24 arrested at police protests in Anaheim: Feds to Review 2 Separate Police Shootings of Unarmed Latino Men

From [HERE] Anaheim's mayor says federal officials have agreed to review two deadly police shootings after a fourth day of violent protests. Mayor Tom Tait says he'll meet with members of the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI on Friday.

Authorities say as many as 1,000 demonstrators surged through downtown in the Southern California city Tuesday night [MORE] , smashing windows on 20 businesses and setting trash fires. Police and patrol cars were pelted with rocks and bottles. Hundreds of police used batons, pepper balls and beanbag rounds.

The violence is a reaction to the deaths of two unarmed Latino Men who were both killed by police; Manuel Diaz (in photo left) was shot by police on Saturday and Jose Acevedo (in photo right) was gunned by cops on Monday. The police have implied that the shootings were somehow justified by both men's alleged gang affiliation. Never mind the circumstances. As usual, when it comes to brown people shot by police, to the media, whatever the police say happened, they agree. Such is the devaluation of Black and Latino lives to white people - another precondition of genocide. And please - don't blame the guns.

Witnesses says Diaz Shot in the Back

Diaz was shot around 4 p.m. in front of an apartment complex on the 600 block of North Anna Drive following a foot chase, Anaheim Sgt. Bob Dunn said. He died three hours later at a hospital. Crystal Ventura, a 17-year-old who witnessed the shooting, told the Register the man had his back to the officer. She said he was shot in the buttocks area. The man then went down on his knees, and she said he was struck by another bullet in the head. Another officer handcuffed the man who by then was on the ground and not moving, Ventura said.

“They searched his pockets, and there was a hole in his head, and I saw blood on his face,” she said.

Crystal Ventura, a 17-year-old who witnessed the shooting, told the Register the man had his back to the officer. She said the man was shot in the buttocks area. The man then went down on his knees, and she said he was struck by another bullet in the head. Another officer handcuffed the man who by then was on the ground and not moving, Ventura said. “They searched his pockets, and there was a hole in his head, and I saw blood on his face,” she said.

Witnesses says Acevedo Shot after being Handcuffed

The Police shooting of Acevedo took place on Sunday when anti-gang crime officers spotted a stolen SUV and started chasing it. Three suspects were said to have jumped out of the SUV, with police continuing their pursuit on foot. The men reportedly opened fire at an officer, and the policeman retaliated by shooting dead one of the shooters.   However, eyewitnesses say police shot Acevedo who was already handcuffed, OC Weekly reports. According to OC Weekly, and citing eyewitness accounts, police shot dead a handcuffed man on the 400 block of West Guinida Lane. [MORE]  

Police say there were 24 arrests and at least five injuries to officers, media and demonstrators but none was serious. The clashes followed a City Council meeting Tuesday in which city leaders voted to ask the U.S attorney's office to investigate weekend officer-involved shootings that killed two men and prompted a $50 million civil-rights lawsuit.

The council chambers were packed with people and about 100 protesters were unable to get inside, Dunn said.

They chanted and held a peaceful rally outside. But the crowd swelled and when some people pushed on the windows, police came out and pushed them back, Dunn said.

Demonstrators marched to police headquarters and back to City Hall, but violence didn't erupt until around 6:30 p.m. when police detained a demonstrator who reportedly had a gun, Dunn said.

It turned out the man did not have a weapon, but some in the crowd began throwing rocks at officers, Dunn said.

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.

Some demonstrators took over an intersection, and a splinter group walked to the scene of one police shooting and back, throwing rocks, vandalizing cars and throwing a Molotov cocktail that damaged a police car, Dunn said.

Throughout the night, knots of protesters spread through downtown, setting fires in trash cans and smashing windows of businesses, including a Starbucks, Dunn said. There also were reports that a T-shirt store was looted, he said.

A gas station was shut down after reports that some protesters were seen filling canisters with gas.

Police used pepper balls and beanbag rounds. Twenty adults and four minors were arrested, Dunn said.

About five people were hurt, including a police officer, two members of the media who were struck by rocks, and some protesters who may have been injured by police or during a fight between demonstrators, authorities said.

The family of Manuel Diaz sued the city and the Police Department on Tuesday, claiming he was shot and killed Saturday while running away, lawyer James Rumm said. The family is seeking $50 million in damages.

The second shooting occurred Sunday when officers spotted a suspected gang member in a stolen sport utility vehicle. A brief pursuit ended when three people jumped from the vehicle and ran. Joel Mathew Acevedo, 21, fired at an officer and the officer shot and killed him, authorities said.

The back-to-back deaths took the tally of shootings by officers in this Orange County city to six so far this year, up from four a year before. Five of the incidents were 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 Welter said Diaz failed to heed orders to stop and threw something on the roof of the complex that contained what officers believe was heroin. 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."

Anaheim is a city of contrasts that ranges from upscale, hilltop homes to packed, gritty apartment complexes.

The city 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles is known as home to the Angels baseball team, and above all, to world-famous Disneyland.

As California's Hispanic population has grown, so has the Anaheim's, hitting nearly 53 percent in 2010, census figures show.

Residents' concerns about the use of police force in the city aren't new. Last month, Anaheim decided to look into hiring an independent investigator to review police shootings amid protests by relatives of those killed in officers' gunfire.

Latino activists say that isn't enough and they want federal officials to investigate the Saturday shooting.

Tait, who has called for state and federal investigations, said: "If the Latino community is saying there is a rift, then there is rift, and we need to address that."

The police union issued a statement defending the officers involved in the shootings and said both men killed were gang members who had criminal records. The union also said that just before Diaz turned toward officers, he pulled an object from his waistband — a place where gang members commonly hide guns.

The FBI is conducting a review to determine whether a civil rights investigation is warranted, agency spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.