LOS ANGELES, CA – Protests that erupted in Los Angeles on September 8th resulted in at least a dozen people being arrested by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, according to reports.
Interestingly enough, among those arrested, there were helmets painted with the word “press” on them.
NEW: More video of some of the gear seized from the alleged anarchists arrested, including fake “press” helmet, shields, etc. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/4UComqu97b
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 9, 2020
It’s without debate that while there aren’t any super special privileges afforded to members, or self-proclaimed members, of the press during riots – it simultaneously serves as a decent facade for one who wishes to engage in criminal actions during riots.
Of course, whenever someone invokes the words of being a “member of the press”, there’s an ill-conceived notion that they’re simultaneously immune from arrest.
That’s a complete myth, as members of the press can be arrested if they’re suspected of a crime – even during a riot or protest.
But that doesn’t stop those from crowds clamoring as though an injustice has happened whenever a “press” member is arrested, like in the video from Portland, Oregon below that happened earlier this month.
Fake press person is arrested at the #antifa riot in Portland tonight. Rioters trashed the upscale neighborhood where @tedwheeler’s condo is. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/3kjCBE8S3K
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) September 1, 2020
According to FOX LA correspondent Bill Melugin, the September 8th arrests consisted of the following elements:
“LASD has arrested numerous members of the crowd of South LA protesters they describe as more of an aggressive anarchist element than previous nights, and has confiscated their gear, including shields and “press” helmets. Now searching them for weapons.”
NEW: LASD has arrested numerous members of the crowd of South LA protesters they describe as more of an aggressive anarchist element than previous nights, and has confiscated their gear, including shields and “press” helmets. Now searching them for weapons. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/dRCcFnZ6rr
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 9, 2020
Some online have jovially joked about the facade regarding those adorning the word “press” on their person during riots and protests. One online commenter wrote:
“Press helmets, press baseball bats, press brass knuckles. Just the stuff your average journalist needs.”
Press helmets, press baseball bats, press brass knuckles. Just the stuff your average journalist needs.
— Dennis Markham (@KeepsinItRealz) September 9, 2020
Others commented on the “press” helmets, saying:
“Wait. I’m confused. If I slap a media sticker on my helmet [and] have a selfie stick with my phone I’m not media? Asking for a friend.”
At this point, you could have a flip-phone with a 2 megapixel camera, a tumblr blog with 4 readers and the word “press” misspelled on a Bell helmet and fancy yourself a journalist. But at the same time, these folks also likely have their “Hogwarts House” listed in an online bio.
— Greg Hoyt (@GregHoytLET) September 12, 2020
The September 8th protests seem to be linked to the police involved shooting of Dijon Kizzee, which we at Law Enforcement Today have previously reported on.
Those who were arrested during the events that evening were described as a more “aggressive, anarchist” group than what the city has previously endured in nights prior.
Here’s our original report on Kizzee’s shooting to gather the background on what led to the rioting and protests.
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LOS ANGELES, CA – While not having reached the barometer of the national radar, a fatal police-involved shooting in Los Angeles did spark relatively tame protests recently.
Most of the evidence in the case is extremely preliminary at the time, so what happened exactly still isn’t quite clear.
LA County sheriff now says deputies shot, killed #DijonKizzee after he punched deputy, reached for gun that he dropped https://t.co/ycI44ecdQ5
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) September 2, 2020
On August 31st, 29-year-old Dijon Kizzee was fatally shot by two L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies after a brief foot pursuit that resulted from what was meant to be a traffic violation, while Kizzee was on a bicycle.
At approximately 3:15 p.m., deputies attempted to stop Kizzee for enacting traffic violations while on his bicycle. Instead of stopping for the deputies, Kizzee reportedly fled on foot.
According to L.A. County Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean, the deputies had managed to catch up with Kizzee roughly a block from where they tried to enact the stop.
Kizzee was said to have punched one of the deputies in the face when they’d caught up with him – and during the scuffle, a pistol had fallen out of Kizzee’s belonging’s that he was carrying.
Deputies allege that when Kizzee attempted to reach for the pistol that had fallen to the ground, they then opened fire.
Considering that the deputies weren’t wearing body cameras at the time, there’s zero evidence available from a first-person perspective.
There is some grainy video captured from a nearby surveillance system, but it doesn’t quite satisfy showcasing the required nuance to see if the suspect attempted to retrieve the weapon alleged by deputies.
[embedded content]There were some genuinely peaceful protests (which is rare in these times) that were formed outside of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office. Those protests at this time did not result in any arrests or serious incidents.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva has been critical of those trying to malign deputies prematurely, considering that this is an extremely fresh investigation, and a firearm was recovered from the scene that was said to be the suspect’s.
Villanueva said:
“Sometimes, that entire process [when dealing with an armed suspect] is going to unfold in the matter of two or three seconds. So, there’s no deliberate choice to playing judge, jury and executioner.”
The mentioning of “playing judge, jury and executioner” is in reference to the talking-point often heard in the recent months, alleging that police and sheriff’s deputies are somehow conducting themselves in said fashion.
Sheriff Villanueva explained that the talking-point is a far-too simplistic overview of officer-involved shootings, saying:
“It’s a cute little soundbite people like to say when they don’t like the result of something, but reality is far more complicated than that.”
Other video obtained related to the shooting doesn’t offer anymore genuine observable perspective, but only an audio account that can shed more light on the amount of rounds discharged by deputies. Based upon that preliminary evidence, it sounds as though over a dozen rounds were discharged by deputies.
[embedded content]Adding fuel to the fire is Los Angeles Representative Maxine Waters, who is already decrying the shooting as something being unjustified.
However, there’s currently nothing to suggest, outside of speculation from anti-police perspectives, that this was an unjustified shooting.
His name was Dijon Kizzee, and he would be alive today if he hadn’t:
1.) fled from police
2.) punched a deputy in the face
3.) carried a gun illegally
Leftists always make martyrs out of the finest people.
— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) September 1, 2020
Despite everything in this investigation being in the preliminary stages, that didn’t stop Waters from telling locals that they need to “stand up” and admonish this act as something that resembles murder:
Waters said:
“These are the families that I represent, this is another killing of a young Black man. It keeps going on in this country. We have to be here, we have to stand up.”
At this time, it is unclear why the suspect decided to run from police. It is also unclear if there were any illegal items (i.e. narcotics or even the weapon itself recovered) in the suspect’s possession that might’ve influenced the fleeing and fight with police.
This is an ongoing investigation.
Please follow Law Enforcement Today as we continue to bring you updates on this case.
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