Published: July 22, 2012 Updated: July 24, 2012Anaheim shooting:
2 cops on leave,
1 dead, 5 arrested
Firefighters from the city of Anaheim put out a dumpster fire set by demonstrators protesting the Anaheim Police Department's shooting of Manuel Diaz on Saturday. Diaz died as a result of gunshot wounds sustained.STUART PALLEY, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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The shooting climaxed an incident that began around 11:20 p.m. Sunday, when anti-gang officers spotted a known gang member on probation in what they soon determined was a stolen car, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said. They were pursuing the vehicle when the driver lost control on on West Guinida Lane, and two men and a woman bailed.
“The officers were in foot pursuit for about a half-block when one male suspect fired at the officers,” Dunn said. “The officers returned fire, striking the suspect, who was dead at the scene.”
A gun was found next to the body, he said, adding that the second male suspect was detained, but the female got away, and a perimeter search for her was under way.
It was not immediately determined if the suspect who fired on officers was the gang member on probation, Dunn said.
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ANAHEIM – Two police officers have been placed on paid leave after one of them fatally shot an unarmed man as he attempted to flee on foot in a residential alleyway, police Chief John Welter said Sunday.
The shooting victim, 25-year-old Manuel Angel Diaz of Santa Ana, was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 7 p.m. Saturday after being shot in the alley a few blocks northeast of downtown Anaheim.
Police described Diaz as a "documented gang member," and said he was shot after the officers saw three men near a car in the 600 block of Anna Drive, near La Palma Avenue and State College Boulevard. Believing the activity to be suspicious, the officers approached the vehicle, and all three men fled on foot.
The officers chased Diaz and observed him throwing unidentified objects onto rooftops as he ran, Welter said. What led one of the officers to shoot Diaz remained under investigation Sunday, Welter said.
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said he would be asking California's attorney general to assist in the investigation.
"I'm asking for a full investigation," Tait said at a Sunday news conference. "Transparency is essential. Whatever the truth is, we will own it."
The dead man's sister, Lupe Diaz, said Sunday that her brother was "just hanging out with friends" before the shooting.
"There is no explanation," Diaz said. "It's not fair."
The Orange County District Attorney's Office already has launched its own investigation independent of Anaheim police's, said spokeswoman Susan Schroeder, which is standard protocol for officer-involved shootings that lead to injury or death. At the conclusion of its investigation, the D.A. will either file criminal charges or explain why no charges were filed, she said.
"We don't release any comment until we're done investigating and release that full report," Schroeder said.
As Anaheim city officials held the news conference Sunday afternoon, demonstrators coalesced in the lobby of the Anaheim Police Department headquarters on Harbor Boulevard, chanting messages such as "No justice, no peace," "Justice for Manuel" and "Cops, pigs, murderers" in front of a row of five police officers.
Anaheim police "are not judge, jury and executioner. Nobody is given their due process," said demonstrator Theresa Smith, a community organizer whose son, Caesar Ray Cruz, was fatally shot by Anaheim police in 2010.
"My heart is breaking right now for the mother who lost her son last night," she said. "I'm really hoping we can resolve this in a civil manner."
Sunday's news conference came a day after near-rioting by Anaheim residents protesting what they characterized as a series of senseless, unnecessary officer-involved shooting deaths in Anaheim in recent years.
On Saturday, as demonstrators gathered at the scene of the shooting, Anaheim officers fired bean bags and pepper spray into a crowd of protestors. Welter said Sunday the move was in response to "some known gang members" who had begun throwing bottles and rocks at officers.
Also, Welter said a K-9 police dog accidentally escaped from an officer's vehicle and rushed into the crowd, biting demonstrators in an attack caught on video.
At least one person received medical treatment; it was unclear if anyone else was injured, the chief said Sunday.
"Officers in this situation can't retreat," Welter said, defending the officers' decision to fire at the demonstrators. "If we would have abandoned the scene, we would not be doing our job."
Welter said some in the crowd seemed to be inciting the violence. Five people were arrested – two unidentified minors from Anaheim and Placentia, plus:
•Gabriel Calderon, 20, of Brea, described by police as a "documented gang member" and arrested on suspicion of public consumption of alcohol and later booked on suspicion of murder and street terrorism stemming from a May 2012 gang-related homicide in Anaheim.
•Jose Armando Herrera, 26, of San Bernardino, arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest and described as a "documented gang member."
•Jose Jaime Aguilar Lopez, 46, of Anaheim, arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and the forceful taking of an individual from the custody of an officer.
"I don't have a problem with people exercising their First Amendment rights," Welter said. "I do have a problem when people start throwing bottles and rocks at my officers."
But Welter apologized Sunday for the K-9 dog that escaped.
"We are extremely sorry for the people who were bit," Welter said. "The city will be responsible for all medical bills associated with the dog. The canine officer responsible for the dog is devastated by this."
