Police Shoot Protesters and Children

[Milkster]

http://djcagedbird.tumblr.com/post/2...n-and-cbs-have

The original video, it has been censored and taken off the air/web. This is a mirror.

The story:

Anaheim city officials urged protesters to avoid violence as they tried to quell a series of melees that have occurred in the wake of a controversial fatal officer-involved shooting over the weekend.
"Anaheim is a strong community and a community that works together to solve its problems," Mayor Tom Tait said at a news conference Wednesday morning. "I think it's important for city officials to hear from people we serve … but violence and vandalism have no part in the conversation."
Residents remained on edge, many claiming family members and friends remained in jail following the confrontation with police on Saturday evening.
Photos: Protest against Anaheim police shootings
Yolanda Delgado, 68, a longtime Anaheim resident, saw a group of young looters smashing the windows of a T-shirt store Tuesday night and began yelling at them.
At one point she scuffled with a young woman who she said was trying to steal shoelaces. The young woman punched her and bloodied her lip.
Delgado said she was incensed that rioters were destroying the property of innocent people. “I was ashamed of them – the stupidity, the ignorance,” she said. “This is what the Latino community is trying to [allievate]. They’re tired of being known just as thieves or gardeners or housekeepers.”
Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, said anger over the weekend shooting reflects wider woes in Anaheim’s poorest communities, which suffer from unemployment, overcrowding and gang activity.
“It’s a hot summer, school's out, and frustrations from the economy are certainly being felt,” Kennedy said. “There are really good families in these neighborhoods that are just struggling to survive. They have fears their child will get in between the gang members and police.”
The FBI has agreed to review the shooting.
Anaheim officials said they have also asked state officials to launch a review of the Saturday incident, which is already being probed by the Orange County district attorney. The district attorney has asked the public to share any photos or video of the shooting and its aftermath.

During unrest Tuesday night, people grabbed rocks from a construction site at Santa Ana Street and Anaheim Boulevard and hurled them at officers. Others in the area ignited a fire in the weeds and in trash bins as they were chased by police.
PHOTOS: Protests against Anaheim police shootings
Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said the crowd grew to more than 1,000 at times. Protests were allowed to continue, he said, until the violence escalated and became threatening to police and others in the area.
After an unlawful assembly was declared, Welter said a smaller group of 50 to 100 protesters continued roaming the streets of downtown Anaheim, damaging public property and throwing rocks and bottles. Police employed nonlethal tactics, including batons, pepper balls and bean bags. Two Orange County Register reporters were injured -- one hit in the head with a rock, another with a projectile to the foot -- while covering the melee. Police said four others were also injured.
"We will not allow riotous, dangerous violations of the law by anyone," Welter said.
Welter said more than 20 businesses were damaged, mostly with broken windows. A total of 24 people were arrested, including four juveniles. In addition to businesses, the Police Department and City Hall also sustained damaged, Welter said. The arrests included offenses such as assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a handgun, failure to disperse and resisting arrest.
Police said they will be reviewing video footage from Tuesday night's protests to arrest those who engaged in illegal activity.

Anaheim police were still assessing the fallout from the unrest, which took place amid growing outrage over a pair of fatal officer-involved shootings over the weekend.

"I think that given the totality of the circumstances, actually things turned out very good," said Sgt. Robert Dunn, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department.
Photos: Protest against Anaheim police shootings
At the northeast corner of Water Street and Anaheim Boulevard, the lights of Don Leonardo's Taqueria were on. The owners, Francisco Hernandez and his wife, Alma, were returning from church when they discovered a mob of people had damaged their building. Expletives about the police were written on the side of their business, much like in other parts of the neighborhood.

"We're very upset about this," Hernandez said. "We had nothing to do with what has happened in the city."
Hernandez also discovered that trash cans from their corner house had been moved to the intersection and had been set on fire. At least one of them had been melted down to its wheels.
After a few minutes of sweeping glass, a friend of the couple discovered that a second window had been broken. Hernandez said replacing the windows would cost about $700.

