didnt even study for the exam. I was not

surprised by any means since he has done similar things before he graduated from ISU. He

took the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, which is a nationwide exam that engineers

take before taking Professional Engineering Exam to become a professional Engineer, and

passed it after only studying for a few hours a day before the exam. Now one may not

understand the effort this test requires as individuals spend months studying for FE before

taking the exam. Long story short, he was hired as the utility engineer and moved to LA once

he passed the CPUC exam. His job involved inspecting electrical grids and other power

generation equipment and methodology used to generate electricity at different locations in

the state of California. He was required to travel, about a week or two in a month, to the

different cities in California for inspections. Zolla absolutely loved his job and most definitely

loved the city of LA.

Zolla was a kind, humble and caring person. He was an introvert but once he was comfortable

with someone he would open up into the man everyone knew him as. He absolutely hated
going out of his way to initiate a conversation with a stranger let alone get into altercation. He

always tried to live by the book and never made an ill-advised decision as long as I have known

him. He was always there for me when I needed him. He used to send me money when my

finances were not aligning as a college student and motivate and encourage me to stay strong

during those hard times. Zolla also loved his family dearly. His dad passed away in recent years

which forced him to be the man in the household since he was the oldest. He supported his

mom and brother in Ethiopia consistently sending them money on a monthly basis. The last

time he went back to visit them was back in 2015. Although his stay wasnt for long, he spent

every minute of it with his beloved family.

Zolla and I shared so many things together. We both majored in Mechanical and Nuclear

engineering, we are both 28 years old separated by only a few months, we had the same taste

in music, and so many more things I cant even finish listing even if I had the time in the world.

We were not blood related but he was my brother and my family. He drove all the way from LA

to celebrate my graduation, he used to come to AZ to visit me on different occasions, and I used

to go to LA and visit him as well. He was an exceptional man and what has been done to him is

heartbreaking and unacceptable. Zollas character and background was far too good for him to

fall into a situation that he was unfortunately involved in that caused him to lose his life. The

allegations that were against him are arguably contradicting to the man he was. Zolla simply

does not have it in his DNA to start an altercation let alone point a gun at a police. I believe the

sheriff department should be held accountable for the murder of an innocent man who was at

the wrong place at the wrong time. I have lost a brother and the world has lost a born genius

who would have contributed many skills and assets that cannot be reciprocated.
 His ultimate goal in life was to find a way to fuse physics and music. He believed that physics

and music are made out of the same fabric and he was in the process of coming up with a

mathematical equation to show the correlation between the two. He believed that music from

all backgrounds can be represented with a mathematical equation and I agreed to help him

accomplish this daring and bold idea of his. He was truly a genius and an outside the box kind

of thinker. He stood up for things he believed in and would not be forced or convinced easily

with things that are not backed up by rules, laws, facts, or science.

RIP my beloved brother!

Obie

2.

Zelalem was a friend of mine. He went to Idaho State University, where I also attended Grad

school. I have known him for almost four years and he was the most humble, smart and genuine

person I met at ISU.

He was originally from Ethiopia. I know that his mom still lives in Ethiopia. He was a very career

driven, focused and reliable young engineer. I am still in disbelief that he was murdered by LA

county sheriff deputies. If there is any sense of justice left in the criminal justice system, his

murder should be investigated thoroughly and independently. He is not a kind of person who likes

confrontations in daily life, forget about being violent against others (especially a cop).

In a country he chose and served, it is sad to see that he became the next Amadou Diallo. How

many more innocent black lives need to be taken away from us for the people to wake up and fix

our policing system?!

 - Leo

3.

Zelalem was my family and friend I first met him in person only about 4 years ago, but we

stayed in touch closely after that. When I was living in Los Angeles I used to meet with him often at

my family's holiday gatherings and we used to hang out by ourselves. After I moved out of LA I

met him less often, but whenever I visited back, at least every 2 months, I would call or text him

and we would go out and have some fun and catch up. Zelalem is one of the most sympathetic,

compassionate, kind, humble... human beings I have ever had the fortune to meet. He was peaceful,

gentle, deliberate, and intelligent. He used to inspire me to be the best I can be, offer me help

whenever I needed, console me during sad moments... He did not deserve the brutal and violent

actions those deputies took against him! My family and I demand full transparency from the Los

Angeles County Sheriff's Department. We want them to explain what happened and tell the truth!

- Sim