Last night in Anaheim, the residents of La Palma were protesting increased police brutality in their community in the wake of an officer-involved shooting of a suspect named Stomper. In response to the “near riot,” (as CBS Los Angeles calls it), police fired rubber bullets and unleashed a canine on a group of protesters, including women and children:
Jay Jackson, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, said the scene was chaotic. More than six hours later, he said residents were still out in the streets protesting the shooting.
The residents blocked off a street and set fire to at least one dumpster.
Earlier in the day, police in riot gear, fired rubber bullets into the crowd. Several protesters lifted their shirts to show large red welts on their torsos and backs. Residents told Jackson that police overreacted and created the disturbance.
One man said, “They just started shooting.”
Police also set a K-9 officer on one woman and a bystander they said were agitating the situation.
Said Susan Lopez, “I had my baby with me. My baby! The dog scratched me and then grabbed me.” She added, “They shot at me while I was holding a baby!” Another woman yelled, “They just shot at us, they shot at a little kid, too.”
[full post here]
Ben Franklin
The Authoritarian Corporatists see nothing of note here. Clearly the agitators deserved what they got for their trouble.
El Cid
Well, if they hadn’t wanted the police to have to open fire on them and set dogs to attack them, they shouldn’t have been so publicly poor and black and Mexican.
Ceremet
What pigs now do is more like what they did to blacks back in the fifties – with the war on amerika (aka war on drugs) and the loss of our rights caused by a handful of near 3rd world terrorist, we the people are now the enemy. The 0.01% has use where they want us. Soon, as the heat gets turned up – fewer middle class jobs, higher energy costs, and gobal warming really hits food prices, the crabs will start pulling each other down – the 0.01% wet dream …
jwb
All I saw in the video was unruly cops and scared people being assaulted by said unruly cops. Great way to win the people over to your cause, police guys! Next time you’re trying to find a bad guy and are perplexed by why no one in the neighborhood will help you, maybe you should go take a look at this video.
(Do click through and watch the video.)
Silver
The La Palma they are referring to in the story is the street in Anaheim, not the small city to the west of Anaheim, ABL.
What the fuck was that dog handler thinking? He had zero control over his dog. What a fucking disgrace, and par for the course.
JWL
Here’s a good idea: never bring infants and children to a crowd-police confrontation.
Ash Can
Because arming schizophrenics to the teeth while arresting sex workers for carrying condoms and beating the shit out of protestors is SO TOTALLY what the Founding Fathers intended for this nation.
jwb
@JWL: If you watch the video, it’s not entirely clear how organized the crowd was, whether many of the people with kids were simply people in the neighborhood, or what. Here’s a good idea: police should be especially cautious about using any form of violence when there are kids in a crowd. Especially since police are supposedly the fucking professionals.
I wonder if anyone got a recording of the police offering to buy the cell phones from those who taped the incident.
jwb
The comments on the YouTube video are horrible.
Bnut
Is that on the scene reporter the same guy who plays Perd Hapley on Parks and Rec? He looks very similar.
PeakVT
That was just disgusting behavior by the police, especially the idiot canine handler.
Just Some Fuckhead
@El Cid:
They need to learn how to be American.
Steeplejack
“Anaheim Police Open Fire and Unleash Dog on Police Brutality Protesters.” That’s really a little too meta. Plus I assume irony was among the first casualties?
Brutusettu
If a neighboorhood dog was just there during the “near riot”, that dog would have been dead the moment the cops felt
they could get a kill shotit was showing aggression.Ben Franklin
Comments on the Youtube are brought to you by the Millenial Branch of Walking Dead
Citizen_X
I don’t even have any snark for this shit.
@JWL: Watch the fucking video. I think “bringing” kids could better be described as “being in the neighborhood.”
Mnemosyne
Because the best way to prove to residents of a neighborhood that they’re not being targeted for police brutality is to (literally) unleash the hounds and send in the riot police when they complain about police brutality.
