The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office on Monday attacked Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James over the weekend and challenged him to match the prize money of 5 175,000 for information about the gunman who fired the shot. In an interview with KABBC Radio, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the prize money has reached 5 175,000, while two individuals have donated 75,000 to add. Y 100,000 offered by county.
“The challenge is for LeBron James. I want you to match that and double that reward,” Villanueva said. “I know you care about law enforcement. You made a very interesting statement about gender relations and your views on officer-involved shootings and its impact on the African-American community. And I appreciated that. By the way, the respect we need for life goes to businesses, races, ethnicities and surrounding businesses, and I want LeBron James to step on the plate and see that double. “
James, who raised the issue of police shootings involving black people, did not respond publicly to the sheriff’s challenge until early Tuesday morning. Last month, James expressed indignation An official in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said after the shooting of Jacob Black that black people in America are “terrified.”
He said, ‘I know people are tired of hearing me say that, but we are scared as black people in America.’ “Black Man, Black Woman, Black Kids, we’re scared.”
James has also repeatedly called for justice to Taylor, 26, of EMT Brunna, who was shot dead when officers entered her apartment apartment in March with a knock-on warrant.
Villanueva’s challenge against James came later Two Deputies Weekly Ambush While in their parked police vehicle, a man approached the passenger and fired several rounds. The deputies were hit in the head and seriously injured but both are expected to recover, Villanueva said. The gunman has not been apprehended and his motive has not been determined.
Getty Images by Jason Armand / Los Angeles Times
The shooting took place in one of the communities near Compton, South Los Angeles, an area with a large black population, a long-running flashpoint for racial tensions and police distrust. Hundreds of people marched to the Sheriff’s Department South LA station on Saturday to protest the deadly shooting of a black man in 2018 and a black teenager in 2018.
Both were killed by deputies from the station, which is about 6 miles from where deputies were targeted on Saturday. After that shooting, a handful of protesters gathered outside the hospital where deputies were treated and tried to block the entrance to the emergency room. In the videos of the scene, protesters raped police and shouted at least one “I hope they … die.”
A.P. In an interview with, Villanueva said annoyed rhetoric makes the work of deputies more difficult.
“They’re out to do their job and yet we people are tasting the flames of hatred and just turning the volume up when we don’t need it. We need to turn it around,” Villanueva said. “Especially our elected officials and civic leaders and sports figures, they need to start emphasizing trust in the system, proper process.”
Villanueva did not mention any special people but many politicians and athletes slammed the police and vowed to defame departments following the murder of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a white officer pressed his knee to his neck, and shooting Blake in Kenosha.
The NBA playoffs were delayed last month when James and other stars backed the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision not to play after Blake’s shooting. Japan’s US Open winner Naomi Osaka wore a mask with the names of black victims of violence at a tennis tournament.
After the killing of 29-year-old Diz on Na Kizzy by two LA county deputies last month, U.S. Rep. “While we don’t know all the details of this incident,” said Max Xin Waters, a Democrat who represents part of South Los Angeles. He shares the outrage of the community and the message of the police murder that “the lives of people of color don’t matter and the practice is to shoot first and then ask questions.”
He said the sheriff’s department is out of control and is asking state attorney general Xavier Besera to investigate the “manner of abuse.”
The department has launched its own investigation into allegations that a renewal group of deputies calling themselves executors have taken over Compton Station through threats, intimidation and harassment.
Ron Hernandez, president of the Association of Deputy Sheriffs of Los Angeles, said his organization is open to overall reform – he disputed any claims by renegade groups of deputies – but Saturday’s shooting as part of anti-police rhetoric could never be justified.
“When you’re sitting there doing paperwork and providing security to the community, and someone comes out in public and surrounds you and tries to kill you, there’s no valid explanation for that,” he said outside the hospital during a news conference on Monday. Was. . “I don’t care how angry people are, I don’t care how angry the protesters are. It won’t solve anything.”
Villanueva criticized elected officials, sportspersons and civic leaders for “flames of hatred” because the United States is sticking to racism and police brutality, saying they should emphasize trust in the criminal justice system.
Villanueva also denied claims that the criminal justice system was biased against people of color, saying his department was committed to a thorough investigation, including by its own staff.
“For someone who says they are biased, only our bias is towards the facts,” he said. “We need to stop misrepresentations. We need the system to go its own way and justice must be based on facts, based on evidence. It must be true.”
Vilnuyeva said the department’s investigation into the police shooting, like Kizzy’s, takes time.
“We’re not going to be quick or slow about telling anyone.” “It will be based on fact, not on spirit. Some people have determined the results, so they are trying to throw rocks in the process.”
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