latimes--2020-09-23--San Marino man accused of driving into protesters allegedly sent arms to  training camp for 'civil d

San Marino man accused of driving into protesters allegedly sent arms to  training camp for 'civil disorders'

A San Marino man accused of intentionally driving a truck into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in Pasadena in May has been charged with conspiring to violate firearms laws , U.S. prosecutors announced Wednesday .
Benjamin Jong Ren Hung was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of conspiracy to transport firearms across state lines and making a false statement in relation to the acquisition of firearms .
According to an affidavit , Hung collected weapons and equipment from suppliers across the country and turned his family ’ s vineyard in Lodi into a training camp “ to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pasadena police first arrested Hung on May 31 on suspicion of attempted assault with a deadly weapon after he intentionally drove into a crowd of protesters peacefully demonstrating against racial injustice in Old Town Pasadena , according to an affidavit Diamond Outlaw , a special agent with the FBI , filed with the criminal complaint .
Outlaw stated that about 150 protesters had been gathered at an intersection when a police sergeant “ saw the truck accelerate rapidly as it drove toward the crowd , and he saw the protesters , including two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the truck ’ s way to avoid being run over.
” The affidavit says that Hung ’ s truck was decorated with flags related to right-wing extremist groups .
Hung was not charged with attempted assault in relation to the incident , according to Ciaran McEvoy , a public information officer for the U.S. attorney ’ s office .
That same day , police searched Hung ’ s truck and found a loaded semiautomatic handgun , various loaded high-capacity magazines , an 18-inch machete , $ 3,200 in cash , a megaphone and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charged in L.A. County Superior Court with a misdemeanor for carrying a loaded firearm .
The affidavit says that according to interviews with witnesses and social media reports , Hung surveilled the area before the alleged attempted attack .
One witness reported that the night before , they saw a truck resembling Hung ’ s distinct vehicle by the same intersection .
The witness had been in the area to participate in a protest to condemn the killing of George Floyd and had stayed on the street corner with several friends holding a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The witness said they saw the truck drive past before slowing down and making a U-turn to return to the intersection .
The truck , the witness said , accelerated to spew exhaust fumes at them .
It then seemed to make another U-turn , scaring and causing the witness and their friends to flee .
Another witness who worked near the area also recalled seeing a truck like Hung ’ s on May 29 and May 30 .
Two days before the alleged attack , the witness said that a passenger in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could find protests in Pasadena .
The affidavit states that Hung had bragged to associates that same weekend about his efforts to assault protesters , referencing records connected to property seized from Hung during his arrest .
A friend purchased the firearm that had been in Hung ’ s truck for him in Oregon and transported it to California , prosecutors claim .
At the time , the affidavit alleges , Hung ’ s friend falsely represented that he was the transferee of the gun instead of Hung .
Hung kept it at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affidavit states .
According to the affidavit , Hung in March bought at least three other firearms in Oregon and transported them to California .
It states that he also collected other weapons and equipment from suppliers across the country .
Hung , who will remain detained pending a bail hearing Monday , faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison if convicted .
An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 15 .
It was not immediately clear who is representing Hung .

A San Marino man accused of intentionally driving a truck into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters in Pasadena in May has been charged with conspiring to violate firearms laws, U.S. prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Benjamin Jong Ren Hung was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of conspiracy to transport firearms across state lines and making a false statement in relation to the acquisition of firearms. According to an affidavit, Hung collected weapons and equipment from suppliers across the country and turned his family’s vineyard in Lodi into a training camp “to prepare to engage in civil disorders.”
Pasadena police first arrested Hung on May 31 on suspicion of attempted assault with a deadly weapon after he intentionally drove into a crowd of protesters peacefully demonstrating against racial injustice in Old Town Pasadena, according to an affidavit Diamond Outlaw, a special agent with the FBI, filed with the criminal complaint.
Outlaw stated that about 150 protesters had been gathered at an intersection when a police sergeant “saw the truck accelerate rapidly as it drove toward the crowd, and he saw the protesters, including two plainclothes PPD detectives, sprint out of the truck’s way to avoid being run over.”
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The affidavit says that Hung’s truck was decorated with flags related to right-wing extremist groups.
Hung was not charged with attempted assault in relation to the incident, according to Ciaran McEvoy, a public information officer for the U.S. attorney’s office.
That same day, police searched Hung’s truck and found a loaded semiautomatic handgun, various loaded high-capacity magazines, an 18-inch machete, $3,200 in cash, a megaphone and a long metal pipe. He was charged in L.A. County Superior Court with a misdemeanor for carrying a loaded firearm.
The affidavit says that according to interviews with witnesses and social media reports, Hung surveilled the area before the alleged attempted attack.
One witness reported that the night before, they saw a truck resembling Hung’s distinct vehicle by the same intersection. The witness had been in the area to participate in a protest to condemn the killing of George Floyd and had stayed on the street corner with several friends holding a sign after the crowd had dispersed.
The witness said they saw the truck drive past before slowing down and making a U-turn to return to the intersection. The truck, the witness said, accelerated to spew exhaust fumes at them. It then seemed to make another U-turn, scaring and causing the witness and their friends to flee.
Another witness who worked near the area also recalled seeing a truck like Hung’s on May 29 and May 30. Two days before the alleged attack, the witness said that a passenger in the truck had asked them where they could find protests in Pasadena.
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The affidavit states that Hung had bragged to associates that same weekend about his efforts to assault protesters, referencing records connected to property seized from Hung during his arrest.
A friend purchased the firearm that had been in Hung’s truck for him in Oregon and transported it to California, prosecutors claim. At the time, the affidavit alleges, Hung’s friend falsely represented that he was the transferee of the gun instead of Hung. Hung kept it at his home in San Marino, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, Hung in March bought at least three other firearms in Oregon and transported them to California. It states that he also collected other weapons and equipment from suppliers across the country.
Hung, who will remain detained pending a bail hearing Monday, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison if convicted. An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 15. It was not immediately clear who is representing Hung.


latimes--2020-09-23--'These voices aren't going to stop':  Hundreds in L.A. protest over Breonna Taylor case

Several hundred people gathered Wednesday evening in downtown Los Angeles to demand the ouster of Los Angeles County Dist .
Atty .
Jackie Lacey , but the protest was turbocharged by an outpouring of anger that only one of three Louisville , Ky. , police officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor will face criminal charges — and none for killing her .
The demonstrators assembled , as many of them do every Wednesday , outside the Hall of Justice on Spring Street .
Police squad cars ringed the protest and a helicopter hovered overhead .
About 7 p.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Serra Park , between Olivera Street and Union Station , before moving south on Los Angeles Street and into downtown .
The crowd turned east on Temple and when passing a police parking structure , some in the crowd spray-painted a slur referring to the Sheriff ’ s Department and attempted to pry off the bar that blocked entry to the structure .
Marching down First Street , the crowd passed people dining outside restaurants , some of whom raised their fists in support ; their facial expressions turned when the marchers began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people dying.
” Residents peering out of upper story windows were greeted with a different line : “ I can ’ t get no justice , you can ’ t get no sleep.
” Willie Baker , who has shown up to protest every Wednesday in recent months , said the larger turnout was due to the upcoming election and the announcement Wednesday that only one of three officers would face charges in Taylor ’ s death during a botched nighttime raid earlier this year .
“ More should have been indicted , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two officers who fatally shot Taylor , Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove , will not be charged with a crime , Kentucky ’ s attorney general , Daniel Cameron , said .
A former Louisville police detective , Brett Hankison , was indicted on three counts of “ wanton endangerment ” for firing blindly into Taylor ’ s apartment building .
“ If we do something , we go to jail like that , ” Baker said , snapping his fingers .
“ It ’ s time to start locking up the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , wasn ’ t surprised by the charging decision .
“ I understood this was going to come down to legalese , ” he said , “ and I had a sneaking suspicion it would come down to this.
” Irby , a criminal defense attorney , attended Wednesday ’ s demonstration at the invitation of a friend , Kat Pavplek .
The two have diverging views of the change they want to see in the county ’ s dominant law enforcement agencies , the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants the agencies abolished over time and , in the interim , some of their funding diverted to pay for housing and other community needs .
Irby , who described himself as “ not a huge ‘ defund the police ’ kind of guy , ” supports more modest changes , such as requiring police officers to be partnered with social workers .
“ You see a cop on the street , and you see a social worker right next to him with a clipboard , in tandem , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hear the voice of the mother who lost her kid , ” said Irby , who is Black .
“ It ’ s horrible .
There is no mitigating that .
But the answer is not saying , ' [ expletive ] you , you ’ re horrible.
’ ” To Pavplek , who has demonstrated outside the Hall of Justice since George Floyd ’ s death in May , the promise of those early protests seems to have soured , as pushes for reform have stalled and , in her mind , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county ’ s police agencies .
“ Nothing has reformed , nothing has changed , and they keep killing people , ” she said , pointing to the recent fatal shooting of Dijon Kizzee by two sheriff ’ s deputies .
To Irby , although the protesters may seem to be gathering every week to decry “ a new headline but the same theme , ” the demonstrations that draw Angelenos from all corners of the city to its downtown represent an awakening .
“ It ’ s a crescendo , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beginning of an awareness .
I get that some people don ’ t like it , that some people are saying , ‘ Yeah , we get it , ’ but these voices aren ’ t going to stop .
They ’ re not going to stop crying out.
” Wednesday ’ s protests over the decision in the Taylor case followed a summer of demonstrations in Los Angeles to denounce police brutality against Black people both locally and around the country , including massive protests in late May and early June that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also resulted in arrests .
The largest protests followed the death in late May of Floyd , a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer detained him by kneeling on his neck for about eight minutes .
Protests erupted all across the country , and in L.A. they were met with nightly curfews as huge numbers of demonstrators flooded streets downtown , in the Fairfax district , in Hollywood and elsewhere .
The city declared a state of emergency and the National Guard was called in to assist an overwhelmed Los @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city has subsequently described the early summer events as largely peaceful protests that devolved into “ coordinated mass looting ” and “ unprecedented lawlessness and chaos.
” Thousands of people were arrested on suspicion of failing to obey dispersal orders and of violating the curfews .
Many protesters were injured when police used batons and projectile launchers to clear streets .
Businesses and vehicles were lighted on fire , including LAPD patrol cars , and many stores were burglarized as police said criminals took advantage of the chaos to fill trunks with merchandise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region , from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills to Long Beach .
Reviews of how law enforcement handled the summer demonstrations are pending , as are several lawsuits .
Both the LAPD and the Sheriff ’ s Department are being sued for allegedly abusing protesters and violating their constitutional rights , with activist groups seeking injunctions that would ban the police agencies from using batons , projectiles and other weapons against protesters in the future .