What, did drought restrictions preclude using fire hoses on them?
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@jwb:
Is there any other kind of YouTube comment? I thought stupidity was a requirement for commenting there. There’s a browser plugin that renders all YouTube comments as combinations of the words Herp and Derp. I think I need that.
Paid administrative leave for all officers involved. They’ve been punished enough by having their senseless, unprovoked violence captured on video. /snark
Mnemosyne
@JWL:
It’s not like they took their kids with them down to the police station or federal building to protest. They were standing in their own front yards.
What’s the lesson you want them to take, never leave their houses? Never complain about the treatment they’ve been getting from the cops in case the cops decide to storm the neighborhood with attack dogs and rubber bullets?
Hypatia's Momma
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist:
There are two add-ons you can use. One is specific for YouTube (herpderp<) and the other is for comments in general (commentblocker). For the second, you have the option of setting the rules to automatically allow or block comments from all websites until you choose otherwise.
Also, just because I love it so: Redirects links to the Daily Mail to a soothing picture of tea and kittens.
rb
@JWL: No doubt. If you plan on being brown in your front yard when a crowd of armed cops shows up, best lock the kids in the basement, or preferably a rich white neighbor’s panic room.
Democracy is no place for a child.
JR in WV
@Mnemosyne:
Yes, Exactly!
Never Complain about the Police Behavior!
It may make them angry, and then you can get
arrestedkilled.El Cid
‘Our department has promised a full review of the Release the Kraken field order, however, we stand by our officers who so often have to make tough calls in difficult conditions.’
Ben Franklin
@JR in WV:
Never Complain about the Police Behavior!…or, send your food back to the cook to be spat upon
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@JWL: Here’s another good idea: go fuck yourself you pig-blowing piece of shit.
You’re telling people they can’t stand in their own neighborhood unless they want a fucking police dog unleashed to start tearing people up while cops spray bullets at random? You’re a peasant. Did you watch the goddam video, or do you just know in your heart that cops are always right and mud people are always wrong?
People like you are why this is allowed to continue.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@JWL: Here’s another good idea: go fuck yourself you pig-blowing piece of shit.
You’re telling people they can’t stand in their own neighborhood unless they want a fucking police dog unleashed to start tearing people up while cops spray bullets at random? You’re a peasant. Did you watch the goddam video, or do you just know in your heart that cops are always right and mud people are always wrong?
People like you are why this is allowed to continue.
JWL
@jwb: Right you are. I should have written, “If a person has a choice in the matter, don’t bring kids..”.
JWL
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire: Wow. Calm down, Joe Buck. I made my amends up-thread.
This country would be a healthier place if everyone got hassled by a King Shit Cop at a young age.
rb
@Mnemosyne: It’s not like they took their kids with them down to the police station or federal building to protest. They were standing in their own front yards.
True enough, but so what if they had?
This country’s infested with bootlickers.
(Nothing personal against you, mnem).
burnspbesq
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire:
False. There is exactly zero evidence that any deadly force was used against any demonstrators. But do feel free to make shit up.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/police-364905-dunn-anaheim.html
burnspbesq
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire:
You kiss your mother with that mouth?
burnspbesq
It’s worth noting that the DA’s office with jurisdiction over this matter is currently trying two police officers for pre-meditated murder.
Those of you expecting a whitewash are likely to be disappointed.
El Cid
“Pepper balls” are pretty much rubber bullets filled with the same sort of active chemical used in pepper spray. They’re not metal bullets, but they’re bullets, fired via highly compressed air.
So, high powered BB-guns with pepper spray. Regular guns also launch projectiles with expanding gases, but do so much more quickly.
orrendo Slapp (formerly Jimperson Zibb, Duncan Dönitz, Otto Graf von Pfmidtnöchtler-Pízsmőgy, Mumphrey, et al.)