"At least they weren't throwing rocks at some of the windows of the nearby homes," he said.

What started the riots

After four days of protests over the fatal police shooting of an unarmed man, the Anaheim police union issued a statement saying that the officer had fired in self-defense.
The union's statement offered the first detailed explanation of Saturday's fatal shooting of Manual Diaz, which has prompted four days of protests amid allegations of police brutality and racial profiling.
According to the union, officers in an alleyway near Anna Drive got out of a police car to talk to Diaz and some other men, when one of the officers saw “the documented gang member” holding a “concealed object in his front waist band with both hands.”
Diaz then began running and pulled the object from his waistband and turned toward the officers, the union said.
At that point, "the officer opened fire on Diaz to stop the threat,” said Kerry Condon, the union president.
Anaheim police said that no gun has been recovered.
Also on Tuesday, Diaz's relatives filed a civil-rights and wrongful-death lawsuit against the Anaheim Police Department and city alleging that he was fired upon from behind and shot in the back of the head.
The FBI also announced that it would review Saturday's shooting to see if it warranted a civil rights investigation after Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait called for state and federal investigations in addition to the probe by the Orange County district attorney.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...hooting-1.html

[Guitarman]

Good for the officers.

[Celeste]

My heart definitely goes out to Latino communities worldwide, and that goes double for the Latino community of Anaheim, CA. It's horrific when a member of a community is shot dead by someone who is there to protect and serve, not flail a gun around and get high on the power we unfortunately give them in order to police ourselves. This has happened many times before and will continue to do so until we put an end to discrimination, and perhaps taking away the guns of police officers in favor of something less lethal.

Then again, when have police forces not been known for their abuse of power? It's saddening that a community lost a friend, brother, and son because of this.

[Xno Kappa]

Good for the officers.

[Guitarman]

perhaps taking away the guns of police officers in favor of something less lethal.

[Plow]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_...United_Kingdom

that was actually about the most reasonable part of her post

[Cantih]

Curious how the investigation will turn out.

Unless the situation is much different than we know so far, and if the officers only get a slap on the wrist, I wonder if we'll see Rodney King 2.0
And it's going to be REALLY odd if that happens in Orange County.

[Guitarman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_...United_Kingdom

that was actually about the most reasonable part of her post

Huh. learn something new every day. I still think there are better ways to solve the issue. There are in a lot of life or death situations these men and women are in, and being able to protect themselves is important. More training would be a start, but we all know the bottom line will stop that from ever happening.

[hey]

Huh. learn something new every day. I still think there are better ways to solve the issue. There are in a lot of life or death situations these men and women are in, and being able to protect themselves is important. More training would be a start, but we all know the bottom line will stop that from ever happening.

There are other ways to protect yourself that don't involve killing people.

[hey]

It's horrific when a member of a community is shot dead by someone who is there to protect and serve

Unless they're a white, cisnormative male, i guess?

[Guitarman]

There are other ways to protect yourself that don't involve killing people.

Right, but when a gangbanger is shooting at you, throwing a stick at him and telling him to play nice doesn't really cut it.

[Milkster]

Right, but when a gangbanger is shooting at you, throwing a stick at him and telling him to play nice doesn't really cut it.

The dead man never fired and there was never a gun that was recovered. Top notch police work going on.

[Celeste]

The dead man never fired and there was never a gun that was recovered. Top notch police work going on.

Clearly, Milkster, clearly.

[hey]

Right, but when a gangbanger is shooting at you, throwing a stick at him and telling him to play nice doesn't really cut it.

Which is why you wouldn't do that.

[Dimmauk]

I was watching the videos today, and I'm not sure what happened with the man that was killed by the police, but the videos of them releasing the dogs and shooting at children were horrific.

[Gregorio]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_...United_Kingdom

that was actually about the most reasonable part of her post

Right, because the US and UK have so much in common regarding gangs and guns. Completely reasonable. No gang member would ever shoot at an officer. Nope nope nope.