Hundreds gather downtown to protest the Louisville, Ky., grand jury decision to not charge the police officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
A lone demonstrator climbs a streetlight pole at the corner of First and Main streets downtown. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Byron Crenshaw and Sharon Smith hug each other while listening to a speaker in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Hundreds march downtown while protesting the Louisville, Ky., grand jury decision to not charge police officers in the death of Breonna Taylor. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Hundreds march downtown while protesting the Louisville, Ky., grand jury decision to not charge the police officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Nijdeka Akunyili Crosby teaches her son Jideora, 3, how to raise his fist alongside her husband, Justan, and son Eziobi, 1, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Thursday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
A protester who was hit by a truck is attended to as paramedics arrive on Sunset Boulevard. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Paramedics help a protester who was hit by a truck Thursday on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The vehicle broke through the protest group. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A Prius runs through a crowd of people on Sunset Boulevard and North Cahuenga Boulevard during a protest Thursday. (Josie Norris / Los Angeles Times)
Paramedics help a protester who was struck by a vehicle Thursday on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
A protester prays on Sunset Boulevard on Thursday as about 300 people march through Hollywood. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
People comfort a demonstrator after she was hit by a vehicle Thursday night on Sunset Boulevard during protests of the Breonna Taylor grand jury decision. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Several hundred people gathered Wednesday evening in downtown Los Angeles to demand the ouster of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, but the protest was turbocharged by an outpouring of anger that only one of three Louisville, Ky., police officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor will face criminal charges — and none for killing her.
The demonstrators assembled, as many of them do every Wednesday, outside the Hall of Justice on Spring Street. Police squad cars ringed the protest and a helicopter hovered overhead.
About 7 p.m., several hundred people gathered at Father Serra Park, between Olivera Street and Union Station, before moving south on Los Angeles Street and into downtown. The crowd turned east on Temple and when passing a police parking structure, some in the crowd spray-painted a slur referring to the Sheriff’s Department and attempted to pry off the bar that blocked entry to the structure.
Marching down First Street, the crowd passed people dining outside restaurants, some of whom raised their fists in support; their facial expressions turned when the marchers began chanting, “While you dining, people dying.”
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Residents peering out of upper story windows were greeted with a different line: “I can’t get no justice, you can’t get no sleep.”
No arrests were made during the protest, according to LAPD Officer Mike Chance.
Willie Baker, who has shown up to protest every Wednesday in recent months, said the larger turnout was due to the upcoming election and the announcement Wednesday that only one of three officers would face charges in Taylor’s death during a botched nighttime raid earlier this year.
“More should have been indicted,” said Baker, 35.
The two officers who fatally shot Taylor, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, will not be charged with a crime, Kentucky’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, said. A former Louisville police detective, Brett Hankison, was indicted on three counts of “wanton endangerment” for firing blindly into Taylor’s apartment building.
“If we do something, we go to jail like that,” Baker said, snapping his fingers. “It’s time to start locking up the police, too.”
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Vincent Irby, 49, wasn’t surprised by the charging decision. “I understood this was going to come down to legalese,” he said, “and I had a sneaking suspicion it would come down to this.”
Irby, a criminal defense attorney, attended Wednesday’s demonstration at the invitation of a friend, Kat Pavplek. The two have diverging views of the change they want to see in the county’s dominant law enforcement agencies, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Hundreds march in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night following the decision in the Breonna Taylor’s case.
Pavplek wants the agencies abolished over time and, in the interim, some of their funding diverted to pay for housing and other community needs. Irby, who described himself as “not a huge ‘defund the police’ kind of guy,” supports more modest changes, such as requiring police officers to be partnered with social workers.
“You see a cop on the street, and you see a social worker right next to him with a clipboard, in tandem,” he said. “Reform is cooperation.
“I hear the voice of the mother who lost her kid,” said Irby, who is Black. “It’s horrible. There is no mitigating that. But the answer is not saying, ‘[expletive] you, you’re horrible.’”
To Pavplek, who has demonstrated outside the Hall of Justice since George Floyd’s death in May, the promise of those early protests seems to have soured, as pushes for reform have stalled and, in her mind, business has continued as usual for the county’s police agencies.
“Nothing has reformed, nothing has changed, and they keep killing people,” she said, pointing to the recent fatal shooting of Dijon Kizzee by two sheriff’s deputies.
To Irby, although the protesters may seem to be gathering every week to decry “a new headline but the same theme,” the demonstrations that draw Angelenos from all corners of the city to its downtown represent an awakening.
“It’s a crescendo,” he said. “It’s the beginning of an awareness. I get that some people don’t like it, that some people are saying, ‘Yeah, we get it,’ but these voices aren’t going to stop. They’re not going to stop crying out.”
Wednesday’s protests over the decision in the Taylor case followed a summer of demonstrations in Los Angeles to denounce police brutality against Black people both locally and around the country, including massive protests in late May and early June that turned chaotic and more recent clashes that also resulted in arrests.
The largest protests followed the death in late May of Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer detained him by kneeling on his neck for about eight minutes. Protests erupted all across the country, and in L.A. they were met with nightly curfews as huge numbers of demonstrators flooded streets downtown, in the Fairfax district, in Hollywood and elsewhere.
The city declared a state of emergency and the National Guard was called in to assist an overwhelmed Los Angeles Police Department maintain order.
The city has subsequently described the early summer events as largely peaceful protests that devolved into “coordinated mass looting” and “unprecedented lawlessness and chaos.”
Thousands of people were arrested on suspicion of failing to obey dispersal orders and of violating the curfews. Many protesters were injured when police used batons and projectile launchers to clear streets. Businesses and vehicles were lighted on fire, including LAPD patrol cars, and many stores were burglarized as police said criminals took advantage of the chaos to fill trunks with merchandise.
Similar incidents occurred across the L.A. region, from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills to Long Beach.
Reviews of how law enforcement handled the summer demonstrations are pending, as are several lawsuits. Both the LAPD and the Sheriff’s Department are being sued for allegedly abusing protesters and violating their constitutional rights, with activist groups seeking injunctions that would ban the police agencies from using batons, projectiles and other weapons against protesters in the future.


latimes--2020-09-22--A family called 911 for son's mental health crisis. They say deputies beat and Tasered him to death

