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Subscribe to RSSProtests in Anaheim, Calif., turned violent in the wake of two controversial shootings involving local police. And as KNBC's Angie Crouch reports, at least several arrests were made.
ANAHEIM, California -- Protesters broke the windows of least a half-dozen storefronts in Anaheim on Tuesday resulting in 24 people being arrested and leaving six injured in the second major clash between police and demonstrators since an officer shot dead an apparently unarmed man.
Mayor Tom Tait had called on Monday for a state and federal review of the shooting of the man, a suspected gang member.
More than 600 demonstrators gathered at City Hall on Tuesday, where officials were holding a regular meeting, police said.
NBCLosAngeles.com reported that crowds converged on the building at around 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) to urge council members to investigate a series of recent officer-involved shootings and reform the city's police force, which residents have accused of racial profiling.
Officials say there have been eight officer-involved shootings in the city this year.
The council chamber reached capacity and police in riot gear blocked access to the meeting, according to NBCLosAngeles.com.
Some protesters threw patio chairs through the windows of a Starbucks, a witness told Reuters. No one in the coffee shop was injured, said Anaheim police spokesman Sergeant Bob Dunn.
In the same block-long strip mall, at least five other businesses also had windows smashed, a witness said.
Afterward, officers toting shotguns stood guard in front of the storefronts.
"We are happy to hear from any and all residents," Tate said. "But we will not accept any violent protests, vandalism or arson perpetrated under the guise of public protest."
Dozens of officers wielding night sticks faced off against the demonstrators, who at one point threw water bottles and rocks toward the line.
More photos: Protests in Anaheim
At least one person was transported to the hospital after being shot in the head with a pepperball, Dunn told NBCLosAngeles.com. No officers were injured.
He said the demonstrations lasted until about 2 a.m., hours after residents gathered outside the city counsel meeting.
Police fire pepper spray balls at demonstrators who pelted officers with rocks and bottles during a protest in Anaheim, California. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Aerial footage showed several fires near the scene of the protest -- one in a trash bin, another near a bus bench.
The tensions flared after police shot and killed a man on Saturday afternoon.
Two officers had tried to approach three men in an alley who fled, Dunn said earlier this week. The officers followed on foot and one caught up to one suspect, police said.
The officer shot the man, who police said they later identified as Manuel Diaz, a known gang member. Diaz was not found to have been carrying a gun, police said.
The Diaz family filed a $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the city on Tuesday.
'Transparency is essential'
Police fired pepper pellets at angry residents near the scene of the shooting on Saturday.
Late on Sunday Anaheim officers tried to stop a car and killed a man who police said fled and opened fire on them during a foot chase.
Alex Gallardo / Reuters
A protester is arrested during a demonstration in Anaheim, Calif., on Tuesday.
He was the fifth person to die in an officer-involved shooting in Anaheim this year.
Tait called for a state and federal probe of the fatal shootings during a news conference Sunday, during which some 70 protesters stormed the lobby.
"Transparency is essential," Tait said Sunday. "The investigation will seek the truth. And whatever the truth is, we will own it."
At least four agencies are involved in or are expected to join the investigation, including the U.S. Attorney's office, the State Attorney General, the Anaheim Police Department's Officer of Internal Affairs and -- as is usual for officer-involved shootings -- the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Anaheim was among six California cities with a population over 100,000 that saw the biggest spikes in violent crime in 2011, according to an analysis of FBI crime data released last month.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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I am surprised at the many comments that seem to be made in such ignorance and self righteousness. I am not hispanic regardless of the name, but was raised in the streets of the barrios. Any one who has been witness to the treatment the people in these neighborhoods recieve at the hands of the police would never say they had it coming. The police are the most dangerous gang that ever existed. Bad people are bad people in whatever segment of society. I've seen the toughest gang banger afraid to get caught doing dirt by his mother. I've seen the dirty theives take a truck to LA to steal Christmas trees and hand them out to the single mother's so that their children would have some sort of Christmas. They risk imprisonment for trees that will lie rotting December 26. The poverty in these neighborhoods can be numbing. Many times I've known people to act as thuggish as they can in the face of someone who judges them without the slightest idea of who they are. Give them what they expect, but it is done in anger at this silent judgement. I left the barrios years ago, the place society has relegated as a fitting home for the "trash" who's very existance is offensive to the upperclass sensibilities. I went to college, raised a beautiful family, became a business ovwner. I have never been ashamed of where I come from. I've also never met more loving people, who will back a homeboy up with all they have. When there came a time I was struggling to keep my business, suddenly my successful colleague's were distant. My homeboys were there to do whatever little job I needed help with for no more than a meal There's an old saying, "Homey, don't cha know me." referring to people who have managed to claw their way out of the poverty that is as deadly as quicksand. Will they remember or will they see through a homey? I will remember always, with love and respect and gratitude. Don't judge what you could not possibly understand. These people are not evil. They are desperate. They love, cry, greive and make mistakes like everyone else. They have their monsters, but monsters exist in all walks of life. It wasn't a gang banger that walked into a theatre in Aurora.
