Manuel Diaz's mom condemns Anaheim violence in protests against fatal police shootings
Genevieve Huizar, third from left, the mother of Manuel Diaz, who was shot to death by Anaheim police, breaks down after a news conference in Santa Ana, Calif., July 25, 2012. / AP Photo
(CBS/AP) ANAHEIM, Calif. - Police maintained a heavy presence on the streets of Anaheim to guard against further violent protests in the wake of the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by officers.
The mother of Manuel Diaz condemned the unrest that has roiled the city, saying she did not want them to become her son's legacy.
"I watched as my son took his last breath. I watched as his heart stopped beating for the last time," Genevieve Huizar said Wednesday, breaking into sobs. "Please, please, please stop the violence. It's not going to bring my son back, and this is the worst thing any mother could go through."
Diaz's family 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.
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Her news conference followed a night of protests where as many as 600 demonstrators surged through downtown, smashing shop windows, setting trash fires and hurling rocks and bottles at riot-clad officers who used batons, pepper balls and beanbag rounds.
Twenty-four people, including four minors, were arrested on suspicion of crimes ranging from failure to disperse to assault with a deadly weapon, Police Chief John Welter said.
The violence downtown left 20 stores with shattered windows, authorities said
Mayor Tom Tait also appealed for calm and said the U.S. attorney's office had agreed to review two officer-involved shootings over the weekend — including the one that left Diaz dead — and that he planned to meet with members of that office and the FBI on Friday.
"We will have a clear and complete understanding of these incidents" followed by a public dialogue on what actions should be taken, Tait said at a news conference.
Riot police, protesters clash in Anaheim
Police were out in force Wednesday night and there were no immediate reports of problems.
As CBS Los Angeles station KCAL/KCBS-TV reports, the problems may shift from the street to cyberspace. The politically motivated "hacktivist" group Anonymous urged its followers to retaliate against the police department.
Police said Diaz was shot Saturday 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 second shooting occurred Sunday when officers spotted a suspected gang member in a stolen sport utility vehicle. After a brief pursuit, police said 21-year-old Joel Mathew Acevedo fired at an officer who returned fire and killed him.
The back-to-back deaths were the fourth and fifth fatal police shooting in this Orange County city this year
The shootings and resulting demonstrations marred the image of the Orange County city, which is home to Disneyland and the Angels baseball team but also has neighborhoods teeming with gritty apartments.
Like much of California, the city of more than 330,000 has changed significantly since Disneyland put it on the map in 1955. With its growth spurt, the once mostly white population is now more than 50 percent Hispanic and there's a sense of disenfranchisement from some in the Latino community.
The lawyer for Diaz's family said Hispanics feel they are disproportionately singled out by police and instinctively avoid police.
"White kids in a rich white neighborhood don't get rousted by police and when they do, they don't have to fear the police. But that's not true with brown kids in a poor neighborhood," said Dana Douglas, the attorney.
"Frankly, when it's brown kids in a poor area just standing there having a conversation, it's considered suspicious."
Police Sgt. Bob Dunn did not return messages seeking comment on Douglas' comments.
Police 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.
Diaz's family sued the city and the police department on Tuesday, claiming he was shot and killed while running away, lawyer James Rumm said. The family is seeking $50 million in damages.
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This is a lie... Police actually are quicker to respond and most of those rich neighborhoods also have private security, that are not restrained by the politics.
White kids, in a poor neighborhood have more to fear than the police.
It's not the cops fault that 90% of the kids in the poor neighborhood would shoot their friends for a jacket...
Something I have witnessed first hand!
I guess you do not believe Racial Profiling even exist. Paint your body black or brown and just walk around the downtown in your city. Then, come back to this blog and tell me what is Racial Profiling.
In the poor neighborhood where I grew up, I witnessed a million times, Rich White boys and girls stopping by to purchase Narcotic Drugs.
As long as High Quality Education is for the Privilege few and not a Right, Poor kids lose all Hopse for the 'American Dream' at an early age - before they reach teenage.
What else do you expect with a Poor Education with little opportunities to 'get out'.
I was never in gangs when I was a Teenage. In fact, I have a Master of Science in Engineering from a top American University.
When I was a teenage, I was twice stopped while driving near my house by Police officers and searched inside out. They let me go after 30/40 minutes of finding nothing to charge me with.
City Riot is the byproduct of years of Racism Profiling. The pressure in the tank is eventually too much.
I hope she gets the 50 million..not for the fact to vindicate a alleged gang member.. but for the fact he was shot in the back as he was running..
..so in the words of george "the coward & liar" zimmeman who stated as the sentiment.."THEY ALWAYS GET AWAY F'in COONS"..
..shoot first and explain later in your defense..because a DEAD person can't talk to PROVE what you say happened didn't happen..
There HAS to be a reason he was shot besides that he was a gangbanger pulling something out on police right? Where are the Black panthers? Why aren't they enraged and putting bounty's on police heads??