Blanca Briceno said she wakes up many nights with the images in her head : Several Los Angeles County sheriff ’ s deputies pinning down and striking her son Eric in his bedroom , his face full of blood .
She had called the police one day in March to help her son , who was in the midst of a mental health crisis .
But by the end , he ’ d been beaten and Tasered to death .
At one point , she said , deputies grabbed her phone when she tried to film what was happening .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ help us , to get some help , ” Briceno said , choking up during an interview at her Maywood home .
“ And instead , they came and killed him , brutally killed him.
” Eric Briceno ’ s death has not made headlines or triggered protests during this moment of unrest across the nation over police brutality .
The incident occurred inside the family ’ s home , and the autopsy wasn ’ t released to their attorney until last week .
In their report , obtained by The Times , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 39 , died of cardiopulmonary arrest , resulting from neck compression and restraint with a Taser .
The death was ruled a homicide , although the designation doesn ’ t mean it was intentional or a crime .
The Briceno family last month filed a wrongful-death claim , a precursor to a lawsuit , against the Sheriff ’ s Department and is calling for prosecutors to charge the deputies involved .
“ He didn ’ t die a natural death , ” said Briceno ’ s father , Juan .
“ He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sheriff ’ s Department declined to comment , citing an ongoing investigation into the incident .
Sheriff ’ s investigators have not yet presented a case to prosecutors , who will review the materials and decide whether deputies committed a crime , the district attorney ’ s office said .
According to the autopsy report , investigators told coroner ’ s officials that when deputies responded to a call that Eric Briceno had assaulted his father , he “ attacked the deputies ” and resisted arrest .
Eric began showing symptoms of mental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with mild schizophrenia , the family ’ s claim says .
He self-medicated with street drugs and spent time in jail .
Most recently , he was on probation and receiving treatment through the L.A. County Department of Mental Health .
On March 16 , the claim said , Eric had an altercation with his father and left the home as his parents called 911 .
Deputies arrived and told the parents to call them back when their son returned , which they did .
Eric Briceno — 6 feet tall and weighing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was in his room sleeping when deputies arrived , his mother said .
She said she told deputies she would call him out of his bedroom because she didn ’ t want the deputies to go in .
They went in anyway , she said , startling her son .
Blanca Briceno said the deputies began beating Eric without provocation , kneeling on his back and hitting him with a baton .
“ They went , ‘ Eric , Eric !
’ So he got scared , ” his mother said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wasn ’ t aggressive , nothing.
” One deputy fired a Taser , striking him , and another discharged pepper spray in the room .
Meanwhile , Eric cried out that he could not breathe , his mother and the claim said .
Blanca Briceno said she pleaded for the deputies to stop .
When she took out her phone to record , she said , a deputy took it away , telling her she couldn ’ t speak to anyone because they might convince her to change her story .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a cabinet , the claim said .
Eric Briceno was punched , pepper-sprayed and shot with a Taser seven or eight times , the autopsy report said .
Deputies reported that before being transported to the hospital , Briceno had turned blue , according to the autopsy report .
Medical examiners found methamphetamine in his system , which contributed to but was not the immediate cause of his death .
Samuel Paz , an attorney representing the Briceno family , said he reviewed hospital records and those of emergency responders , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the sheriff ’ s Mental Evaluation Team responded to the incident .
Members of the team usually roll out in pairs : a deputy and a licensed mental health clinician trained to de-escalate and avoid the use of force .
In 2019 , the agency ’ s 33 teams responded to more than half the 10,425 patrol calls involving mentally ill or cognitively impaired people in crises , a Sheriff ’ s Department report said .
The report found that during 431 mental health incidents in 2019 , the supervisor at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that deputies would have used force to subdue patients if not for team members arriving to defuse the situation .
Spurred by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis , many are calling for some of these responsibilities to be removed from law enforcement and for other public community and support services to be expanded .
In Los Angeles , for example , the City Council is exploring a new emergency response that uses trained specialists , rather than Los Angeles police officers , to render aid to homeless people and those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issues .
As Eric Briceno was taken to the hospital , deputies took his parents to the East L.A. station , where they were questioned by investigators ; neither knew whether their son was still alive .
After the interview , the Bricenos said , investigators returned and told them : We have some bad news — he didn ’ t make it .
Paz said Eric Briceno was declared dead within eight minutes of arriving at the hospital .
In a letter dated a month after the incident , the district attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bricenos for their loss .
The letter used language that the Bricenos felt added insult to injury , referencing prosecutors ’ review of “ the shooting.
” “ There was no shooting , ” Blanca Briceno said .
“ There ’ s a lot of people like this … screaming for help .
And they deserve to live and get the help they need .
My son didn ’ t deserve this .
”

Juan and Blanca Briceno created a shrine for their son Eric Briceno, who was killed by deputies in March during what they said was a mental health call.
Blanca Briceno said she wakes up many nights with the images in her head: Several Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies pinning down and striking her son Eric in his bedroom, his face full of blood.
She had called the police one day in March to help her son, who was in the midst of a mental health crisis. But by the end, he’d been beaten and Tasered to death. At one point, she said, deputies grabbed her phone when she tried to film what was happening.
“We called them to come and help us, to get some help,” Briceno said, choking up during an interview at her Maywood home. “And instead, they came and killed him, brutally killed him.”
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Eric Briceno’s death has not made headlines or triggered protests during this moment of unrest across the nation over police brutality. The incident occurred inside the family’s home, and the autopsy wasn’t released to their attorney until last week.
In their report, obtained by The Times, coroner’s officials concluded that Briceno, 39, died of cardiopulmonary arrest, resulting from neck compression and restraint with a Taser. The death was ruled a homicide, although the designation doesn’t mean it was intentional or a crime.
The Briceno family last month filed a wrongful-death claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the Sheriff’s Department and is calling for prosecutors to charge the deputies involved.
“He didn’t die a natural death,” said Briceno’s father, Juan. “He died because of police brutality.”
The Sheriff’s Department declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation into the incident. Sheriff’s investigators have not yet presented a case to prosecutors, who will review the materials and decide whether deputies committed a crime, the district attorney’s office said.
According to the autopsy report, investigators told coroner’s officials that when deputies responded to a call that Eric Briceno had assaulted his father, he “attacked the deputies” and resisted arrest.
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Eric began showing symptoms of mental illness in high school and was diagnosed with mild schizophrenia, the family’s claim says. He self-medicated with street drugs and spent time in jail. Most recently, he was on probation and receiving treatment through the L.A. County Department of Mental Health.
On March 16, the claim said, Eric had an altercation with his father and left the home as his parents called 911. Deputies arrived and told the parents to call them back when their son returned, which they did.
Eric Briceno — 6 feet tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds, records show — was in his room sleeping when deputies arrived, his mother said. She said she told deputies she would call him out of his bedroom because she didn’t want the deputies to go in. They went in anyway, she said, startling her son.
Blanca Briceno said the deputies began beating Eric without provocation, kneeling on his back and hitting him with a baton.
“They went, ‘Eric, Eric!’ So he got scared,” his mother said. “He wasn’t doing anything; he wasn’t aggressive, nothing.”
One deputy fired a Taser, striking him, and another discharged pepper spray in the room. Meanwhile, Eric cried out that he could not breathe, his mother and the claim said.
Blanca Briceno said she pleaded for the deputies to stop. When she took out her phone to record, she said, a deputy took it away, telling her she couldn’t speak to anyone because they might convince her to change her story. She was pushed out of the room and into a cabinet, the claim said.
Eric Briceno was punched, pepper-sprayed and shot with a Taser seven or eight times, the autopsy report said.
Deputies reported that before being transported to the hospital, Briceno had turned blue, according to the autopsy report. Medical examiners found methamphetamine in his system, which contributed to but was not the immediate cause of his death.
Samuel Paz, an attorney representing the Briceno family, said he reviewed hospital records and those of emergency responders, and it doesn’t appear that members of the sheriff’s Mental Evaluation Team responded to the incident.
Members of the team usually roll out in pairs: a deputy and a licensed mental health clinician trained to de-escalate and avoid the use of force. In 2019, the agency’s 33 teams responded to more than half the 10,425 patrol calls involving mentally ill or cognitively impaired people in crises, a Sheriff’s Department report said.
The report found that during 431 mental health incidents in 2019, the supervisor at the scene believed it “very likely” that deputies would have used force to subdue patients if not for team members arriving to defuse the situation.
Spurred by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, many are calling for some of these responsibilities to be removed from law enforcement and for other public community and support services to be expanded. In Los Angeles, for example, the City Council is exploring a new emergency response that uses trained specialists, rather than Los Angeles police officers, to render aid to homeless people and those suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues.
As Eric Briceno was taken to the hospital, deputies took his parents to the East L.A. station, where they were questioned by investigators; neither knew whether their son was still alive. After the interview, the Bricenos said, investigators returned and told them: We have some bad news — he didn’t make it.
Paz said Eric Briceno was declared dead within eight minutes of arriving at the hospital.
In a letter dated a month after the incident, the district attorney’s office expressed condolences to the Bricenos for their loss. The letter used language that the Bricenos felt added insult to injury, referencing prosecutors’ review of “the shooting.”
“There was no shooting,” Blanca Briceno said. “There’s a lot of people like this … screaming for help. And they deserve to live and get the help they need. My son didn’t deserve this.”


latimes--2020-09-24--L.A. Metro cuts budget by $1.2 billion, locking in steep reductions to bus, rail service