Well, clearly the trouble here is that these Hispanic people are overreacting, which is hardly surprising, as, just like black people, they’re just too damned sensitive. they’re always seeing racism everywhere, where I, a fully qualified white guy, do not, which means, q.e.d., that there isn’t any racism at all. I swear, sometimes I get sooooo sick of pointing this out to the stubborn and thankless minorities that all their problems are of their own making. And then they call me insensitive! What the hell? They’re just always playing that race card. Jeez. as I said above, I am a fully qualified white guy, and as such, it falls to me, and other overburdened white people, to tell minorities how they should feel and what they should think. As if we didn’t have enough to do already, what with controlling 90-odd% of the wealth and opportuniities in this country…
rb
@burnspbesq: Wow, cops are so out of line that even the DA notices?
Shocking.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@burnspbesq: Are you suggesting that the reports of rubber bullets being fired were false? And maybe the man showing his welts had faked them? And also faked the video of police firing those bullets from less than ten feet away into a crown of people who are clearly just standing there?
Or maybe in your law dictionary rubber bullets don’t count as bullets because derp de derpity doo. And you are aware that rubber bullets can kill people, right? What with you being the smartest motherfucker on the planet and all.
And yeah, I kiss my mom with that mouth. I also use it to eat food, perform cunnilingus, and tell tell people who make excuses for cops who release dogs on protesters to fuck themselves. What’s your point, dipshit? I can tell you that my mom has no problem with me saying whatever I like to jackboot-kissers.
James E. Powell
@jwb:
Here’s a good idea: police should be especially cautious about using any form of violence
when there are kids in a crowd.FTFY
Ben Franklin
@rb: I think you mean Ruler of Law.
JWL
@James E. Powell: Straight on- and only because I never think from a police point of view- that is elementary deduction, Sherlock. A far superior insight than my own. And really the only sensible course of action that must (or should) be standard procedure.
vaya con dios
that is EXACTLY where i used to live in anaheim. 727 north anna dr. anna and acacia are the same street that split up as they cross la palma. it is right there on that corner and the cop cars parked on my driveway in front of my old garage. i am not convinced the protesters are all innocent. i dont speak for all of them, of course you cant blame the whole bunch for the few bad apples, but i am sure most were disorderly. police do not fire rubber bullets or have a k-9 out for no reason. that street is a gang and drug street. gang members patrol that street all day long. if you go to the end of that street you literally risk being shot. the building next door to my apartment (more apartments) had 24/7 lookouts on the porch with cellphones to watch for cops because it was surrounded by drug houses and meth labs. they use “those little kids” that were apparently hit by rubber bullets. dont be fooled, those “kids” are little bastards. there were drive by shootings on that street every single week, just doors down from me. crash squads and gang units swarmed apartments there almost as often. its a total ghetto. every night there were loud drunken fiestas blasting mariachi music until 3 or 4 am from all of the other neighbors. i called the police a few times myself because i witnessed men assaulting/beating and flat out kidnapping women in the middle of the street (it wasnt random, they obviously knew the women, but still…). i had a friend come visit me once and she walked across the street to the liquor store to get change and some random puta asked her “hey bitch you wanna box?” my friend was pregnant at the time. i was the only white person in the neighborhood and i lived alone. they would always stare or maddog me but they were also scared shitless of my german shepherd. i never had any incidents with any of them, just those bastard children throwing shit at cars. this OIS was GANG related, the news story is sensationalist bullshit to make them look like victims and get everyone upset. that neighborhood is a gang craphole and it is everyone’s fault for constantly looking out for and protecting the gang members. i dont feel sorry for any of them to be honest. i lived there for 2 years and i saw them have a shoot out with police. they shut down that whole intersection for it. this kind of stuff is an almost daily occurrence and nothing out of the ordinary for that neighborhood. why it is being presented in the news like this, i really have no idea. its nothing new at all. they dont have any respect for this country at all. they hate police and all they care about is mexico, their gang, their family, and making money on american streets with american money. i wouldnt say this if it wasnt true. “stomper” (if that doesnt sound like a violent criminal, i dont know what does) got capped for a reason. he ran from police for many reasons. there is no one to blame here but himself. 1 of the men who was shot by rubber bullets looks a lot like the guy who would always get wasted drunk from the daily all-night fiestas and pace up and down the street yelling profanities in spanish. he caused a big scene once because he started beating up somebody’s car and some women came out to try and stop him. im not sure if its the same guy, but it really does look a lot like the “borracho loco” i remember. one time he just stood in the middle of the street and ripped his shirt off / in half, screaming. :/
Liberty60
@rb:
He’s referring to the Kelly Thomas murder at the hands of several Fullerton Police Department officers.
