Racial Tensions and Questionable Killings by Police
in Anaheim: 9 Things You Should Know

    It's best-known as "happiest place on Earth."
    But just four miles away from Disneyland, a
    cloud of tear gas and public outrage has swept
    over Anaheim.

By Kristen Gwynne
AlterNet
July 26, 2012

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/racial-tensions-and-questionable-killings-police-anaheim-9-things-you-should-know?page=0%2C2&akid=9119.20966.D-KLei&rd=1&src=newsletter680980&t=5&paging=off

The city of Anaheim, California may be best-known
as home to the "happiest place on Earth." But on
Tuesday, just four miles away from Disneyland, a
cloud of tear gas swept over Anaheim. Angry
residents smashed business windows, hurled rocks,
and started trash-can fires as the police shot bean
bag bullets, pepper balls, and tear gas at them.

The majority-Latino town appears to have imploded,
as residents demand answers for a police killing
they say is proof of racial biases.

Saturday afternoon was the last time twenty-five-
year-old Manuel Diaz saw daylight. Residents say
Diaz was unarmed and running when police shot
him from behind. That afternoon, angry neighbors
gathered near the incident in protest. Video shows
Anaheim police firing bean bags and pepper spray
into a crowd full of families. By Sunday, about 50
demonstrators marched to the Anaheim Police
Department's headquarters, but the Anaheim PD
had already killed again. This time, the dead was
"documented gang member" Joel Acevedo, who
allegedly fired at police pursuing his stolen vehicle.
Demonstrations continued into Tuesday, when
tensions erupted in a near- warzone just miles away
from Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

The people of Anaheim are demanding justice. What
will happen next is uncertain, and anger rages on.
Here are nine things you need to know about
Anaheim's past four days, and the building tension
erupting in Southern California.

1)The Shot That Started It All

Residents first were in a uproar about the nature of
Diaz's killing, which appears to be an overt abuse of
force. According to witness accounts, police first
shot Diaz in the leg, bringing him down to his
knees, before firing again at his head. Mayor Tom
Tait called reports that Diaz was shot in the head
and leg "unsettling." On Tuesday, Diaz's family filed
a civil rights lawsuit for $50 million in damages
from the city of Anaheim and the Anaheim police
department. They say Diaz was not threatening, but
was shot while running away.

In some reports, police claim they approached Diaz
for "suspicious" behavior -- hurling something they
"believe" to have been heroin onto nearby roofs.
Still, drug allegations have not been substantiated,
with no recovery of the alleged heroin.

2. Child Victims of Police Brutality

Children were present at Saturday's demonstration
when police unleashed attack dogs and rubber
bullets into the crowd. According to this
heartbreaking video, some of Anaheim's youth were
not spared the police department's force. Police dogs
knocked over a stroller and a bit a young boy. One
little girl said, "They're saying they let the dog go out
by accident but it was on purpose."

A child as young as five -- shot in the eye with a
police projectile -- is among the youngest reportedly
struck. Amber Stephens at Orange County Weekly
reports interviewing five children of the more than
one dozen residents struck by beanbag rounds.
"One minor said she was hit by a teargas bullet in
her mouth," Stephens wrote.

Anaheim Police Sargeant Bob Dunn told OC Weekly,
"If children were hit, they have not made their
presence known to us," but footage of the rally
makes it clear that children were everywhere -- their
presence was obvious.

3. Why the Weapons?

The reason for police force on Saturday is unclear.
Police have told the media they used weapons on
the crowd in response to "gang-members" throwing
bottles. Footage of the alleged instigation is not
available; still, a bystander told OC Weekly "a few
water bottles were tossed in the street" as
demonstrators demanded answers from police, who
"just started shooting everyone."

4. 600 Demonstrators vs 250 Riot Police

Tensions escalated Tuesday at City Hall after
demonstrators urging the City Council to investigate
Diaz's death were not allowed to enter. Police issued
a dispersal order to hundreds of demonstrators at
around 9pm. According to the Guardian,"within
minutes," demonstrators were fleeing after police
shot pepper balls at their feet. The 250 riot police
called to the scene also released bean bag balls and
tear gas on the 600 demonstrators. Twenty-four
were arrested in the chaos, which some say
included some struggles between angry rioters and
demonstrators committed to peace.

The number of injuries stemming from Tuesday's
action is unclear, but if you don't think bean bag
bullets hurt, take a look at these photos.

5. Journalists Struck by Police Projectiles

Two Orange County Register reporters were injured
on Tuesday-- one by a rock, another by a police
projectile. The extent of their injuries is unclear, but
at least five other journalists were shot while
covering the action, including independent
livestreamer Tim Pool, the emmy-award winning
investigator Amber Lyon, and three KFI News
staffers. Video of Pool and Lyon being shot at is
disturbing: They don't seem to be amid a violent
crowd in which they were caught in the crossfire,
but are standing peacefully on the sidewalk. Pool
says his press badge was clearly displayed the
second time police fired projectiles at him.

6. The Race Problem

Locals say the Anaheim police's killing of Diaz and
violence against protesters represents Anaheim PD's
disrespect for the Latino community. The zipcode
where Diaz was shot -- and where demonstrators
communed Saturday -- is 90% Latino. Still, the
riots may be more than a response to the police
department's harsh racial profiling. Anaheim's
victims may have no outlet to air their grievances
and work for change. Even though Anaheim is more
than 50% Latino, none of its city council members
are. The representational disparity is so lopsided the
ACLU and local activists recently filed a lawsuit
claiming it violates the 2001 Voting Rights Act, and
demanding a new system whereby residents vote for
their district's representative only.

7. Death Represents Sixth Person Shot by Police

This weekend's killings make for six shootings --
five of which have been fatal -- at the hands of
Orange County police so far this year. In all of last
year, the total was four.

8. Escalating Tensions

Protests against killings by police have been ongoing
over the past couple of years. Every week, the
mother of 35-year-old Caesar Cruz, shot by Anaheim
police in 2009, joins her supporters at the police
headquarters to demand answers. Ongoing
demonstrations led officials last month to look into
hiring a private investigator to probe "major police
incidents." Local activists are calling for a citizen
review commission to oversee the police
department, a federal investigation, and new
training for police.

Fatal police force may be a growing problem not just
in Anaheim, but Southern California. The Los
Angeles Times reports that killings by cops in LA
County increased 70% last year compared to 2010,
even though homicide dipped to a historic low. And
let's not forget nearby Fullerton, where police
brutally beat and killed a mentally ill man.

9. Investigations and Punishment

The Orange County District Attorney's Office is
investigating the shooting death of Manuel Diaz --
and whether to file criminal charges --
independently of the police. City officials voted
unanimously Tuesday to ask the U.S. attorney's
office to investigate recent police shootings. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation has agreed to review
the evidence. Two police officers involved in the
fatal shooting of Diaz have been placed on paid
leave.
__________

Kristen Gwynne covers drugs at AlterNet. She
graduated from New York University with a degree in
journalism and psychology.

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