Pummeled by a plunge in sales tax revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic , the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday locked in steep cuts to Los Angeles County bus and rail service for nearly a year .
Metro ’ s directors voted 12 to 1 to approve a $ 6-billion budget for the 2021 fiscal year , a $ 1.2-billion reduction from 2020 .
The plan extends previously temporary cuts to bus and rail service , and trims the budgets for dozens of other Metro initiatives , including new rail lines and behind-the-scenes planning work .
As restaurants and bars closed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home , sales taxes — Metro ’ s single largest source of revenue — plummeted .
Losses mounted to more than $ 100 million per month , creating what board chairman and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti described as “ the most challenging budget year we ’ ve ever been through.
” Metro ’ s new budget calls for about 5.6 million hours of bus service and 1 million hours of rail service through June .
The 20 % reduction formalizes the temporary service cuts that directors approved in April as revenue and ridership @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spring , but is still hovering at roughly half of pre-pandemic levels , officials said .
During an online meeting Thursday , bus riders and advocates pleaded with Metro officials to reverse the cuts .
They said that low-income riders , the vast majority of whom are Latino or Black , are seeing longer waits and fuller buses that make social distancing impossible .
Elizabeth Medrano , who has taken Metro buses for 26 years , said she sometimes walks rather than wait for a bus that might be crowded when it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you want to increase ridership , increase the service.
” The plan approved Thursday leaves open the possibility of gradually restoring service over two years , but advocates said they feared that the cuts would never be restored .
Similar reductions to bus service during the Great Recession were never fully reversed , even after the economy improved .
“ There is a lack of trust that they will come back , for obvious reasons , ” said Reed Alvarado , the transportation director at FastLinkDTLA , a downtown group working to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Seeking to assure riders , Metro ’ s directors also approved a plan that requires the agency to report back every two months with a plan to gradually restore lost service hours “ as appropriate.
” “ We will increase bus service as we need it , ” Garcetti said .
Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin , the only Metro director to vote no , said he had too many unanswered questions to support the proposal , including whether the reduced level of service would be enough to prevent crowding on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about $ 875 million through the coronavirus stimulus bill that Congress passed in March .
The allocation will not pay for all the agency ’ s added operational losses , and does not cover capital costs for major construction projects , officials said .
Garcetti blamed Congress for the service cuts , saying legislators had failed to pass a second , $ 3-trillion relief package proposed by House Democrats in May .
The bill would provide more than $ 900 billion for state and local governments , including transit agencies .
Elected officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ ve gone to golf courses when they should be passing something , ” Garcetti said .
“ I hold very little hope that something will be done before the election.
” The 16.5 % budget cut assumes that Metro will see $ 730 million less from sales taxes , tolls , advertising and bus and rail fares than this year , officials said .
That includes a projected 11 % decline in sales tax receipts and a nearly 27 % drop in grants from gas tax revenue , as Californians stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believe the economy will start “ inching back by the end of September ” and will return to pre-pandemic levels by June , said senior finance officer Melissa Wang .
If the Golden State ’ s economic recovery starts later or takes longer , Metro may face further cuts , officials said .
“ We have to tough it out and tighten our belt , ” Wang told directors last week .
The first half of the year will be “ very painful , ” with revenue losses of more than 20 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Metro has estimated that fare revenue in 2021 will plunge nearly 79 % , from $ 284.5 million in 2020 to $ 60 million this year .
That ’ s due to very low ridership during the pandemic , and a policy that allows riders to board at the back door , circumventing the fare box , to protect drivers from COVID-19 exposure .
“ Another risk is the public ’ s willingness to ride transit , and how quickly we can rebound post-pandemic , ” said Giovanna Gogreve , a senior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ budget cut does not call for layoffs or fare increases .
Metro workers represented by labor unions will still see raises of up to 4.5 % that are included in their collective bargaining agreements , said chief executive Phil Washington .
But the budget proposes a 40.4 % cut to overtime for unionized workers , for a savings of nearly $ 36 million .

Transit riders wait for the A Line at the 7th Street/Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles in July.
Pummeled by a plunge in sales tax revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday locked in steep cuts to Los Angeles County bus and rail service for nearly a year.
Metro’s directors voted 12 to 1 to approve a $6-billion budget for the 2021 fiscal year, a $1.2-billion reduction from 2020. The plan extends previously temporary cuts to bus and rail service, and trims the budgets for dozens of other Metro initiatives, including new rail lines and behind-the-scenes planning work.
As restaurants and bars closed and millions of L.A. County residents stayed home, sales taxes — Metro’s single largest source of revenue — plummeted. Losses mounted to more than $100 million per month, creating what board chairman and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti described as “the most challenging budget year we’ve ever been through.”
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Metro’s new budget calls for about 5.6 million hours of bus service and 1 million hours of rail service through June. The 20% reduction formalizes the temporary service cuts that directors approved in April as revenue and ridership fell.
Ridership has rebounded slightly since the spring, but is still hovering at roughly half of pre-pandemic levels, officials said.
During an online meeting Thursday, bus riders and advocates pleaded with Metro officials to reverse the cuts. They said that low-income riders, the vast majority of whom are Latino or Black, are seeing longer waits and fuller buses that make social distancing impossible.
Elizabeth Medrano, who has taken Metro buses for 26 years, said she sometimes walks rather than wait for a bus that might be crowded when it eventually arrives. She said: “If you want to increase ridership, increase the service.”
The plan approved Thursday leaves open the possibility of gradually restoring service over two years, but advocates said they feared that the cuts would never be restored. Similar reductions to bus service during the Great Recession were never fully reversed, even after the economy improved.
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“There is a lack of trust that they will come back, for obvious reasons,” said Reed Alvarado, the transportation director at FastLinkDTLA, a downtown group working to get more residents out of their cars.
Seeking to assure riders, Metro’s directors also approved a plan that requires the agency to report back every two months with a plan to gradually restore lost service hours “as appropriate.”
“We will increase bus service as we need it,” Garcetti said.
Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, the only Metro director to vote no, said he had too many unanswered questions to support the proposal, including whether the reduced level of service would be enough to prevent crowding on major bus lines.
Metro will receive about $875 million through the coronavirus stimulus bill that Congress passed in March. The allocation will not pay for all the agency’s added operational losses, and does not cover capital costs for major construction projects, officials said.
Garcetti blamed Congress for the service cuts, saying legislators had failed to pass a second, $3-trillion relief package proposed by House Democrats in May. The bill would provide more than $900 billion for state and local governments, including transit agencies.
Elected officials in Washington “went on vacation, they’ve gone to golf courses when they should be passing something,” Garcetti said. “I hold very little hope that something will be done before the election.”
The 16.5% budget cut assumes that Metro will see $730 million less from sales taxes, tolls, advertising and bus and rail fares than this year, officials said. That includes a projected 11% decline in sales tax receipts and a nearly 27% drop in grants from gas tax revenue, as Californians stay home and drive less.
Metro officials believe the economy will start “inching back by the end of September” and will return to pre-pandemic levels by June, said senior finance officer Melissa Wang. If the Golden State’s economic recovery starts later or takes longer, Metro may face further cuts, officials said.
“We have to tough it out and tighten our belt,” Wang told directors last week. The first half of the year will be “very painful,” with revenue losses of more than 20% compared to last year, she said.
Metro has estimated that fare revenue in 2021 will plunge nearly 79%, from $284.5 million in 2020 to $60 million this year. That’s due to very low ridership during the pandemic, and a policy that allows riders to board at the back door, circumventing the fare box, to protect drivers from COVID-19 exposure.
“Another risk is the public’s willingness to ride transit, and how quickly we can rebound post-pandemic,” said Giovanna Gogreve, a senior transportation planner at the agency.
The budget cut does not call for layoffs or fare increases.
Metro workers represented by labor unions will still see raises of up to 4.5% that are included in their collective bargaining agreements, said chief executive Phil Washington. But the budget proposes a 40.4% cut to overtime for unionized workers, for a savings of nearly $36 million.


latimes--2020-09-24--Parents sue LAUSD, blasting its online learning as an 'educational crisis'

