Crowd protesting police shooting calls for reforms
EL CAJON, San Diego County — Alfred Olango, the unarmed black man shot and killed by police in a suburb of San Diego, was remembered in a demonstration Saturday organized by clergy members and supporters of his family.
Several hundred people gathered at a park in El Cajon to hear speeches by religious leaders and then marched through the streets to police headquarters, where Olango’s family members joined them.
“Mourning is a public sharing of grief and his unnecessary killing has rent the fabric of our human community yet once again and we are feeling it deeply in our hearts,” said the Rev. Frank Placone-Willey of Summit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in nearby Santee.
Olango’s father, Richard Olango Abuka, called for the resignation of the police chief and said his son’s death is a turning point in a peaceful struggle to change police practices. Other speakers demanded changes in how police respond to calls about people in mental distress.
The event came a day after two videos of the shooting were released by authorities.
The videos show the officer fired four times at close range almost immediately after Olango, 38, suddenly raised both hands to chest level and took what was described as a shooting stance. In addition to the videos, police showed the 4-inch electronic cigarette device Olango had in his hands when he was shot.
The shots came less than a minute after police arrived at the scene in response to Olango’s sister calling 911 and reporting he was acting erratically.
The videos were released after nights of unruly and, at times, violent protests in El Cajon. On Thursday night, an officer was struck in the head by a brick hurled by a protester.
“We felt that the aggression of some — some — of the protesters was escalating to the point where it was necessary to release some information and truly, it was my hope to relieve some of that concern,” said police Chief Jeff Davis.
A fourth night of protests Friday remained peaceful, with about 200 people blocking intersections.
A lawyer for the family said they welcomed the release of the videos, but he questioned the tactics used by Officer Richard Gonsalves. Olango had been reported to be mentally disturbed and unarmed, yet Gonsalves approached with his weapon out, Dan Gilleon said.
“It shows a cowboy with his gun drawn provoking a mentally disturbed person,” Gilleon said.
The incident is the latest in a series of fatal shootings of black men that have roiled communities across the U.S.