Federal agents are scheduled to review the officer-involved shooting that left a Latino man dead over the weekend and sparked several days of protests, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The City Council on Tuesday voted to ask the FBI to investigate the shooting. The police union has said that the officer fired in self-defense after the man, Manuel Angel Diaz, hid an object in front of his waistband with both hands, according to the Times’ story.
Witnesses, however, dispute those allegations. Diaz, who was unarmed, was shot in the lower back and then in the head, said the attorney for Diaz's mother. The shooting sparked frustration among residents in the predominantly low-income Latino community, who feel the police haven’t done enough to build trust between law enforcement and the community.
Some of the protesters were turned away from the council meeting on Tuesday because it was filled to capacity; they then began to march along Anaheim Boulevard to Lincoln Avenue before returning to City Hall, according to the Times.
At one point, people began to smash windows and block traffic, while someone threw a Molotov cocktail at a police car, according to the Times.
Diaz’s mother has implored protesters to stop the violence.
“I watched my son take his last breath," she said. “Please, please, please stop the violence. It's not going to bring my son back."
Diaz's mother has filed a federal civil-rights and wrongful-death lawsuit against the police department.
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