The Los Angeles Unified School District ’ s distance learning plan has caused “ enormous learning losses ” and left tens of thousands of Black and Latino students without a basic education , according to allegations in a class action lawsuit filed against the district Thursday .
The lawsuit , filed on behalf of Los Angles public school parents , alleges that the district is failing students by offering less instructional time to students compared with other large districts in California and cutting the hours that teachers are required to work “ My daughter and the children of my community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the district , ” said Judith Larson , a plaintiff in the suit whose daughter is in seventh grade at South Gate Middle School .
“ The poor education our students receive this year is going to have an impact for years to come.
” Some of the nine parents who filed the suit said teachers frequently dismiss class early , sometimes soon after taking attendance .
Others said they received nonfunctioning computers from the district , including ones that crashed every time they tried to access online meetings .
And others said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and are only reviewing old material .
The plaintiffs were organized by two advocacy groups , Innovate Public Schools and Parent Revolution , which have been critical of the district ’ s approach to distance learning .
The suit , filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court , asks for an injunction to stop the district from “ further depriving plaintiffs of their constitutional rights , ” as well as a declaration that the district is violating students ’ rights .
In a statement , L.A. Unified spokeswoman Shannon Haber said that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lawsuit but that districts like Los Angeles “ have to balance the sometimes conflicting priorities of the learning needs of students and the health and safety of all in the school community.
” “ Since school closed in March , L.A. Unified has been working to bridge the digital divide ensuring all students have devices and access to the internet .
It has also sought innovative ways to engage students online , ” Haber said .
“ Los Angeles Unified will continue to provide the best possible education to all students.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs , said “ LAUSD ’ s distance learning plan is woefully inadequate.
” “ Not only does the plan deny all public school children in our city the basic rights guaranteed to them by the California Constitution , it disproportionately harms the poorest and most vulnerable children in this school district and that is unacceptable , ” she said .
Larson , 52 , said her daughter , an honor roll student , only received about two or three hours of instruction per week in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fall , but nowhere near enough for her daughter to catch up , she said .
Her 12-year-old ’ s schedule shows she is supposed to be in class from 9 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. with a 30-minute lunch break .
Instead , she has a 90-minute lunch break and teachers often dismiss class early , sometimes soon after taking attendance and asking whether students have completed their homework .
She was given five textbooks , but has yet to open them “ because there ’ s no need , ” Larson said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she ’ s not going to be ready for eighth grade and this is like a domino effect because my dream is that she can get to college , ” Larson said .
“ And I don ’ t see that that ’ s going to happen that easily ... She ’ s being left behind.
” The suit puts much of the blame for the failures it alleges on two agreements between the district and the teachers union — one that was signed in April and another in August .
Under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work six hours a day .
Several plaintiffs also described their lack of adequate technology to access education .
District officials have said that they have all the technology that students need .
Some plaintiffs , however , said they have requested wireless hot spots but have not received them .
And one parent said his 16-year-old son attends his online classes by cellphone because he has not received a computer from the district .
Akela Wroten , Jr. has three children in LAUSD schools , ages 4 , 6 and 8 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bandwidth is not adequate .
He said he was put on a waiting list for a hot spot but has not received one .
He joined the suit because he sees how his children are struggling , he said .
“ This experience is pretty much chaos , ” Wroten said .
“ If Wi-Fi is not working , Zoom isn ’ t working or the apps that they have aren ’ t working ... we were not prepared at all and our babies are suffering from it .
”

The Los Angeles Unified School District’s distance learning plan has caused “enormous learning losses” and left tens of thousands of Black and Latino students without a basic education, according to allegations in a class action lawsuit filed against the district Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Los Angles public school parents, alleges that the district is failing students by offering less instructional time to students compared with other large districts in California and cutting the hours that teachers are required to work
“My daughter and the children of my community...they’ve been failed by the district,” said Judith Larson, a plaintiff in the suit whose daughter is in seventh grade at South Gate Middle School. “The poor education our students receive this year is going to have an impact for years to come.”
Some of the nine parents who filed the suit said teachers frequently dismiss class early, sometimes soon after taking attendance. Others said they received nonfunctioning computers from the district, including ones that crashed every time they tried to access online meetings. And others said their children are not learning anything new and are only reviewing old material.
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The plaintiffs were organized by two advocacy groups, Innovate Public Schools and Parent Revolution, which have been critical of the district’s approach to distance learning. The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, asks for an injunction to stop the district from “further depriving plaintiffs of their constitutional rights,” as well as a declaration that the district is violating students’ rights.
In a statement, L.A. Unified spokeswoman Shannon Haber said that the district had not yet been served with the lawsuit but that districts like Los Angeles “have to balance the sometimes conflicting priorities of the learning needs of students and the health and safety of all in the school community.”
“Since school closed in March, L.A. Unified has been working to bridge the digital divide ensuring all students have devices and access to the internet. It has also sought innovative ways to engage students online,” Haber said. “Los Angeles Unified will continue to provide the best possible education to all students.”
In a statement, Sierra Elizabeth, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said “LAUSD’s distance learning plan is woefully inadequate.”
“Not only does the plan deny all public school children in our city the basic rights guaranteed to them by the California Constitution, it disproportionately harms the poorest and most vulnerable children in this school district and that is unacceptable,” she said.
Larson, 52, said her daughter, an honor roll student, only received about two or three hours of instruction per week in the spring. Things improved slightly in the fall, but nowhere near enough for her daughter to catch up, she said.
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Her 12-year-old’s schedule shows she is supposed to be in class from 9 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. with a 30-minute lunch break. Instead, she has a 90-minute lunch break and teachers often dismiss class early, sometimes soon after taking attendance and asking whether students have completed their homework. She was given five textbooks, but has yet to open them “because there’s no need,” Larson said.
“My biggest worry is that she’s not going to be ready for eighth grade and this is like a domino effect because my dream is that she can get to college,” Larson said. “And I don’t see that that’s going to happen that easily... She’s being left behind.”
The suit puts much of the blame for the failures it alleges on two agreements between the district and the teachers union — one that was signed in April and another in August. Under the August agreement, teachers are expected to work six hours a day.
Several plaintiffs also described their lack of adequate technology to access education. District officials have said that they have all the technology that students need.
Some plaintiffs, however, said they have requested wireless hot spots but have not received them. And one parent said his 16-year-old son attends his online classes by cellphone because he has not received a computer from the district.
Akela Wroten, Jr. has three children in LAUSD schools, ages 4, 6 and 8. He has internet access at home but the bandwidth is not adequate. He said he was put on a waiting list for a hot spot but has not received one.
He joined the suit because he sees how his children are struggling, he said.
“This experience is pretty much chaos,” Wroten said. “If Wi-Fi is not working, Zoom isn’t working or the apps that they have aren’t working...we were not prepared at all and our babies are suffering from it.”


latimes--2020-09-24--LAPD officer rearrested on new felony charge after allegedly stealing cash at pot grow

A Los Angeles police officer on Thursday was arrested for a second time — this time on a felony count — in relation to a January incident in which he is accused of stealing cash from the backpack of an employee at a cannabis grow facility , prosecutors and police said .
Officer Luis Mota , 46 , was first arrested on suspicion of theft at the grow facility on Jan. 27 as narcotics officers conducted enforcement there .
Police said that the employee had alerted an LAPD supervisor that money was missing from her backpack , and that surveillance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He was charged then with misdemeanor theft .
On Thursday , the Los Angeles Police Department said Mota had been rearrested on a felony burglary charge brought by L.A. County Dist .
Atty .
Jackie Lacey ’ s office based on the findings of an internal affairs investigation .
Lacey ’ s office would not comment on what new information or evidence prompted the added charge .
Mota ’ s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday .
Mota could not be reached for comment .
Mota ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but he was released from jail under rules aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus in jails .
Mota is scheduled to be arraigned in January .
If convicted , he faces up to three years in jail .

A Los Angeles police officer was arrested Thursday for a second time — this time on a felony count — in relation to a January incident in which he is accused of stealing cash from the backpack of an employee at a cannabis grow facility, prosecutors and police said.
Officer Luis Mota, 46, was first arrested on suspicion of theft at the grow facility Jan. 27 as narcotics officers conducted enforcement there. Police said that the employee had alerted an LAPD supervisor that money was missing from her backpack and that surveillance video pointed to Mota as the culprit. He was charged then with misdemeanor theft.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Police Department said Mota had been rearrested on a felony burglary charge brought by L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey’s office based on the findings of an internal affairs investigation. Lacey’s office would not comment on what new information or evidence prompted the added charge.
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Mota’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. Mota could not be reached for comment.
Mota’s bail was set at $50,000, but he was released from custody under rules aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus in jails.
Mota is scheduled to be arraigned in January. If convicted, he faces up to three years in jail.


latimes--2020-09-24--Los Angeles D.A. will not prosecute KPCC reporter arrested after shooting of sheriff's deputies

A KPCC reporter who was slammed to the ground and accused of interfering with an arrest the night two Los Angeles County sheriff ’ s deputies were shot in Compton will not face criminal charges , the Los Angeles County district attorney ’ s office said Thursday .
Josie Huang , 39 , was arrested outside St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood after deputies alleged she tried to interfere with the arrest of a protester earlier this month .
The incident drew widespread condemnation from journalism organizations and politicians , criticism that worsened after video of the incident captured on Huang @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Sheriff Alex Villanueva .
“ Ms .
Huang was in a public area filming a protest .
When asked to back up , she is almost immediately grabbed by deputies and taken to the ground , giving her little if any time to comply , ” prosecutors wrote in a memo declining to file criminal charges .
“ It does not appear that she was intentionally attempting to interfere with the deputies , but merely trying to record the occurrence.
” Hours earlier on Sept. 12 , someone had walked up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Compton Metro station and opened fire on the two deputies , both of whom suffered gunshot wounds to the head .
The deputies — a 31-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man who have not been identified — were seriously injured but are expected to survive .
Both deputies have been released from the hospital , officials said .
No arrests have been made .
In the hours that followed the shooting , a small group of protesters descended on the hospital where the deputies were being treated , some of whom were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Recordings that Huang posted to Twitter the day after the incident showed her approaching a group of deputies as they arrested a man .
The deputies ordered her to back up , but then almost immediately took her to the ground .
The Sheriff ’ s Department initially alleged Huang failed to identify herself as a reporter .
But Huang ’ s phone kept recording while she was in handcuffs , showing deputies stomp on the device and ignore her as she continually announced she was a reporter for KPCC .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the Associated Press that Huang had “ crossed the line from journalism to activism ” and defended his deputies ’ actions .
In a statement , a Sheriff ’ s Department spokeswoman said the agency “ values the media and highly respects the freedom of the press ” but maintained that deputies believed Huang “ inserted herself too close to the highly charged situation as an arrest was being made.
” “ It is unfortunate this incident took place during a time in which our focus was on the horrific attempted assassination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events during that time were very tense and rapidly evolving , ” the statement read .
“ At that same time , our personnel were dealing with protesters who were blocking the driveway to the hospital emergency room and chanting for our wounded deputies to die , which could also be heard by their family members.
” Separate investigations of the arrest are being carried out by county Inspector General Max Huntsman and the Sheriff ’ s Department ’ s internal affairs bureau .