[Gregorio]

Oh, except for the 2nd gang member who was killed after stealing a car and shooting at officers. But I feel for his community, they lost valuable thief, gang member, and criminal and he will be missed. Justice for these innocent members of violent street gangs!

EDIT:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...W_story_1.html

Online court records show Diaz was convicted last year of drug possession, and three years earlier of possessing a firearm on school grounds and being a member of a criminal street gang.

What a good friend he was. A shining example for other Latino children to look up to in their community.

[Rhyis.]

Bring back the old billy club.

[Milkster]

Except the police in Anaheim have become extremely trigger happy.

Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said his department was "very concerned" about an uptick in fatal officer-involved shootings and the outrage that has surrounded the two most recent weekend incidents.
The latest incident -- which resulted in the death of a man Sunday night -- marked the city’s fifth fatal police shooting this year, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Bob Dunn. Last year, there were four officer-involved shootings, compared with six so far this year, he said.
"We're very concerned," Welter told The Times, adding that his department is "always" looking for ways to prevent such incidents.
Tensions were high in the Orange County city after the first shooting Saturday, which resulted in the death of a man identified as 25-year-old Manuel Diaz. Authorities said Diaz was shot in the 700 block of North Anna Drive after running from police, but they did not reveal what led to the shooting.
The Orange County district attorney's office — which handles investigations into officer-involved shootings — was called to the scene, but Welter said as police worked to to secure the area, a crowd gathered and “started becoming very vocal and agitated.”
The result was a melee with bottles and rocks thrown at officers, prompting authorities to fire non-lethal rounds and pepper balls to settle the crowd, police said. Television footage of the confrontation showed an unrestrained police dog lunging at a group of people that included children.
One man was bitten on the arm, suffering "small puncture wounds," before police restrained the dog, Welter said. The dog had accidentally gotten out of its handler’s car because a rear window was “not secure,” the chief said.
Five people were arrested in the melee, authorities said. Welter said about half a dozen people were injured by rubber bullets.
The second shooting came late Sunday evening, when an unidentified man ran from police after a traffic stop and fired a handgun at an officer, Sgt. Bob Dunn said. The officer returned fire, fatally striking the man.
The shootings have sparked an outcry from residents already frustrated with a series of officer-involved shootings. The Orange County district attorney’s office has asked for photos and videos of the first incident; and Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said at a Sunday afternoon press conference he would ask the state attorney general’s office to assist with the investigation.
“Whatever the truth is, we will own it,” he said.
Welter urged people to let the investigative process “run its course.”
“I’m concerned that people are taking half-truths or rumors about what’s going on at these crime scenes, rather than waiting for the investigations to finish … causing people to think we’re indiscriminately shooting people,” he said. “From my opinion, my officers have the right to protect themselves and others.”
Welter said his department was looking at ways to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the wake of the two shootings.
“Quite frankly, I'm not going to let people continue to escalate this violence to the point where the general public is going to be threatened," Welter said.
Outside the apartment complex on North Anna Drive, Edgar Frias, a 24-year-old who had attended high school with Diaz, called the victim a "good guy."
"There was no reason to shoot him," he said. He heard gunshots on Saturday and came out of his mother's house to find Diaz dead.
He said many in the neighborhood are upset over the shooting, which many see as unjustified.
"That's what everybody wants," he said. "Justice."
Mariano Macedo stood outside a duplex with Frias on Monday afternoon, watching the TV trucks come and go. Across the street was a growing makeshift memorial with dozens of candles, handwritten signs and a framed photo of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Macedo said that everyone in the neighborhood knows each other and are traumatized by the recent shooting.
"It's a big mistake," he said.
[For the record, 7:30 p.m.: In a previous version of this post, Welter said there had been eight fatal police shootings this year. Dunn later corrected that number to five.]

I wonder why the people in that city feel the need to run whenever they see cops...

[Rhyis.]

They could be committing crimes.