A second night of protests over the fatal police shooting in Southern California climaxed on Wednesday as protesters confronted officers in riot gear.
Protesters earlier in the day shouted “murder” and demanded a federal investigation of Tuesday’s shooting in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon.
The Tuesday mid-afternoon shooting unfolded after two El Cajon police officers responded to several calls about a person walking in traffic, then confronted the man behind a restaurant.
Photo: Reuters
One policeman opened fire with his service pistol and his partner simultaneously fired a Taser stun gun when the man pulled an object from his pocket and took aim at them in a “shooting stance,” according to police.
No weapon from the man was recovered at the scene, police said.
The object he was said to be carrying was not specified.
The next day, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells confirmed the dead man’s identity as Alfred Olango, a 38-year-old Ugandan immigrant with a US felony record of convictions for drug and weapon offenses, according to US federal court records.
“I saw a man who was distraught, a man who was acting in ways that looked like he was in great pain, and I saw him get gunned down and killed, and it broke my heart. If it was my son I would be devastated,” Wells said.
Friends and activists said Olango was mentally ill and might have been experiencing a seizure in the moments before his death.
Police said they obtained cellphone video of the shooting from a bystander, but authorities released only a still frame showing two officers pointing weapons at a man who was aiming an object at them.
In a separate video clip taken moments after the shooting and posted on social media, a woman who refers to herself as Olango’s sister is heard saying: “Oh my God. You killed my brother. I just called for help and ... you killed him.”
Olango’s slaying sparked hours of protests near the shooting scene.
Speaking to reporters the next day, El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis appealed for calm and urged against rushing to judgement.
Civil rights activists and several hundred protesters returned to the streets on Wednesday, gathering first outside the police department to chant “murder,” “justice for Alfred Olango” and “black lives matter.”
Protests continued after dark with hundreds of people marching from the shooting scene to City Hall and back, shouting Olango’s name, taunting police and blocking traffic.
The crowd later staged a rally near the site of Olango’s death that turned tense when police officers, who initially kept a low profile, made a renewed show of force in riot gear.
A standoff appeared on the verge of escalation as some protesters hurled water bottles at police, who stood their ground before pulling back in what seemed to be a tactical retreat.
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