Just one day after two officers
in Salinas, California, fatally shot a suspected robber, another man was shot
and killed Wednesday night as protests against the quick trigger fingers of
local police took place nearby.
According to CBS San Francisco,
between 300 and 500 protesters gathered near Del Monte Avenue in Salinas to
voice their opposition to what they see as excessive force by police.
Currently, it’s unclear what circumstances led up to the deadly confrontation,
but an already emotional protest turned violent afterwards, and police with
riot gear were called in to respond at the scene.
In the midst of the violence, a
police officer was also hospitalized after being hit in the head with a heavy
object – either a brick or a bottle – as he was performing CPR on the shooting
victim.
One man was also arrested,
local KION News reported. Accused of “harassing” a K-9 and rounding up others
to “taunt” police, 26-year-old Diego Garcia was charged with inciting a riot
and resisting arrest.
Tuesday’s incident marked the
second time in about two weeks that an individual had been killed at the hands
of law enforcement, and the third time this year.
As RT reported previously, a
female resident called police on Tuesday afternoon to report an attempted
break-in. The woman claimed the man involved was also trying to kill her dog
and had exposed himself to her. When police arrived at the scene, however, the
man was on another street and was carrying gardening shears. As police
confronted him, they said he began acting strangely.
"Officers end up talking
to this individual, trying to find out what he's doing and what the situation
was based upon the original 911 call," Salinas Police Cmdr. Vince Maiorana
said. "This individual started to wave the gardening shears at the
officers. We tried to deploy a Taser; the Taser did not work and as the officers
tried to detain this individual, this individual pulled the gardening shears
and actually attacked the officers with the gardening shears.
"In response, the
officers, fearing for their personal safety, shot this individual and he is now
deceased."
Witnesses disagreed with this
version of events, though. Video of the event surfaced as well, with the female
college student behind the camera saying the man looked like he was trying to
back away from the officers the entire time.
In the wake of the shooting,
police also stated the suspected robber was drinking heavily beforehand. They
said the previous two shootings also involved individuals who were intoxicated
at the time.
This detail did not seem to
change the minds of many protesters on Wednesday, one of whom told local KSBW
that alcohol use should not justify excessive and lethal police force.
“So basically if you’re drunk
here in Salinas you run the risk of getting shot by police and it just shows
the lack of training ... that they have to resort to lethal force all the time
and kill civilians,” protester Ralph Garcia said. “That’s not right, we’re not
going to allow this.”
While people gathered in person
to demand answers, a petition written by Cesara Chavez was also posted online
at Change.org. Currently, it has garnered about 2,000 signatures.
"The East Salinas
community is in need of clarity and answers in the wake of a series of police
shootings in our neighborhood streets,” it reads. “There has been a historic
practice seen in law enforcement that targets boys and young men of color in
cities across California, and we have watched it unfold over the past two weeks
on our own streets.
"It is critical our law
enforcement officials are transparent in their actions, held accountable for
their behavior, and properly trained to provide culturally responsive and
socially conscious patrol and procedural practices to ensure the trust, safety,
and communication needed to successfully serve in the best interest of our
community. East Salinas and the broad community deserve dignity and
answers."
Responding to the outrage shown
by local residents, Maiorana said that investigations are underway.
"We completely understand
that there is genuine concern and questions that need to be answered. We want
to be able to come forth with all the facts,” he told KSBW. "It's a
horrible situation when you have lost of life. We take investigations seriously
no matter who is involved, so I just hope people don't rush to judgment."