Also on Saturday night, a trash bin was lit on fire at least three times and rolled into the middle of the street, blocking traffic. Officers removed the bin each time.
Some of that same unrest unfolded again Sunday night. Trash bins were rolled onto the street at least twice, and the fire in one grew so intense that firefighters were called to snuff it out.
On Sunday, city leaders appealed to the community for calm while they continued to look into what happened.
"We will do everything we can to find the truth about what truly happened out there," Anaheim Councilwoman Lorri Galloway said.
Added the mayor: "As with many people, I viewed the events and was very, very concerned with what I saw."
SATURDAY'S SHOOTING
Anaheim's police chief confirmed Sunday the shooting victim on Anna Drive was unarmed. There were no weapons recovered at the scene that could have belonged to Diaz, Welter said.
Welter said he could not immediately confirm how many shots were fired or precisely where Diaz was shot, other than it was in the 700 block of Anna Drive.
The neighborhood surrounding Anna Drive has experienced escalating gang activity, which is why police have been regularly patrolling the area, he said.
Although just one of the two officers shot at Diaz, both were put on paid administrative leave, Welter said. Their identities were not released.
Diaz was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and died at 7 p.m., Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said. The two other men got away, and the car they were standing next to when the officers approached them was impounded, he said.
A 17-year-old who lives in the neighborhood said she saw the shooting from about 20 feet away. She said Diaz had his back to the officer and was shot in the buttocks area. Diaz went down on his knees, and she said he was struck by another bullet in the head. The other officer handcuffed Diaz, who by then was on the ground and not moving, she added.
"They searched his pockets, and there was a hole in his head, and I saw blood on his face," she said.
(The Register is withholding the girl's name at her family's request, because she is a minor and they are concerned for her safety.)
Police reportedly tried to buy any video taken by witnesses on their cellphones, residents said.
Dunn said he didn't know whether the allegations were true. He said it was unclear whether it's against Anaheim Police Department policy to do so, but said that the agency would investigate.
In the past, Dunn said, officers have asked for cellphone video as evidence, but he said he didn't know of instances where officers would pay for it.
Daisy Gonzalez, 16, who identified herself as Diaz's niece, said her uncle likely ran away from officers when they approached him because of his past experience with law enforcement.
"He (doesn't) like cops. He never liked them because all they do is harass and arrest anyone," Gonzalez said Saturday after lighting a candle for her uncle at the scene of the shooting.
SATURDAY'S MELEE
At the scene of the shooting on Saturday, where about 100 demonstrators had gathered to protest, officers shot bean bags and pepper balls into the crowd after some began throwing rocks and bottles at police.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the officers gave any warning, Dunn said.
Yesenia Rojas, 34, who lives in the neighborhood and knew the man as a "good person," said she was hit by a bean bag, pointing to a red and purple welt on the side of her stomach.
"Why kill this man?" she said.
Rojas said a stroller with her 1-year-old grandson was toppled over and the baby was nearly attacked when the K-9 police dog escaped from its handler.
Throughout the night, police in multiple marked and unmarked squad cars attempted to control the unruly crowd gathered near the shooting scene. Officers cordoned the intersection at East La Palma Avenue and Anna Drive with the same yellow crime-scene tape used by police where the shooting happened.
About 9:30 p.m., an Anaheim police helicopter was observed hovering above the crowd while police on the ground brandished batons and other weapons at the crowd, attempting to keep order.
Some in the crowd reported they had inhaled some of the pepper spray fired by police. Demonstrator Joel Hunt, 21, of Fullerton, who was in the area visiting a friend when the shooting happened, said Saturday night his throat was still burning from the effects of being sprayed.
On Sunday, Elizabeth Aguilar, 19, displayed a welt on her upper right arm where she said she was hit by a bean bag fired by a police officer at close range.
Aguilar said that when the K-9 dog was released on demonstrators, she was struck by a bean bag after trying to hit the dog as it lunged toward a stroller with a baby inside.
Her father was struck three times by bean bags and had to seek treatment at a hospital, she said.
"I thought (the police) are supposed to warn us if they are about to do something like that to clear the crowd," Aguilar said. "But they just started shooting at us.
"I used to look up to the police when I was a kid," she added. "But now I have no respect."
SUNDAY'S PROTEST
On Sunday, about 50 community members and activists staged a march from the scene of the shooting to the Anaheim Police Department's headquarters about two miles away.
Carrying signs that read "Stop the killings" and "You may be next," they entered the front lobby of the police station and chanted through bull horns: "No justice, no peace" and "Shame, shame."
Protesters also created a chalk drawing on the sidewalk outside police headquarters, writing messages such as "Shame on Anaheim P.D."
"I think when you see a community act up like that and lose their fear of police, it's a clear sign that they are angry over an injustice," said demonstrator Doug Kauffman, 24, a Long Beach resident and organizer with the Campaign to Stop Police Violence. "A man was murdered by police on their street. Of course they are angry and are going to protest."
