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| Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino's death by the law sparks controversy. |
A federal judge ordered a dump of police recordings in the wake of a shooting. The law put slugs in an unarmed man. This video dump has also gotten the attention of the U.S. Justice Department. Once again, men of color are often targeted for assassination by the law.
The order came after several media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press, requested access to the footage because of the recent rash of police shootings across the country.
The city of Gardena is trying to hold evidence in wake of a 35-year old man being shot by the law.
The victim, 35-year-old Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino and his two friends, were mistaken by the law. The law accused them of stealing a bicycle.
In the footage, two of the men obeyed police commands to raise their hands above their heads. However, the third man, identified as Diaz-Zeferino, was reportedly drunk and possibly confused by the officers' commands. Witnesses said Diaz-Zeferino was trying to tell officers that they were stopping the wrong men, Daily Herald reported.
The cameras recorded Diaz-Zeferino lowering and raising his hands several times before removing a baseball hat from his head and swinging his hands down to his waist. The action prompted the officers to discharge their weapons several times, striking Diaz-Zeferino eight times and his friend, Eutiquio Acevedo Mendez, once.
Paramedics reportedly took almost 10 minutes to respond to the shooting. Mendez survived his injuries, but Diaz-Zeferino was pronounced dead at the scene.
The police were investigating the theft of a bicycle belonging to Diaz-Zeferino's brother at the time of the shooting, according to The Associated Press. Diaz-Zeferino and his two friends were reportedly looking for the bike when the officers approached them.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to file charges against the officers in the aftermath of the shootings.
"They made a split-second decision and they were not required to hold fire in order to ascertain whether [Diaz-Zeferino] would, in fact, injure or kill them," Deputy District Attorney Rosa Alarcon wrote in a memo, reported The Los Angeles Times.
However, the two victims' families sued the city of Gardena and ultimately settled the case for $4.7 million. The videos and other evidence in the case remained under seal until Tuesday, when Judge Stephen V. Wilson ruled in favor of the media's request to release the videos.
"We applaud the court's decision to unseal the video," said AP spokesman Paul Colford said. "The Associated Press, joining with other news organizations, believes it's important that the public has access to videos like this to better understand the actions of their police officers."
After the judge's ruling, Gardena Police Chief Ed Medrano issued a statement calling the shooting a tragedy "for all involved." His office had opposed releasing the videos.
"We have thoroughly reviewed our response and have initiated new training, including the tactical use of cover techniques to slow down fast-moving events," Medrano said.
Yet while the civil suit is settled and the videos have been released, the case could be far from closed. Samuel Paz, an attorney for Diaz-Zeferino's family, said he may ask federal prosecutors to investigate whether the shooting constitutes a civil rights violation.
"I think it is really helpful for the public to understand why they would be willing to pay $4.7 million to settle the case when we were on the eve of trial," Paz said. "When the public sees the video and other law enforcement agencies see the video, this is very much a criminal act."
Again, I don't look at those in law enforcement as an enemy. There's good cops. Those who do their jobs as public servants who protect the citizens. Then of course the bad cops. Those who do their jobs as public servants who believe that enforcement of the citizens is the practical way.
The practical way is racial profiling, unauthorized search and seizures of properties, lying on police statements and committing criminal acts under the badge.
You've seen it happen too many times. Too many innocent victims of gun violence. Yes, there were a high number of murders in Chicago, Baltimore and Detroit. Yeah, the nation got to hear about a 7-year old Amari Brown who was gunned down during the holiday weekend. The father a known gang member wouldn't renounce his membership. Yeah, the police and local leaders are trying to stop illegal firearms on the street. But unfortunately, Republicans in the Congress are fucking stupid.
And the concern trolls will always find some tangent against Blacks and Latinos. For every unarmed suspect being brutally killed by police, the concern troll will point to Chicago or Baltimore for their daily "But what about......"!
The concern trolls cry that Black America isn't focused on crimes committed by other Blacks. They believe that gun control is necessary when it comes to Blacks, Hispanics and practicing Muslims.
They would get upset if a Black or Hispanic father kills a White teen. They would get upset if Muslim was protecting himself with a firearm. They would consider them thugs or terrorist.
Concern trolls only support gun rights for White people. Any mentions of gun control will lead to the notion that it will never stop the violence. They complain that President Barack Obama's policies doomed Black America.
But they can't tell you that for most of our "freedom", Blacks have been marginally discriminated in housing, finances, schools, jobs and political capital.
Republicans claim that they've freed the slaves. Now they want us to pay them by taking our guns, the safety net, our right to vote, and our right to voice dissent towards unethical practices done by law enforcement.
World News Today send our condolences to the families of Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino and Amari Brown.
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