Tweet
Violence plagued the city of Anaheim, home to Disneyland, last night, as protests against a series of officer-involved deaths turned ugly.
Last Sunday, Joel Mathew Acevedo was shot and killed by Anaheim police, the sixth such shooting this year, coming a day after Manuel Diaz was shot and killed. Many residents consider the shootings the result of police brutality, though the police claim they acted in self-defense. In particular, Diaz, who was unarmed, was running from police when he got shot. Police, who called Diaz “a known gang member,” attempted to purchase the cell phone video of witnesses so that they wouldn’t make their way into the public eye.
This led to a protest of 600 outside City Hall last night, the fourth straight day of protests. Police attempted to disperse this one with rubber bullets:
Protesters hurled rocks, traffic cones and other objects at police clad in riot gear as officers chased people along sidewalks and streets throughout the evening and fired less-than-lethal projectiles into crowds after giving a dispersal order. Sirens wailed as officers formed skirmish lines and police from neighboring law enforcement agencies provided assistance.
Police said that at least five people were arrested on suspicion of assault and resisting arrest, and that a reporter from the Orange County Register was struck by a rock as angry crowds stood face to face with officers in tense standoffs. Fires were started in dumpsters, and at least one storefront had its windows broken as the skirmishes continued into the night.
The chaotic scene marked the fourth day of protests since officers shot two men to death over the weekend, outraging residents concerned about police conduct in Anaheim’s heavily Latino core.
The Anaheim City Council last night asked the US Attorney for the region to initiate an investigation into the shootings. The US Attorney agreed today to review the killings. The state Attorney General’s office, the Anaheim PD Department of Internal Affairs and the Orange County District Attorney plan to be involved in the investigation. The mother of Manuel Diaz has already filed a wrongful-death lawsuit for $50 million in damages.
The city has vowed a crackdown and more arrests if additional protests take place. One thing I know about Anaheim is that the demographics of the political and law enforcement leadership differ from the population, which has become heavily Hispanic and Asian over the years. Police have tried to say that the protesters were not city residents, but that doesn’t ring true.
This year has been marked by multiple incidents of police brutality, as protesters recognize they are not as free to register dissent in America as they thought.
6 Comments
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About FDL News Desk
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
My mother’s best friend at work had a sign up in her cube that had that line. It always makes me smile. Thanks.
“Police, who called Diaz “a known gang member,” attempted to purchase the cell phone video of witnesses so that they wouldn’t make their way into the public eye.”
And this action is the proof that the police were not acting in self-defense.
“Many residents consider the shootings the result of police brutality, though the police claim they acted in self-defense.”
For how many decades has this exact sentence been written? We most likely won’t hear it anymore when police start shooting white middle class citizens. But perhaps not.
“Police have tried to say that the protesters were not city residents, but that doesn’t ring true.”
One is far more likely to make money by betting that cops are lying than that they are telling the truth. When part of your job is to lie in court for the sake of the prosecution, lying becomes in integral part of your culture.
Why alleged. The videos seem dispositive.
“In particular, Diaz, who was unarmed, was running from police when he got shot”
then how could it be “self defense”, and why does it need to be qualified as “alleged”?? The new “objective” standard. Once upon a time the word “objective” defined a world in which the truth could be known…now it defines a world where knowing the tuth is impossible.(he said, and then she said , i guess its just not possible to ever know the truth)
“less-than-lethal projectiles”???
It’s always nice to see stenographers refer to rounds known to be lethal as “less-than-lethal projectiles”