After the recent shooting of an unarmed, mentally challenged black man named Alfred Olango, violent protests have broken out in California.
Dozens of protests broke car windows and threw glass bottles at police officers in full riot gear on Thursday evening, according to authorities.
Olango had been acting erratically and pacing in and out of traffic when officers responded to 911 calls. The confrontation between the two officers led to Olango pulling a vaping device from his front pocket and supposedly taking a shooting stance. One officer fired the fatal shots while the other discharged his Taser into Olango.
Family and friends of the victim said he was suffering a “mental breakdown” from the recent death of a friend when he had his deadly confrontation with the police.
Up to a certain point, protestors had been largely peaceful. Now, at least four people were arrested on Thursday after protests turned violent.
“We’re experiencing continued civil unrest,” El Cajon police spokesman Rob Ransweiler told the Daily News late Thursday. “People are throwing bottles and bricks and rocks at officers.”
About 75 protestors broke windows of passing cars while they blocked an intersection near where Olango was shot. After the crowd refused to leave, officers fired off pepper spray which resulted in further violence.
A 19-year-old man, a 28-year-old man and two others were the ones arrested in regards to the protests, per Ransweiler.
A female Facebook user said violence broke out after “people who are not here for the cause” disrupted the otherwise peaceful protests.
The protestors have called on police to release a video of the shooting of Olango that was captured by a bystander. Thus far, police have only released a screen shot.
Pamela Benge, Olango’s mother, has urged police to release the full video as well and have asked that protests continue – peacefully.
