OF THE
TIMES
BLM demonstrators flocked to a site in South Los Angeles where a black man was shot and killed by deputies of the LA County Sheriff's Department. The man was filmed running from the officers and reportedly had a gun on him.Protesters lay siege to LA sheriff's office as cops declare unlawful assembly
The shooting happened on Monday after midday in the area of Budlong Avenue and 109th Place. According to the Sheriff's Department, deputies were driving in a patrol car when they saw the man riding a bicycle, and decided to pull him over for a traffic violation. He left the bike and tried to run away.
When the deputies caught up with him, he fought back and punched one of them in the face. At that moment they spotted a handgun among some clothing items that the man had been carrying and dropped on the ground during the fight. It was not immediately clear if he tried to reach for the weapon before the deputies shot him, the department said in a statement to the media.
The confrontation was filmed on a phone by an eyewitness, though the footage available on social media doesn't include the moment of the shooting itself.
WARNING: DISTURBING VIDEO
The series of short clips first shows a black man running in the street. It then goes to a moment after the shooting, showing two police officers with their handguns drawn and the shooting victim lying motionlessly. Witnesses are heard screaming while the cameraman says: "They shot [him] like 20 times."
The police would not immediately release the name of the shooting victim, but his family and the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter identified him as Dijon Kizzee, who was in his late 20s.
"How many more times do we have to gather out here, mourning the loss of our brothers and sisters," one protester told CBS LA.
The shooting is being investigated by the District Attorney's Office, the coroner's office and the sheriff's own Internal Affairs Bureau and inspector general.
Riot police have declared an unlawful demonstration after a large group of angry protesters gathered outside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office following a police shooting of a black man.'White Hispanic race soldier': Self-styled 'race-baiter' Tariq Nasheed plays identity card after Latino cop shoots black suspect
The man was shot by sheriff's deputies on Monday shortly after midday, after he allegedly assaulted one of the deputies as they tried to arrest him. The officers claim the man was in possession of a handgun, though eyewitness footage of the incident is, so far, inconclusive.
He was named by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles as Dijon Kizzee, though authorities have yet to confirm this is his real name.
Regardless, large crowds of protesters gathered in the area of Budlong Avenue and 109th Place, the scene of the shooting, where there were minor scuffles, before descending on a local sheriff's office, as video from the scene purports to show.
Police quickly declared the gathering unlawful and ordered the crowd - many of whom had Black Lives Matter flags, placards and banners - to disperse.
In some of the footage, irate protesters can be seen screaming "You have no soul motherf**ker" in the face of sheriff's deputies dressed in riot gear.
The situation remains tense, but there has not yet been any violence, rioting or looting as witnessed elsewhere in the US - such as Portland and Kenosha - during the current groundswell of anti-police protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody back in May.
Film producer Tariq Nasheed's tweet implying that Hispanics are racist toward African Americans was met with ridicule and antagonism. He posted it after a Latino sheriff's deputy fatally shot a black man.
The self-described "race-baiter" tweeted on Monday about a "white Hispanic race soldier" killing a black man in Los Angeles the same day. In the post, Nasheed mocked the idea of a "black and brown coalition" standing up to racial oppression, appearing to imply that Latino and African American people are not on the same side of the struggle.
The tweet began trending in the US as it was undergoing severe online scrutiny.
Most commenters were simply taken aback by the use of the term 'white Hispanic', with which Nasheed tried to classify Latino people with lighter skin tone.
The producer was also accused of "attempting to incite a race war" for using the term "race soldier."
At the same time the concept of Latino anti-black racism did find some support online, with people postulating that "Hispanic is not a race" but an "ethnicity."
Besides his Twitter exploits, Nasheed is mainly known for producing documentary films on racism. He is sometimes accused of being a 'race-baiter', allegedly sensationalizing stories by focusing on their racial aspects. Nasheed tried to reclaim this moniker for himself, by saying he simply "baits racists and exposes them."
*Now I know why his street name was 'Mustard'.
RC