..Not surprised at all when our national anthem is a war chant
Our national anthem was made possible by war, without which this country would never have existed. Just more liberal stupidity without thought.
tired, while what you say is true enough, much (not all) of our current problems would have been avoided if we hadn't constantly been meddling in the affairs of countries around the world for the past seventy years or so.
gangmembers deserve to die!
Wow, I guess thing are different in California. I guess Destroying Private Property is Freedom of Expression, Rioting is Protesting, and Justice is Breaking the Law and all over Two Known Criminals. In New York they were protesting the death of a little kid that was shot and killed in gun fight by 4 loser thugs and they did not Destroy Private Property, Riot or Break any Major Laws. So I guess in California if a Criminal Gets Shot by the Police everyone gets mad, but if an innocent gets shot by Criminals no one cares. Oh, I forgot, if you are an actor or famous you can get away with murder.
If you want to get mad, get mad because these young men were Known Gang Members. I would bet that they are Known Gang Members with a Criminal History. Why were these two young men Known Gang Members, maybe you should get mad at their Mothers who raised them and their Fathers, huh, if you can find them. It is a tragedy that these young men were in a gang to begin with and that they died so young, but is it not the price of being in a gang?
It is the Police’s job to hassle, bother, and intimidate Known Gang Members. When Known Gang Members with run from the Police they weren’t running away because they were playing hop scotch on the corner. I bet when those Known Gang Members are to hassling, bothering, and intimidating you: you would want the Police there.
Being a reasonable citizen, I am glad that the Feds are looking into this and as an impartial 3rd party will investigate. If they find evidence that shows otherwise, then get mad.
Being a reasonable parent, even though you have a right to be there, if there is a riot going on take yours kids home so they will be safe, unless you are raising them to be Known Gang Members.
I am failing to see the problem here. The good guys (police officers) took out a couple of bad guy (worthless piece of crap gang-members). Is this not a good thing??!
But then again, I believe that if one is a known gang-member or if one associates with a known gang member, the police should have the right to simply open fire and remove that worthless piece of crap from the equation. Problem solved. Maybe innocent lives (4 year old boy in Florida this past week) could be saved.
The mexicans were looking for an excuse to start trouble, they could really careless about the reason. Is that not obvious from the looting and vandalism? Intelligent people would have asked questions, not gotten their asses arrested for committing stupid crimes or costing the city an undetermined amount of money in repairs. This is just one more reason for tight border control and heavy fines against illegals for deportation.
As for the morons suing the city : "The Diaz family filed a $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the city on Tuesday." not only will you lose but hopefully you'll be sued all the way back to mexico for wasting the cities time =}
One less gang member? Good job guys. As for the ones throwing bricks through store windows, too bad you can't shoot them, but there's got to be a rubber bullet with their name on it. A baton to the skull works too!
Kill a few hundred cops, then they will respect the people.
A "few hundred cops"...that would not bring respect it would bring in the national guard.
The thing that needs to be looked into is why the gang was allowed to exist in the first place.
If the police would do their F***** jobs and asked for assistance for something they don't have the manpower to handle there would have been no gang around and thusfore no gang member to be shot.
maybe we should just call in the troops and sweep through everyones house , looking for signs of gang affiliation.
if suspected, then you are drug out to the street and summarily shot.
Why not simply put gangs themselves on trial, so that if the gang is found guilty, then mere continued membership in the gang is considered justification for shooting that person?
police everywhere should have the right to shoot to kill or maim violent protesters. that is the only way to deal with scum.
yes, you are correct herr oberscheissenfurher
Anaheim Police Fire At Women And Childr…
My guess is that a majority of those arrested in these riots already have extensive criminal histories. I am also curious about the legal status of the individual shot and killed...did he have a police record, was he in our country legally? The biggest problem with illegal immigration is that there is no way to keep track of people who are here illegally. They can basically do what they want and get away with it unless caught "red-handed."
the biggest problem with illegal immigration is the AMERICANS who hire them
Actually the biggest problem is that people are in our country illegally and we are allowing it. We have a party in power right now (the Dems) who encourage it.
really i don't hear either party going after the cause.... AMERICANS who hire illegals.
I do not know how they can deal with it when we have our media calling anyone who opposes illegal immigration "racists." The problem is that people are allowed to come into our nation illegally and are not deported often enough. Since when have any of us been allowed to choose what laws we follow and what ones we can choose to ignore....only illegal immigrants are allowed this choice.
let see AMERICANS hiring illegals which caused this mess . It is not against the law for AMERICANS to hire illegals, which is the PRIMARY cause for the 11 million that reside. It was AMER ICANS that caused the taxation to the rest of the nation but reaped the profit of hiring 2-3 illegals for the price of one american. Let me guess it is the illegals fault that AMERICANS hire them ....right?
You are preaching to the choir here. I have two young sons that have had difficulty getting jobs mainly because they are not illegals. Why hire an American youth when you can get a 40 yo illegal who does not even ask for benefits (they have medicaid) and thinks making $7.50 an hour is a treat because they live in a home with 20 other illegals who share the bills (the ones they are willing to pay)....I may seem harsh but it is something we see all of the time in Illinois.