A line of five police officers stood stoically at a doorway that led to the briefing room where Sunday's news conference took place.
Just as the meeting was about to begin, Diaz's family was escorted into the room along with reporters and photographers.
Lupe Diaz, 29, the man's sister, said her brother was unemployed, but had worked in offices and as a general laborer.
"He was a bright soul. Fun. Caring. He'd never hurt a soul," she said. "He had such a big heart."
HISTORY OF COMMUNITY TENSION
Saturday's shooting was the latest by the Anaheim Police Department, which is under scrutiny for several recent officer-involved shootings.
For nearly two years, families of others who have been fatally shot by Anaheim police in recent years have been holding protests at Anaheim police headquarters each Sunday.
Those protests led city officials last month to order an independent investigation of "major police incidents," several of which resulted in suspects being killed.
Galloway said Sunday that city officials were still working to find "a truly independent investigator that can find the truth."
Galloway, who has been on the council for eight years, headed a community initiative that worked to improve conditions in the neighborhood where Saturday's shooting took place.
She said her heart ached when she saw television footage of a police dog overturning a stroller and bean bags being fired at community members.
"I take this very personally because I know many of the people out there and there are a lot of good people in that neighborhood," Galloway said. "And I've also heard their cries about the rampant crime and the need to clean it up.
"I don't know the context of what happened out there yet, and that's why we need to find the truth."
RELATED STORIES
OC Register's Day 1 coverage of Saturday's officer-involved shooting: http://bit.ly/MhrPf0
CBS2/KCAL9 video of the Anaheim melee and police response: http://cbsloc.al/Qo2MM4
OCRegister coverage of a March 2012 officer-involved shooting in Anaheim: http://bit.ly/M4BkCP
Occupy Orange County's video coverage of this weekend's protests: http://www.ustream.tv/user/orangecrew
–Register staff writers Sonya Quick, Scott Martindale, Fermin Leal, Eric Carpenter, Cindy Carcamo and Sean Emery contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: squick@ocregister.com
Related:
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Anaheim Residents
Continue Protests
After Cops Open Fire
at Women, Kids [Video]
On Saturday Anaheim Police Department officers openly fired bean bags, pepper spray and released an attack dog into a crowd that included women and children protesting an officer involved shooting earlier in the day. If that isn’t shocking enough, about 24-hours later Anaheim police killed another man who was allegedly driving a stolen car.
(You read that right, demonstrators who were protesting police brutality became victims of police brutality themselves and after all that cops shot a second guy that same weekend.)
Demonstrators gathered Saturday afternoon to demand the police department explain why officers shot and killed an unarmed 25-year-old male. The OC Register explains what went down just before the shooting:
Police described Diaz as a “documented gang member,” and said he was shot after the officers saw three men near a car in the 600 block of Anna Drive, near La Palma Avenue and State College Boulevard. Believing the activity to be suspicious, the officers approached the vehicle, and all three men fled on foot.
“What exactly happened during the shooting we don’t know, we’re still investigating that,” Sgt. Bob Dunn told KCAL-9 News on Saturday. “But the shooting occurred and the male was taken to a local hospital. “
The shooting victim, Manuel Angel Diaz of Santa Ana, was pronounced dead at the hospital at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“Once they shot him in the leg and he went down the cops continued and shot him in the head, what is that about? My brother didn’t have a weapon on him at all,” the victim’s sister Correna Chavez told KCBS-LA on Sunday.
Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said Sunday his officers fired bean bags and pepper spray at the crowd after “some known gang members” threw bottles and rocks at officers.
Welter also said the K-9 police dog seen in the video above “accidentally escaped” from an officer’s vehicle and rushed into the crowd. The dog bit two demonstrators, including one man who was trying to unbuckle his 1-year-old baby from a stroller.
“They’re saying they let the dog go out by accident but it was on purpose,” said a young girl in the video to the right uploaded to YouTube Sunday. “We saw the dog stop but then it just kept on going.”
A 5-year-old girl was also hit in the eye by a “rubber bullet,” according to another young resident in the video.
Almost 90% of the community where the shooting took place is Latino, according to public records.
The Mayor of Anaheim has asked the State Attorney to investigate the initial shooting.
“I’m asking for a full investigation,” Tait said at a Sunday news conference. “Transparency is essential. Whatever the truth is, we will own it.”
That statement didn’t mean much to residents because on Sunday night protests continued. Local news reports at 11pm Sunday showed two large trash containers that were lit on fire near the intersection where Diaz was shot.
An hour and a half later the OCWeekly broke the news that Anaheim police had shot and killed a second male. By 2am Monday morning 200 protesters are on the scene.
Details about the latest shooting are still emerging but according to the OCRegister it all started after “officers spotted a known gang member on probation in what they soon determined was a stolen car.”
In 2012 alone, there have been seven officer-involved shootings in Anaheim, according to Presente.org.