What is happening in Anaheim, California?! There seems to be a complete blackout from the mainstream media because there was literally no word about the events on any of the major news channels. There are several scattered reports online, but for real time up to date events, Twitter seems to be the go to guy. Searching #Anaheim in Twitter will lead you to all sort of eyewitness accounts and pictures of the militarized police presence going on. The Anaheim police forces are donning complete militarized gear and are patrolling the streets as if things have gotten completely out of control.
Nearly 2 weeks ago, Police were pursuing 3 suspects in to an alley in Anaheim at about 4 p.m. Saturday. One of the suspects was 25 year old Manual Angel Diaz, who was then confronted in front of an apartment complex by an officer. While the officer yelled stopped, Diaz is believed to throw something over the fence of the apartment complex and soon after Diaz was shot. An eyewitness to the shooting stated that she saw Diaz first get shot in the buttocks falling to his knees before being shot in the back of the head. The names of the officers involved have not been released.
Hours after the shooting, local residents took to the street, setting dumpsters on fire and throwing rocks, bottles, and other blunt objects. As officers attempted to diffuse the crowd, they fired rubber bullets and sprayed the crowd with pepper spray. To add more fuel to the fire, police accidently released a K-9 dog into the crowd. Video shows the dog charging at the crowd, which included a woman with a child, before it attacked a man by biting his arm.
The next day, Chief John Welter said that an investigation is being conducted into the shootings and that Diaz was a known gang member. He also stated that the officers were placed on paid leave after the shooting. But the day wasn’t over.
Hours later, a second gang-related shooting took place. Anti-gang officers spotted a gang member Sunday in a stolen SUV with 2 other individuals. After a short pursuit, the suspects fled the vehicle, but not before one suspect were shot and killed by an officer.
The main allegation the citizens of Anaheim is protesting is that they feel singled out by the police because they are Hispanic. More than 50% of the city is Hispanic.
“White kids in a rich white neighborhood don’t get rousted by police and when they do, they don’t have to fear the police. But that’s not true with brown kids in a poor neighborhood,” said Dana Douglas, the Diaz family attorney. “Frankly, when it’s brown kids in a poor area just standing there having a conversation, it’s considered suspicious.”
Since then, Anaheim has been the scene of peaceful protests which at times turned violent with a heavy police presence. But why the media blackout? One could argue that the Olympics are getting the majority of the attention and the elections are getting the rest of it, but wouldn’t the rest of the nation want to see why the people of Anaheim are so angry? Most people say that in the future, this country will go through dire times. Times where “civil unrest” will be an everyday thing and the military and police will step in to restore order. Times like what is happening in Anaheim right now. Is this a general idea of what we could encounter in the future? Is Anaheim the template of our future? No media attention and shotguns and grenade launchers on every street corner. If the chance for peace resides in the barrel of gun, then that’s not peace. That’s fear.
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Apparently the video has been deleted. Media blackout continues.