Editing La Mesa, California (section)

==History==

Before European colonization, the area that is now La Mesa was home to the [[Kumeyaay]]. The Kumeyaay were a Yuman-speaking people who practiced horticulture and hunting and gathering. The Kumeyaay organized themselves into a federation of self-governed bands, or clans. Beginning in 1769, the Kumeyaay of La Mesa and the larger San Diego County region were enslaved by Spanish colonists or later forcibly relocated to reservations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pico |first1=Anthony |title=The Kumeyaay Millenium |url=https://www.kumeyaay.com/the-kumeyaay-millenium.html#:~:text=Kumeyaay%20coastal%20land%20was%20confiscated,to%20return%20to%20their%20homes. |website=www.kumeyaay.com/ |publisher=Kumeyaay.com |access-date=March 29, 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Miguel_Pedrorena.jpg|thumb|left|upright|La Mesa was originally part of [[Rancho El Cajon|Rancho El Cajón]], a Mexican era [[ranchos of California|rancho grant]] owned by the family of Don [[Miguel de Pedrorena]], a [[Californio]] ranchero and signer of the [[Californian Constitution]].]]
La Mesa in Spanish means "the table", or alternately "the plateau", relating to its geography.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=10366|title= Profile for La Mesa, California, CA|publisher= ePodunk|access-date= September 12, 2012|archive-date= April 1, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190401091645/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=10366|url-status= dead}}</ref> La Mesa was part of a larger tract, [[Mission San Diego de Alcalá]], and was used by Spanish missionaries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityoflamesa.com/History.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706222002/http://www.cityoflamesa.com/History.htm|url-status=dead|title=City of La Mesa history|archive-date=July 6, 2007|access-date=February 22, 2021}}</ref>

Through the years, the Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers valued La Mesa for its natural springs. In 1868, stockman Robert Allison moved to the area and purchased 4,000 acres of land from the heirs of Santiago Arguello, commandant of the [[Presidio of San Diego]]. This land became La Mesa, and the "Allison" natural springs were renamed the "La Mesa Springs."<ref>{{cite web |title=History of La Mesa Summary |url=https://lamesahistory.com/history/ |website=La Mesa History Center |access-date=March 29, 2024}}</ref> The importance of the springs is still reflected today in the name of the prominent "Spring Street," which passes through downtown La Mesa, and with the preservation of the spring house in Collier Park.<ref>{{cite web |title=1907 Collier Park Spring House |url=https://www.sohosandiego.org/endangered/mel2013/springhouse.htm |website=www.sohosandiego.org/ |publisher=Save Our Heritage Organization |access-date=March 29, 2024}}</ref>

La Mesa was founded in 1869 and The City of La Mesa was incorporated on February 16, 1912.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Mesa Fast Facts {{!}} La Mesa, CA - Official Website |url=https://www.cityoflamesa.us/311/La-Mesa-Fast-Facts |access-date=March 29, 2024 |website=www.cityoflamesa.us}}</ref> Its official flower is the [[bougainvillea]].<ref name="FastFacts" />

In 2020, La Mesa was [[George Floyd protests in San Diego County, California#La Mesa|the site of civil unrest]] in the wake of the [[murder of George Floyd]] in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pura|first=Anthony|date=May 30, 2020|title=Protest erupts outside La Mesa police station|url=https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/san-diego-news/protest-erupts-outside-la-mesa-police-station|access-date=January 4, 2021|work=KGTV|language=en}}</ref> Two days after Floyd's murder, an unarmed black man was grabbed and shoved by a white La Mesa Police officer and arrested at [[Grossmont Transit Center]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hernandez|first=David|date=June 4, 2020|title=La Mesa police release body-cam video of controversial arrest|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2020-06-03/la-mesa-police-release-body-cam-footage-of-controversial-arrest-at-trolley|access-date=January 4, 2021|work=San Diego Union-Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref> The video of the incident went viral and led to more than 1000 protesters converging on the city. An African-American grandmother was shot in the face with a bean bag round from police.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=Niala|title=Grandmother Hit in Head With LMPD 'Less Lethal' Projectile Remains in ICU|url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/grandmother-hit-with-rubber-bullet-remains-in-icu/2337061/|access-date=January 4, 2021|work=NBC 7 San Diego|language=en-US}}</ref> Businesses were looted and several structures were set on fire, including two banks that burned to the ground.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 30, 2020 |title=Banks Ablaze, Stores Looted Amid Unrest in La Mesa |url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/protests-planned-around-san-diego-county-over-george-floyds-death/2336140/ |access-date=March 29, 2024 |website=NBC 7 San Diego |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2022 |title=Man sentenced to 16 months in prison for role in La Mesa Chase bank fire |url=https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/east-county-news/man-sentenced-to-16-months-in-prison-for-role-in-la-mesa-chase-bank-fire |access-date=March 29, 2024 |website=ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV |publisher=City News Service |language=en}}</ref>  The officer in the trolley station incident was charged with falsifying a police report in connection with the reason for the arrest but acquitted in December 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Alvarado|first1=Kitty|last2=Castillo|first2=Carlos|date=December 10, 2021|title=Ex-La Mesa police officer acquitted of falsifying police report|url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2021/12/10/ex-la-mesa-police-officer-acquitted-of-falsifying-police-report|access-date=December 16, 2021|work=KPBS Public Media|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Hope|first1=Heather|date=December 10, 2021|title=Jury finds former La Mesa police officer not guilty of filing a false police report about the arrest of Amaurie Johnson|url=https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/crime/matt-dages-jury-verdict/509-28a7d0e9-cadb-4f03-99e6-2184c7db3047|access-date=October 15, 2024|work=CBS 8|language=en}}</ref> Dages' certification was revoked under a new state law due to serious [[misconduct]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodd |first=Scott |last2=Portela |first2=Katerina |date=2025-03-17 |title=San Diego officers among hundreds in California stripped of their badges under recent law, but large backlog remains |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/2025/03/17/san-diego-officers-among-hundreds-in-california-stripped-of-their-badges-under-recent-law-but-large-backlog-remains |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=[[KPBS Public Media]]}}</ref>