A KPCC reporter who was slammed to the ground and accused of interfering with an arrest the night two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were shot in Compton will not face criminal charges, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Thursday.
Josie Huang, 39, was arrested outside St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood after deputies alleged she tried to interfere with the arrest of a protester earlier this month. The incident drew widespread condemnation from journalism organizations and politicians, criticism that worsened after video of the incident captured on Huang’s cellphone seemingly disproved allegations levied by Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
“Ms. Huang was in a public area filming a protest. When asked to back up, she is almost immediately grabbed by deputies and taken to the ground, giving her little if any time to comply,” prosecutors wrote in a memo declining to file criminal charges. “It does not appear that she was intentionally attempting to interfere with the deputies, but merely trying to record the occurrence.”
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Hours earlier on Sept. 12, someone had walked up to a Sheriff’s Department cruiser near the Compton Metro station and opened fire on the two deputies, both of whom suffered gunshot wounds to the head. The deputies — a 31-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man who have not been identified — were seriously injured but are expected to survive.
Both deputies have been released from the hospital, officials said. No arrests have been made.
In the hours that followed the shooting, a small group of protesters descended on the hospital where the deputies were being treated, some of whom were chanting that they hoped the deputies died. Recordings that Huang posted to Twitter the day after the incident showed her approaching a group of deputies as they arrested a man. The deputies ordered her to back up, but then almost immediately took her to the ground.
The Sheriff’s Department initially alleged Huang failed to identify herself as a reporter. But Huang’s phone kept recording while she was in handcuffs, showing deputies stomp on the device and ignore her as she continually announced she was a reporter for KPCC.
In the days after the incident, Villanueva told the Associated Press that Huang had “crossed the line from journalism to activism” and defended his deputies’ actions.
In a statement, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman said the agency “values the media and highly respects the freedom of the press” but maintained that deputies believed Huang “inserted herself too close to the highly charged situation as an arrest was being made.”
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“It is unfortunate this incident took place during a time in which our focus was on the horrific attempted assassination of two of our deputies. The events during that time were very tense and rapidly evolving,” the statement read. “At that same time, our personnel were dealing with protesters who were blocking the driveway to the hospital emergency room and chanting for our wounded deputies to die, which could also be heard by their family members.”
Separate investigations of the arrest are being carried out by county Inspector General Max Huntsman and the Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
Huang said she appreciated the district attorney’s office’s decision and was thankful prosecutors reviewed her cellphone video. But she isn’t done challenging the Sheriff’s Department’s narrative.
“I am seeking a finding of ‘factual innocence’ that will wipe this unlawful arrest from my record,” she said. “More than ever, I am grateful for the 1st Amendment, which entitles all Americans — not just journalists — to the rights of free speech and assembly.”


latimes--2020-09-24--California's largest-ever fire threatens cannabis farms worth millions. Many won't evacuate

Nate Trujillo sat on a windy ridge and watched California ’ s largest wildfire , the August Complex , work its way toward the cannabis-growing enclave of Post Mountain-Trinity Pines , where many of the locals are refusing to evacuate .
Law enforcement officers went door to door warning of the danger a few days ago , but “ we couldn ’ t force people to leave , ” said Trujillo , a narcotics deputy in the Trinity County Sheriff ’ s Department .
“ It ’ s mainly growers .
And a lot of them , they don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their livelihood.
” It is a critical time of year in the Emerald Triangle , a three-county corner of Northern California that by some estimates is the nation ’ s largest cannabis-producing region .
Trinity Pines alone is home to up to 40 legal farms , with more than 10 times that number of illegal grows hidden off its dirt roads , according to people familiar with this part off the Trinity Alps , inland from Humboldt .
Each farm has crops worth half a million dollars or more , and many are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making growers wary of leaving vulnerable to either flames or thieves .
Among the holdouts are numerous Hmong families , originally from Laos and other Southeast Asian countries , who have moved to the area in recent years , along with Bulgarians and Russians and a smattering of neighbors drawn by the remote beauty of towering cedars and firs .
One estimate put the value of the legal crop alone at about $ 20 million .
“ There [ are ] millions of dollars , millions and millions of dollars of marijuana out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some of those plants are 16 feet tall and they are all in the budding stages of growth right now.
” As of Thursday , authorities and locals estimated that as many as 1,000 people remained in Post Mountain and Trinity Pines , communities where gunfire is common .
Not long ago , nightfall brought what locals dubbed the “ roll call , ” in which cannabis cultivators , one after another , shot rounds from pistols and automatic weapons as a warning that outsiders should beware , said Post Mountain volunteer Fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal cannabis farms .
Though bullets can ’ t stop the current threat to the crops , locals are steadfast in their determination to defend what they have .
That includes residents with no ties to the cannabis trade .
Susan Bower has lived in Post Mountain since 1973 and stayed through multiple fires .
Thursday , she remained at home and will leave only when “ it ’ s actually burning the trees and grass on the other side of our garden fence , ” she said .
She and her husband @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the forest is on fire ” and have accepted that such blazes are “ part of the regime ” for living in wildlands .
Kind weather kept the fire , now more than 860,000 acres and growing , moving slow until Wednesday , when the breeze kicked up .
Now , it has crept within a mile of Trinity Pines .
More wind and heat are expected in coming days , and the danger of devastation grows with with every yard the flames advance .
But cannabis-growing residents , mistrustful of authority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on and being invisible in situations like this , ” have said they believe back roads out will be a viable last resort .
Having weathered fires before , they think they can defend their properties themselves with garden hoses , gravity tanks and shovels , Dobo said .
Fire officials have warned the community they will do everything they can to defend the crops but will not risk firefighters ’ lives to save residents who have refused to leave .
Crews have dug a 40-foot-wide dozer line around the area and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a containment line .
“ The thing that we need to make clear is we are not going to die to save people .
That is not our job , ” said Mike McMillan , spokesman for the federal incident command team managing the northern section of the August Complex .
It has been divided into three branches because of its huge size .
“ We are going to knock door to door and tell them once again , ” McMillan said .
“ However , if they choose to stay and if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , very dynamic and very dangerous … we are not going to risk our lives.
” Seng Alex Vang , a member of the Hmong community in the Central Valley and a lecturer in the ethnic studies program at Cal State Stanislaus , said some of the Hmong farmers may prefer risking death rather than lose their source of income .
“ I believe a lot of them put their life savings into this marijuana grow , ” Vang said .
If their farms were overrun by fire , “ it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , don ’ t fully understand legal systems , including the lines between law enforcement and firefighters , or trust authorities — likely contributing to a belief that they are better off handling the situation themselves .
Hmong cannabis farmers are not unique to the area .
Across the Emerald Triangle and into neighboring counties , their numbers have grown in recent years .
In nearby Siskiyou County , the sheriff has waged war with Hmong growers whom he has described as being like organized crime cartels .
In Trinity County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raiding illegal grows than protecting them .
Vang and others say language is also a barrier .
“ We hope they understand what we are saying , but there is not way to confirm that , ” acknowledged Trujillo , the sheriff ’ s deputy .
Hmong started moving to this area about eight years ago , Dobo said , after another fire hit Post Mountain , burning about a third of the land including more than two dozen farms .
Many older residents moved out as property values unexpectedly rose when Hmong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prices .
Vang said some of them were vegetable farmers from the Central Valley who saw cannabis as an opportunity to escape poverty .
Others came from out of state , looking to cash in on the “ green rush ” as California moved toward legalization .
Many are refugees or family of Hmong who helped U.S. troops during the Vietnam War .
Dobo estimates about 80 % of locals are now of Hmong descent , though there is little census information for the area .
The subdivision , marketed in the 1960s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 700 occupied lots , she said , ranging from a few acres to a few dozen .
The population can shift from a low of about 200 in winter to 5,000 in summer , when workers come for the harvest .
Post Mountain is further hampered by being “ off the grid ” when it comes to reliable communication with the outside world , Dobo said .
Cell service is scarce and the internet requires an expensive satellite connection that many lack , she added .
Dobo has become the main local link @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number out to anyone who will take it and arranging a community meeting on Saturday that was attended by about 50 of the “ key people ” in the area , she said .
“ I am doing everything I can to be that bridge , ” Dobo said .
“ We have had a very difficult time trying to win the hearts of the Hmong community .
I think this fire has done nothing but help that situation.
” After the meeting , many growers sent away family members who were not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with few marked roads , put up cardboard signs so that firetrucks could find their way .
“ All the women and children left , except for the badass chicks , obviously , ” she said .
But Trujillo said he suspects more residents are sneaking back as the evacuation order stays in place , using back roads that the sheriff ’ s office can ’ t monitor .
Authorities fear that if fire does hit , roads will clog with farmers attempting to truck out what they can of their crops .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to turn into a big giant traffic jam in there , ” he said .
“ Right now we don ’ t really have the resources and a set plan to deal with it , ” Trujillo said , though they have asked people to evacuate north to allow engines access from Highway 36 in the south .
McMillan , the fire incident spokesman , said the blaze has launched hundreds of “ fingers ” toward the highway , more than crews can handle .
Wednesday night , it crested the ridge nearest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change tactics and begin a controlled burn operation .
Though authorities have a plan to protect Post Mountain , McMillan cautioned that the August Complex is too big to contain with crews stretched thin statewide , battling numerous blazes in one of the worst fire seasons ever .
“ We can ’ t attack every part of that fire .
We don ’ t have the people , ” McMillan said Wednesday .
“ It would be like trying to dry the ocean out with a bucket.
” That has left Dobo and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her father , patrolling on their single fire engine for wind-borne embers , ones that could immediately ignite and ones that could lie smoldering for days undetected .
She knows her tiny brigade can do only so much and is fearful “ I won ’ t be able to save it , ” she said , referring not just to the land but to a way of life that she loves , even if outsiders don ’ t understand .
“ I don ’ t want to see my community burn , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committed .
”