The murder which the City of Fullerton whitewashed until local conservative activist, with an ax to grind against the City Council, started a recall petition, and was picked up by local rightwing drive time radio jocks John & Ken.
Takeway- those people in Anaheim should become white and conservative, and develop friends on Fox-friendly news outlets. Might help their cause.
Liberty60
@vaya con dios:
I live here in Santa Ana, not too far from that area.
All my Facebook friends have been burning up the intertubes with commentary on it, but i am still in wait-and-see mode to figure out what really happened.
What is confirmed, though, is I don’t automatically take the police word for what happened. After all the scandals involving police, I need more than “Here’s what I say happened” from law enforcement before I’m willing to buy the story.
rb
police do not fire rubber bullets or have a k-9 out for no reason.
ROFL. Oh, lord.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@vaya con dios: Well then, I guess it makes murdering that guy and siccing dogs on people when they don’t thank the cops for murdering that guy just fine then.
Yup, they had it coming, just like all victims of police brutality. If you live on that block you deserve a beatdown from the cops. (But not in any sort of racist way, of course. P.S. Mariachi booga booga booga)
burnspbesq
@Liberty60:
Your timeline on the Thomas investigation is so fucked up as to be completely false.
Rackaukas’ office begin its investigation on July 7, 2011, before Thomas’ parents took him off life support. The Fullerton City Council meeting to which you refer didn’t happen until August 2.
All of this is in the very same Wikipedia article to which you linked.
Can you not read, or are you lying to make some obscure point?
I was skeptical that Rackaukas would do the right thing in the Thomas case, but he stepped up, and he should be credited for stepping up. I fully expect that if the Anaheim case turns out to be a bad shooting, charges will be filed. If you think otherwise, please explain why.
burnspbesq
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire:
Hang first, then investigate? Ohhh-kaaaaay. Nice to know who believes the in rule of law and who doesn’t.
P.S. I know all those words. I’ve been called those things by better people than you. Don’t waste your breath.
Liberty60
@burnspbesq:
Stepped up…AFTER heat was brought to bear, and it gained wide publicity.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@burnspbesq: You’re a funny one. Bullets don’t count as bullets unless they’re made of lead, but G_d forbid you use the word murder to refer to any killing before somebody has been convicted in a court of law. There’s no greater sin than speaking colloquially.
You don’t believe in the rule of law so much as you cling to its ankle while sucking your thumb.
Of course, if you can point out where I said that the killers shouldn’t get a fair trial, I’ll certainly apologize for that.
M. Bouffant
@burnspbesq: Oh, sure, cite the O.C. Register, that paragon of even-handedness. They have no axes to grind, right? Sheesh.
gwangung
Fixed that for you.
Your faith in the purity of the justice systems is quite touching (if not endearing).
Patricia Kayden
Is there a way to fight crime without abusing innocent people? I sympathize with police officers who have to balance catching hardcore criminals with gaining community respect/support. Certainly (per the video) using violence against unarmed protesters is not a step in the right direction.
However, writing off all police officers as the enemy doesn’t help communities who need them more than people in safer neighborhoods.