![]() We suffered too much with the war in Africa. “This guy went to school, he finished school. “We came to this country to bring our kids, to give them better education and a better future,” she said. Olango was from Uganda and that his family and hers had been together in a refugee camp. Olango’s family and one of many who spoke outside the police station Wednesday, said that Mr. On Wednesday night, the police identified the object as a vape smoking device with a silvery cylinder the police said “was pointed toward the officer.”Īgnes Hasan, a close friend of Mr. Olango after he pulled an object from his pocket, the police said. The man, whom the police identified as Alfred Olango, 38, was walking in traffic and said to be acting “erratically.” A responding officer fatally shot Mr. The county called in the California National Guard, which arrived five days later to prevent additional violence.Īssociated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.Demonstrators gathered outside the Police Department in El Cajon, Calif., on Wednesday morning calling for a federal investigation into the fatal police shooting of a black man a day earlier, the latest in a string of such killings that have provoked protests nationwide. Demonstrator Leslie Furcron, 59, was shot between the eyes with a bean-bag round and hospitalized. Two banks were burned to the ground, a fire truck set ablaze and other businesses looted in the city of about 60,000 that is east of San Diego.Īuthorities fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The tensions over Johnson's treatment exploded into violent protests in La Mesa on May 30, 2020. He faced up to three years in prison if he had been convicted. He acknowledged he swatted the officer’s hand but said he did not ball his fists or take a fighting stance.ĭages, who served two years on the La Mesa police force, was fired after the incident. ![]() Johnson testified at the officer's trial that he was not smoking. The officer says, “Did I feel threatened when you put your hands on me? No, because I’m not scared of you, but I’m not going to let you put your hands on me.” Johnson denied the allegation and says he was trying to get the officer’s hands off him. “That’s what the issue is,” he said.īody camera footage shows the back-and-forth continued on the drive to the police station. The witness's video shows Johnson telling the officer to “shut the (expletive) up.” At one point, the man says he is being arrested because he’s Black. It happened two days after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis unleashed nationwide protests over police brutality. The incident fueled racial tensions in the normally sedate suburb as protesters claimed Johnson was singled out for being Black. Johnson was taken into custody on accusations of resisting arrest but was not charged with a crime and was not cited for smoking. Video taken by a witness and posted to social media showed the white police officer grabbing and pushing Johnson onto a concrete bench. “The integrity of our criminal justice system depends on police officers filing truthful police reports, and our thorough review of the facts and evidence led us to bring the charge and present the case to the jury," she said.ĭages testified he was truthful when he wrote in his report that Amaurie Johnson, 24, balled his fists and took a fighting stance when he stopped him for smoking on a trolley platform on May 27, 2020. Stephan released a statement saying she was “proud that my team courageously fought for justice without prejudice against or favor towards anyone." “The progressive DA is choosing criminals over cops," he said in a text to The Associated Press. Sullivan III criticized San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan for prosecuting the case. ![]() Dages, 30, dropped his head to his chest in relief after the verdict was read.ĭefense attorney Jeremiah J. SAN DIEGO (AP) - A former San Diego-area police officer who pushed a Black man during an arrest last year was acquitted Friday of lying on his report about the incident, which was captured on video and sparked widespread looting and arson amid nationwide racial unrest.Ī jury deliberated over three days before finding former La Mesa police Officer Matthew Dages not guilty on one count of providing false testimony.
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