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LOS ANGELES: Protesters were due to take to the streets of Los Angeles on Tuesday (September 1), after police officers shot and killed a black man during a violent clash.
The man, identified as 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee, was riding his bicycle Monday in a South Los Angeles neighborhood when officers tried to arrest him for a code violation, according to the sheriff’s department.
Kizzee ran away and when officers caught up with him, he hit one of them in the face while dropping a package of clothing he was carrying, authorities said.
“Officers noticed a black semiautomatic pistol was inside the clothing he dropped, at which point a shooting occurred involving an officer,” Lieutenant Brandon Dean of the County Sheriff’s Department told reporters. The Angels.
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The shooting came as protests against police violence and racism rocked the country in recent months following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, said Kizzee was shot more than 20 times and urged witnesses on Twitter to contact him with any information.
“They say he ran, dropped the clothes and the gun,” Crump said in a tweet. “He didn’t pick him up, but the policemen shot him in the back more than 20 times and then left him for hours.”
Deja, a woman who witnessed the shooting told AFP that she screamed “don’t shoot her, don’t shoot her” as officers tried to arrest Kizzee, who lived in her neighborhood.
‘WE’RE TIRED’
“They were trying to grab and take his things and then finally when he missed he turned around to run and they hit him on the back of the leg,” said Deja, who only gave his first name. “He turned around and then they shot him.”
Protesters clash with Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officers during protests following the death of Dijon Kizzee on Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: AP / Christian Monterrosa)
Deja said he did not see Kizzee holding a gun, adding that officers handcuffed him after the shooting. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kizzee’s aunt, Fletcher Fair, told reporters that she believes her nephew’s race was a factor in the shooting.
“They (the police) don’t kill any other race except us and this doesn’t make any sense,” he told a news conference.
“Why us? There are Asians … Hispanics don’t even die as much as we do. It’s just us and we’re tired,” he said.
Several hours after the shooting, about 100 people gathered at the scene, many of them holding signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and shouting “Say your name” or “Without justice, there is no peace.”
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Another protest was planned Tuesday afternoon with the local chapter of Black Lives Matter saying in a tweet “we need all hands to work.”
Last week, Kenosha, Wisconsin, police also shot a black man, Jacob Blake, in front of his three young sons and left him paralyzed after an altercation.
The shooting sparked demonstrations in several cities and sparked violent clashes in Kenosha that left two dead.
President Donald Trump visited the city on Tuesday despite pleas to stay away, saying he is dangerously stoking tensions as a re-election tactic.
