The man in the hooded sweatshirt, a large gold medallion hanging from his neck, was in no mood to talk. ”Turn around and cross the street,” he said. ”You’re with a newspaper? Turn around and cross the street.”
The man was one of half a dozen gathered at the spot in South Los Angeles where 13-year-old Devin Brown met his death at the hands of Los Angeles Police Department just before 4am on Monday.
The boy was shot by an officer at the end of a three-minute car chase in which he was either the driver or passenger of a vehicle that may or may not have been stolen.
Candles and balloons adorn the corner next to Tony’s Tires where the car mounted the kerb before reversing towards the police car.
Handwritten placards express the anger and resentment that has been building up since the shooting.
”Baby killer LAPD,” reads one. Others say: ”Stop. Look before you shoot” and ”LAPD, thank you for giving us another reason for disliking your service.”
The shooting has sparked anger in the impoverished, largely African American community of South Los Angeles, and has left the police department once again facing accusations of brutality.
So far, no riots have flared, but a march and rally this week revealed raw tensions.
John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League, called it a ”tragic and needless” shooting. He told reporters: ”We have a pattern here where some police officers don’t value the lives of young African American males. There’s a frustration here that’s building up and makes it difficult to build a partnership with police.”
Bo Taylor, a former gang member and founder of Unity One, a street ministry negotiating gang truces, was more direct. ”Many of these kids have nothing to live for and aren’t afraid to die. You wanted a war on gangs, Chief [Bill] Bratton [head of LAPD]. Well, you’re going to get what you asked for. You’re on your way out.”
The sentiments were echoed by the Nation of Islam’s Tony Muhammad.
”We have been sent a message that we cannot get justice,” he said. ”It is a messed-up message to young people who are going to start taking justice into their own hands. We are now going to have a problem between the black community and the police, where there is already tension. We could have an all-out war.”
Mr Muhammad added a plea for moderation, however. ”I say they shouldn’t do that. What we need to do is rally and come together to show the world that here is a democratic society that prides itself on giving others human rights, but not here at home. We go and beat up dictators all around the world, but we can’t get justice here in America.”
The city’s police chief, Bill Bratton, knows that the situation is volatile, but has asked community leaders to temper their remarks. ”Why would anyone who is interested in seeing justice done, who lives in the city and cares about the people, want to incite people needlessly?” he said.
”I’ve heard some of the rhetoric and, while I can appreciate the emotion behind them, these are thoughts best kept to themselves rather than try to stir up others, because in that situation, everyone loses.”
So unclear are the facts surrounding the brief chase and shooting that Mr Bratton has asked the FBI to investigate.
Police records show that two officers in a patrol car tried to stop the 1990 Toyota after it jumped a red light. When it failed to stop, they followed it onto the freeway and noticed it was being driven erratically.
The officers thought they were dealing with a drunken driver and followed as the car left the freeway. It failed to make a turn at a junction and then mounted the kerb. The police car stopped behind..
At this point, one of the two people inside the Toyota, a 14-year-old boy, ran away. He was arrested near the scene.
The remaining person reversed the car, scraping along the side of the police car. Officer Steven GarcÃÂa fired 10 shots, killing the 13-year-old.
Initially, police said the victim was a gang member, although they have not repeated the claim. Family members say that although the boy was having problems following the death of his father six months ago, he was not in a gang. The police also said the car was stolen, but there is no record of it being reported as stolen.
The incident is the latest to damage relations between the police and the community. Last week, an LAPD officer escaped prosecution for the televised beating with a torch of a suspected car thief.
Last month an outcry followed a jury’s award of $1.6m (£860,000) to a police officer shown on television repeatedly slamming the head of a young man into the bonnet of a car during an arrest.
There has also been concern about the LAPD’s tactics when faced with moving vehicles. A year ago, a man was shot by officers at the end of a chase as he slowly reversed his car towards police. The incident was captured on live television.
At the time of that incident Chief Bratton announced that he would introduce more stringent controls on officers firing at moving vehicles.
The situation has been inflamed by the impending mayoral election in Los Angeles. The incumbent, James Hahn, who is seeking re-election, criticised Mr Bratton, saying: ”We should have had this policy developed. I’m not going to accept any excuses on why we need to wait any longer… We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
He faces a challenger in Bernard Parks, an ex-LAPD chief turned city council member. At this week’s vigil, he said: ”The community, unlike police, view these incidents collectively. They view it that nothing has changed. That’s why you get the anger. At some point, it boils. And if you’re not there right now, you’re getting close.”
Jubilee Shine, who is organising a public meeting for tomorrow, said the police were out of control. ”There’s no accountability to the community,” he said. ”That’s the pattern and we need an end to it. The community needs to be organised. We’ve had vigils and police-community committees, but very little in terms of action. We need to bring together as wide a community as possible. I don’t know what the solution is, but this can’t go on.”
Guardian Unlimited Â