A member of the Lassen Hotshot crew fighting the August Complex fire shields his face as he walks past a fire line on the northwest flank above Ruth Valley.
Nate Trujillo sat on a windy ridge and watched California’s largest wildfire, the August Complex, work its way toward the cannabis-growing enclave of Post Mountain-Trinity Pines, where many of the locals are refusing to evacuate.
Law enforcement officers went door to door warning of the danger a few days ago, but “we couldn’t force people to leave,” said Trujillo, a narcotics deputy in the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department. “It’s mainly growers. And a lot of them, they don’t want to leave because that is their livelihood.”
It is a critical time of year in the Emerald Triangle, a three-county corner of Northern California that by some estimates is the nation’s largest cannabis-producing region.
Trinity Pines alone is home to up to 40 legal farms, with more than 10 times that number of illegal grows hidden off its dirt roads, according to people familiar with this part of the Trinity Alps, inland from Humboldt.
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Each farm has crops worth half a million dollars or more, and many are within days or weeks of harvest, making growers wary of leaving vulnerable to either flames or thieves. Among the holdouts are numerous Hmong families, originally from Laos and other Southeast Asian countries, who have moved to the area in recent years, along with Bulgarians and Russians and a smattering of neighbors drawn by the remote beauty of towering cedars and firs.
One estimate put the value of the legal crop alone at about $20 million.
“There [are] millions of dollars, millions and millions of dollars of marijuana out there,” Trujillo said. “Some of those plants are 16 feet tall and they are all in the budding stages of growth right now.”
As of Thursday, authorities and locals estimated that as many as 1,000 people remained in Post Mountain and Trinity Pines, communities where gunfire is common. Not long ago, nightfall brought what locals dubbed the “roll call,” in which cannabis cultivators, one after another, shot rounds from pistols and automatic weapons as a warning that outsiders should beware, said Post Mountain volunteer Fire Chief Astrid Dobo, who also manages legal cannabis farms.
Though bullets can’t stop the current threat to the crops, locals are steadfast in their determination to defend what they have. That includes residents with no ties to the cannabis trade.
Susan Bower has lived in Post Mountain since 1973 and stayed through multiple fires. Thursday, she remained at home and will leave only when “it’s actually burning the trees and grass on the other side of our garden fence,” she said. She and her husband have planned “an emergency way out if the forest is on fire” and have accepted that such blazes are “part of the regime” for living in wildlands.
Astrid Dobo, the volunteer fire chief in Post Mountain, Calif., also manages legal cannabis farms. (Astrid Dobo)
Kind weather kept the fire, now more than 860,000 acres and growing, moving slow until Wednesday, when the breeze kicked up. Now, it has crept within a mile of Trinity Pines. More wind and heat are expected in coming days, and the danger of devastation grows with with every yard the flames advance.
But cannabis-growing residents, mistrustful of authority and “used to being looked down on and being invisible in situations like this,” have said they believe back roads out will be a viable last resort. Having weathered fires before, they think they can defend their properties themselves with garden hoses, gravity tanks and shovels, Dobo said.
Fire officials have warned the community they will do everything they can to defend the crops but will not risk firefighters’ lives to save residents who have refused to leave. Crews have dug a 40-foot-wide dozer line around the area and are hoping to use nearby Highway 36 as a containment line.
“The thing that we need to make clear is we are not going to die to save people. That is not our job,” said Mike McMillan, spokesman for the federal incident command team managing the northern section of the August Complex. It has been divided into three branches because of its huge size.
“We are going to knock door to door and tell them once again,” McMillan said. “However, if they choose to stay and if the fire situation becomes, as we say, very dynamic and very dangerous … we are not going to risk our lives.”
Smoke from the August Complex fire billows over forest land. (Mike McMillan / U.S. Forest Service)
Seng Alex Vang, a member of the Hmong community in the Central Valley and a lecturer in the ethnic studies program at Cal State Stanislaus, said some of the Hmong farmers may prefer risking death rather than lose their source of income.
“I believe a lot of them put their life savings into this marijuana grow,” Vang said. If their farms were overrun by fire, “it’s a total loss.”
Many, he said, don’t fully understand legal systems, including the lines between law enforcement and firefighters, or trust authorities — likely contributing to a belief that they are better off handling the situation themselves.
Hmong cannabis farmers are not unique to the area. Across the Emerald Triangle and into neighboring counties, their numbers have grown in recent years.
In nearby Siskiyou County, the sheriff has waged war with Hmong growers whom he has described as being like organized crime cartels. In Trinity County, law enforcement is better known for raiding illegal grows than protecting them.
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Vang and others say language is also a barrier.
“We hope they understand what we are saying, but there is not way to confirm that,” acknowledged Trujillo, the sheriff’s deputy.
Hmong started moving to this area about eight years ago, Dobo said, after another fire hit Post Mountain, burning about a third of the land including more than two dozen farms. Many older residents moved out as property values unexpectedly rose when Hmong transplants began snapping up parcels at above-market prices.
Vang said some of them were vegetable farmers from the Central Valley who saw cannabis as an opportunity to escape poverty. Others came from out of state, looking to cash in on the “green rush” as California moved toward legalization. Many are refugees or family of Hmong who helped U.S. troops during the Vietnam War.
Dobo estimates about 80% of locals are now of Hmong descent, though there is little census information for the area. The subdivision, marketed in the 1960s as a hippie getaway, has about 700 occupied lots, she said, ranging from a few acres to a few dozen. The population can shift from a low of about 200 in winter to 5,000 in summer, when workers come for the harvest.
A U.S. Forest Service crew member hoses down flames on the northwest flank of the August Complex fire, above Ruth Valley.
(Mike McMillan / U.S. Forest Service)
Post Mountain is further hampered by being “off the grid” when it comes to reliable communication with the outside world, Dobo said. Cell service is scarce and the internet requires an expensive satellite connection that many lack, she added.
Dobo has become the main local link to fire information, passing her phone number out to anyone who will take it and arranging a community meeting on Saturday that was attended by about 50 of the “key people” in the area, she said.
“I am doing everything I can to be that bridge,” Dobo said. “We have had a very difficult time trying to win the hearts of the Hmong community. I think this fire has done nothing but help that situation.”
After the meeting, many growers sent away family members who were not essential, and, in a place with few marked roads, put up cardboard signs so that firetrucks could find their way.
“All the women and children left, except for the badass chicks, obviously,” she said.
But Trujillo said he suspects more residents are sneaking back as the evacuation order stays in place, using back roads that the sheriff’s office can’t monitor. Authorities fear that if fire does hit, roads will clog with farmers attempting to truck out what they can of their crops.
“And then it’s going to turn into a big giant traffic jam in there,” he said.
The August Complex blaze as seen from the communities of Post Mountain and Trinity Pines. (Astrid Dobo)
“Right now we don’t really have the resources and a set plan to deal with it,” Trujillo said, though they have asked people to evacuate north to allow engines access from Highway 36 in the south.
McMillan, the fire incident spokesman, said the blaze has launched hundreds of “fingers” toward the highway, more than crews can handle. Wednesday night, it crested the ridge nearest Highway 36, prompting fire officials to change tactics and begin a controlled burn operation.
Though authorities have a plan to protect Post Mountain, McMillan cautioned that the August Complex is too big to contain with crews stretched thin statewide, battling numerous blazes in one of the worst fire seasons ever.
“We can’t attack every part of that fire. We don’t have the people,” McMillan said Wednesday. “It would be like trying to dry the ocean out with a bucket.”
That has left Dobo and her crew of three others, including her father, patrolling on their single fire engine for wind-borne embers, ones that could immediately ignite and ones that could lie smoldering for days undetected. She knows her tiny brigade can do only so much and is fearful “I won’t be able to save it,” she said, referring not just to the land but to a way of life that she loves, even if outsiders don’t understand.
“I don’t want to see my community burn,” she said. “I am fully committed.”


