Backlash Grows Over Calif Police Shootings
Backlash grows over Calif. police shootings. Violence rocks Anaheim for the fourth day as the victim's family sues the city.
Unrest in Calif. city after police shootings, Family members of a man who died in a weekend police shooting have poured their anger into a civil rights lawsuit against this Southern California city, as public outrage spilled onto the streets in a fourth day of violence.
Manuel Diaz's family filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Anaheim and its police department, claiming that he was shot and killed Saturday while running away, lawyer James Rumm said. The family, which is seeking $50 million in damages, planned to speak about the case on Wednesday.
Diaz's death, along with that of another man Sunday in another officer-involved shooting, have sparked protests from residents who want to know why such deadly force was used.
As city councilmembers voted unanimously late Tuesday to ask the U.S. attorney's office to investigate the recent officer-involved shootings, protesters grew violent outside City Hall.
Some had been shut out of the council meeting because there was no more room. They responded by ignoring warnings to disperse and tossing rocks and bottles at police, who fired bean bag rounds and pepper balls.
Officers formed lines to try to contain the crowd as residents set fire to trash cans, taunted police and swarmed a Starbucks, breaking windows.
At one point, police shut down a gas station when protesters were seen filling canisters with gas. At least two people were arrested, police Sgt. Bob Dunn said.
The back-to-back deaths over the weekend took the tally of shootings by police officers in this Orange County city to six so far this year, up from four a year before. Five of the incidents have been fatal.
Police Chief John Welter said Diaz was shot after two officers approached three men who were acting suspiciously in an alley before running away. One officer chased Diaz to the front of an apartment complex.
The chief would not say what led the officer to shoot Diaz. But he failed to heed orders to stop and threw something on the roof of the complex that contained what officers believe to be heroin, Welter said. Both officers were placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
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."
Theresa Smith, whose son was killed Dec. 11, 2009, by Anaheim officers at a Walmart store, said she went by the scene of Saturday's shooting and was astounded by what she saw.
via Yahoo
