Crowds are getting more and more restless and angry in the wake of the fatal shooting of Manuel Diaz and the chaos that ensued.
Just a day later, another fatal shooting by Anaheim police was reported; this time of Joel Acevedo who was reportedly in handcuffs when the killing took place.
Last night the situation between police and the public seems to have spiraled further out of control, as reported below in the recorded livestream video by journalist Tim Pool from Timcast.tv. He gives a first-hand account of an escalating situation that is seeing police respond more forcefully, "firing indiscriminately in every direction and chasing (protesters) down the street." After a series of fires, presumedly set by locals, Pool returned to the scene where he and his partner were shot at multiple times, even after holding up a press pass. Tim also reports that seven people were arrested for a failure to disperse.
An AP report posted at Daily News Los Angeles reveals additional details about the scene last night, emerging facts about the original shooting of Diaz, as well as activist demands. Details and updates are posted below.
According to the AP report, there were approximately 1,000 protesters and 250 police that faced off for over 7 hours, before dispersing at 2 a.m. Twenty-four arrests are believed to have been made (including four minors), and several injuries were cited that possibly occurred from pepper balls and beanbag rounds used by Anaheim police. (Source)
Protesters also have been gathering at City Council meetings demanding a quick investigation into what they believe to be an overall escalation in cases of police brutality and unnecessary killings of residents in their community.
A $50 million civil rights lawsuit has been filed by the family of Manuel Diaz against the city, as well as the Anaheim police department.
One especially interesting note from the AP report cites Sgt. Bob Dunn:
While most protesters were peaceful, some appeared to be outsiders who 'were prone to violence and wanted to incite' both the crowd and police, Dunn said.Activists in the area should be on alert for agents provocateur that are often brought in to infiltrate destroy the credibility of peaceful protest. This tactic has been documented heavily throughout the Occupy Movement (and here).
Meanwhile, more details are emerging about the Diaz killing that are quite disturbing and could lead to even greater outrage in the coming days if Police Chief John Welter does not properly address the situation:
Mayor Tom Tait said a description from court papers relayed to him by a reporter that Diaz had been shot in the leg and in the back of his head was 'unsettling.'The police union, however, is not making matters better by coming out in defense of the officers involved before all of the facts have been established.
We will do our best to keep you updated about the most recent developments. If you have any additional information, please post to the comment section below, or contact us directly atactivistpost (at) gmail.com
Main source for this article:
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_21153090/anaheim-police-greeted-outrage-unrest-over-shooting?source=rss
Facebook Protest Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/344828062262298/
Another excellent source for updates can be found at the Facebook Page for Filming Cops:
http://www.facebook.com/FilmingCops?ref=ts
Additional photos can be found here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/anaheim-police-protest_n_1698091.html
Read other articles by Activist Post HERE
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