Protesters Pelt LA Police Station Over Shooting

(AP)  Updated 9:50 a.m. ET

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck pleaded for calm and vowed his department would conduct an exhaustive investigation into a bicycle officer's fatal shooting of a Guatemalan day laborer with a knife.

But his words did little to dissuade demonstrators, who spilled into the streets for a second straight night Tuesday — some to pray and light candles and others to pelt a police station near downtown Los Angeles with eggs, rocks and bottles.

Police reported 22 arrests on Tuesday night, mainly for failure to disperse and unlawful assembly, Officer Karen Rayner said.

Officers fired at least two rounds of nonlethal foam projectiles at demonstrators, Rayner said. No injuries to officers or civilians were reported.

Manuel Jamines, 37, was shot twice by a police officer Sunday afternoon near MacArthur Park, a poor neighborhood packed with recent immigrants from Central America.

On Monday, four people were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor inciting a riot, and others threw rocks and bottles at police, slightly injuring three officers, Officer Bruce Borihanh said.

On Tuesday, about 300 protesters took their complaints to the police station only two blocks from where Jamines died, said Lt. Andrew Neiman. Officers tried to move the demonstrators away from the station and keep them away from the park.

A citywide tactical alert was called to free up officers to respond to the area, Rayner said.

Beck said the incident involving Jamines started when someone flagged down three bicycle officers to tell them a man was threatening people with a knife.

The officers approached the suspect and told him in Spanish and English to put down the weapon. Instead, Jamines raised the knife above his head and lunged at Officer Frank Hernandez, a 13-year veteran of the department, Beck said.

Eyewitness accounts from six civilians, nine police personnel and two fire department staff indicate Hernandez fired twice "in immediate defense of life," Beck said. Jamines, 37, died at the scene.

Investigators recovered a bloody, 6-inch (15-centimeter) knife at the scene but didn't know where the blood came from.

"This was a very brief moment in time, just 40 seconds between first contact and the time of the shooting," Beck said.

Beck said the timeline was based on preliminary interviews. He said the department's Force Investigation Division will conduct a thorough, transparent probe.

The three officers involved in the shooting have been temporarily reassigned during the investigation.

Jamines had a wife and three children — ages 13, 6 and 8 — in his hometown of Mazatenango, Guatemala, according to his cousin Juan Jaminez, 38. He came to the United States six years ago to find work as a day laborer and spent most of his time looking for jobs.

Jamines was drunk but not dangerous, his cousin and neighbors said.

"Killing a drunk isn't right," said Juan Jaminez, also a day laborer. He and others described Jamines as a friendly, hardworking man who liked to drink on the weekends but wasn't violent.

"The officer who did this should be subject to discipline and a thorough investigation," said Juan Flores, 39, a cook at a downtown restaurant who knew Jamines. "We want to know, is he on vacation or is he fired?"

Flores said the officers should have used a non-lethal weapon to subdue Jamines.

Beck said the officer involved in the shooting didn't have a baton or stun gun with him. He said bicycle officers frequently do not carry the selection of non-lethal weapons found in patrol cars.

Juana Neri, 57, a Mexican immigrant housewife who lives nearby, pushed her grocery bag in a baby stroller past the corner where Jamines was killed.

"It's bad, what the police did, but what's worse is the silly stuff that people were doing here," she said, referring to Monday's violence. "We are not in our country, and with the problems that Hispanic immigrants have these days, it's better not to cause problems."

MacArthur Park was the site of a May 1, 2007, clash in which police officers pummeled immigration rights marchers and reporters with batons and shot rubber bullets into the crowd. Dozens of protesters and journalists were injured. Police said it began with a group of "agitators" outside the park throwing objects at officers.

[berlinfoto-2009]

Did the man really have a knife? this is a honest question. Did he really charge the officer, I would assume that their are non police witnesses.
I know that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the police are not always right.
I have heard stories that one would have to believe to be true about the use of throw down guns, planted at the scene of police shootings. I once hear the story of a police officer responding to a burglary in a butcher shop requested that the burglar, pick up a meat cleaver, the burglar picked it up, and the police officer shot and killed him.
I heard these stories from police officers that knew the officers who did these things.

[Brokennews]

Did you even bother to read the story before spouting off?




"Eyewitness accounts from six civilians, nine police personnel and two fire department staff indicate Hernandez fired twice "in immediate defense of life," Beck said. Jamines, 37, died at the scene."

[tsigili]

Sooner or later, LA is going to have to have, a house cleaning of all those people who refuse to abide by law.

[jd2408]

Don't worry, the DOJ will sue La. Its all good. By the way, the people posting on the LA Times seem to feel this man was illegal. If he is, please do not insult immigrants with the actions of an illegal.

[Brokennews]

The ignorance of some is stunning!!

A nut job with a knife is out theatening ramdom strangers with free ventilation of their chest cavities & the citizen go get a cop. The cops show up & Mr. Wacko raises a knife & charges a cop The cop shoots to defend himself and the cop is the bad guy??
I guarantee that anyone in that situation would shoot too. If you claim that you wouldn't shoot then it could only end up one of two ways. One, you're dead or two you run away like a little girl while leaving Mr Knife Weilding Wack-job to do his business on whatever citizen happens to be nearby.

I would love to hear how those that think the cop was out of line would deal with a guy with a knife charging at you??

[cepe10-2009]

It is illegal to have a knife? I thought the right wing fanatics and NRA were always telling us about our right to bear arms? lol This was not even a gun, a death sentence for holding a knife... wow

[inketolstoy]

The left wing fanatics own California, cepe. Liberals have no problem with the government shooting people who don't follow their rules (as long as they aren't a minority).

[GTR5]

They only killed one? Try again.

[endurorob_5]

So a drunken, criminal immigrant comes at a police officer with a raised knife and the police officer rightly shoots him. Now the criminal immigrant population is protesting and rioting. How f-ing absurd is that.

[either1or]

About as absurd as the federal government suing Arizona.

[cepe10-2009]

The police officer is a worthless coward though

[countrycuz1]

The primary reason why liberals fear and dislike the police is that many recipients in the massive welfare industry are pulling some sort of scam to increase their benefits. The police, as representatives of authority, always present a threat to whatever fraudulent operation is occurring. "Community Organizers", of course side with their "clients" rather than authority. Also, most inmates are nurtured and raised within or surrounded by the welfare industry. The inmate mentality is to blame the police and the courts for whatever transgression committed as to avoid any obligation to rehabilitate. People within the welfare industry are surrounded by stories of wanton law enforcemment cruelty and corruption. Less than 1% prove true. The rest are lies spread within the family and community for a number of reasons. Not least of which to encourage the "no snitch" mentality within the narcotics trade, a business largely subsidized bt welfare distributed tax dollars. Meanwhile, liberal welfare community workers back and promote these falsehoods as a way to strengthen their own standing withing this recently created lower-middle-leisure class of society.

[cepe10-2009]

Also the law enforcement officers and other officers of the court are there own union socialist mafia who serve themselves instead of the public, act like ignorant jerk and are arbitrary and capricious with enforcement, a white guy with a knife probably would not be shot, i see guns nuts carrying pistols and assault rifles around with them in public thinking there are some kind of NRA hero

[wyodutch]

I support the right of the illegal, non-english-speaking immigrants to flock to Cauliflowernia.
.

[countrycuz1]

Reason #3567 why liberalism should be cerified as a mental disorder! The people of AZ are laughing their butts off at the LA idiots. Why doesn't the city-council organize a boycott of the police departmnet. Send them all home on half-pay for a month to teach thoem a lesson.