latimes--2020-09-24--Video shows O.C. sheriff's deputies fatally shooting Black man, sparking protests

The fatal shooting of a Black man by two Orange County sheriff ’ s deputies during an altercation in San Clemente , captured on video , spurred a protest and the arrest of several activists who blockaded a street on Thursday .
At least five protesters were taken into custody when about 50 people demonstrated at the site of the killing .
In a cellphone video of the shooting Wednesday , two sheriff ’ s deputies can be seen confronting the man , later identified as Kurt Andras Reinhold , in the middle of El Camino Real .
The deputies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After one of the deputies yells , “ He ’ s got my gun .
he ’ s got my gun , ” two shots can be heard in the video first posted by Local Story .
The video begins by showing deputies from a specialized detail that handles homeless issues seeking to corral Reinhold , 42 .
The deputies tell Reinhold that he is walking in the middle of the street .
Reinhold then tells the deputies repeatedly , “ Stop touching me , stop touching me.
” Reinhold asks the deputies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Go sit down , ” one of the deputies says .
Reinhold refuses to comply and tries to walk past the deputies .
The deputies then push and grabbed Reinhold and wrestle him to the ground on a grass area on the sidewalk about 1:15 p.m. near the Hotel Miramar .
Reinhold wiggles on the ground as deputies try to apply their weight to him and restrain his arms .
A voice , presumably one of the deputies , then yells , ” He ’ s got my gun , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video , shot by a bystander on the opposite curb , does not show enough detail to determine whether the man actually reached for the deputy ’ s gun .
But within a second , two shots can be heard on the video and the bystander recording the video says , “ Oh my God.
” The deputies in a second video are then seen desperately trying to perform CPR on the man .
Sheriff Don Barnes said Thursday that Reinhold tried to unholster the weapon .
“ It is not clear if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weapon out of the holster , ” he said .
The sheriff displayed a grainy photo that he said showed the man grabbing the gun .
Barnes said surveillance video from security cameras on a nearby business showed the man grabbing the weapon .
The Times has not reviewed the video .
“ Obviously it ended in a way we did not hope , ” Barnes said .
“ Weapon retention is one of the first things taught in the academy.
” Carrie Braun , a department spokeswoman , said she could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reinhold because deputies did not convey that information to the department as part of their statement on the shooting .
She said that information will be gathered by the Orange County district attorney ‘ s investigators who handled shootings by sheriff ’ s deputies .
Reinhold had lived in San Clemente for 30 days , the sheriff said , and had be approached about receiving shelter but declined .

A still image from a security camera provided by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department of the struggle between two deputies and a homeless Black man shot dead by one of the deputies. Sheriff Don Barnes said the red circle shows Kurt Reinhold hand on the deputy’s gun.
The fatal shooting of a Black man by two Orange County sheriff’s deputies during a struggle in San Clemente, captured on video, spurred a protest and the arrest of several activists who blockaded a street Thursday.
At least five protesters were taken into custody when about 50 people demonstrated at the site of the killing. They chanted, “No justice, no peace” and said the deputies didn’t need to use deadly force on the man.
San Clemente officials implemented a 9 p.m. curfew Thursday seeking to quell any late-night protests like those that have led to confrontations in cities across the nation.
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In a cellphone video of Wednesday’s shooting, two sheriff’s deputies can be seen confronting the man, later identified as Kurt Andras Reinhold, in the middle of El Camino Real. The deputies wrestle him to the ground. After a voice, presumably that of a deputy, yells, “He’s got my gun,” two shots can be heard in the video, which was first posted by Local Story.
The video begins with the deputies, part of a specialized detail that handles homeless issues, seeking to control Reinhold, 42.
The deputies tell Reinhold that he is walking in the middle of the street. Reinhold then repeatedly tells the deputies, “Stop touching me, stop touching me.” Reinhold asks the deputies why they are trying to touch him. “Go sit down,” one of the deputies says. Reinhold refuses to comply and tries to walk past the deputies.
The deputies then push and grab Reinhold and wrestle him to the ground on a grassy area on the sidewalk about 1:15 p.m. near the Hotel Miramar.
Reinhold wiggles on the ground as the deputies try to apply their weight to him and restrain his arms.
A voice then yells, “He’s got my gun, he’s got my gun.”
The video, recorded by a bystander on the opposite curb, does not show enough detail to determine whether Reinhold reached for the deputy’s gun.
But within a second, two shots can be heard, and the bystander recording the video says, “Oh my God.”
A second video shows the deputies performing CPR on the man.
Sheriff Don Barnes said Thursday that Reinhold tried to unholster a deputy’s weapon.
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“It is not clear if Mr. Reinhold was able to get the weapon out of the holster,” he said.
The sheriff displayed a grainy photo that he said showed Reinhold grabbing the gun. Barnes said the image came from surveillance video from a security camera at a nearby business. The Times has not reviewed the video.
“Obviously it ended in a way we did not hope,” Barnes said. “Weapon retention is one of the first things taught in the academy.”
The shooting has echoes of the killing of Charly “Africa” Keunang by Los Angeles police officers during a violent confrontation on the sidewalk of skid row in 2015. Keunang was shot after a rookie officer yelled that the homeless, mentally ill man was going for his gun as they wrestled.
The Los Angeles County district attorney declined to charge the officers, saying Keunang had his fingers around the gun and presented a reasonable threat. His death led to questions about the number of police shootings involving unhoused people struggling with mental illness.
Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said she could not say what led to the detention of Reinhold, because deputies did not convey that information as part of their required statement on the shooting. She said that information will be gathered by the Orange County district attorney’s investigators who handle shootings by sheriff’s deputies.
Reinhold had lived in San Clemente for 30 days, the sheriff said, and had been approached about receiving shelter but declined. Barnes said the deputies are part of a unit that specializes in homeless services and were familiar with Reinhold. They have been trained in de-escalation techniques, he said.
Activists carrying banners and signs reading “Stop Killing Black People” stood in the street Thursday demanding justice for Reinhold.
Jackson Hinkle, a former San Clemente City Council candidate and one of the protest organizers, called on the sheriff to dismiss the deputies and for Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer to charge them with second-degree murder for what Hinkle said amounted to killing a man for jaywalking.
Deputies wearing helmets and tactical vests and carrying batons formed a skirmish line and removed protesters from the roadway, arresting several of them on suspicion of obstruction.
Some residents said they were stunned by the shooting, with one saying they had seen Reinhold minutes before he was killed.
“He went to the flower store and asked for money because he was hungry,” Melinda Steinmetz told the Orange County Register. “Then he went to get something to eat, and the next thing we knew, he was dead in the street.”
Najee Ali, a civil rights activist working with Reinhold’s relatives, said late Thursday that “this was an unjustified murder.”
“The only person who de-escalated this situation was Kurt when he said don’t touch me,” Ali said. “This went wrong from very start.”
Ali said he doesn’t know if Reinhold touched the gun but doubts he was aware of it he if did: “He was flailing around, scared for his life.”
The Los Angeles activist said Reinhold was an educated man struggled who with mental illness that severely impacted his life.
“They stopped him for jaywalking in a beach city where it’s common,” Ali said. “For too long, Black folks have seen minor offenses used as pretext to detain and harass them.”
Ali said protesters were met with counterprotesters Thursday night, and a man walked up to him and warned him to get back to South L.A.
Police use-of-force experts said the situation Wednesday was difficult and escalated despite the initial calm efforts of the deputies to remove Reinhold from a busy thoroughfare.
“The gentleman presents a danger to himself and motorists,” said Ed Obayashi, a deputy in Plumas County, Calif., and state training expert on the use of force. “The deputies are trying to get him out of the street. He is being belligerent and denying what he is doing, and they are calm and just repeating instructions.”
Obayashi said it would have been better if the deputies had applied more pressure to Reinhold’s arm quickly to subdue him. He said that if Reinhold did try to get a deputy’s gun, then deadly force would be considered necessary — the standard under California law.
“People will ask, ‘Why did they not just Taser him before the fight began?’ Well, what then was the threat he poses to justify that?” Obayashi said.