Mother of slain man condemns violence in wake of police shooting

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif.

The mother of an unarmed man who was shot by Anaheim police officers has condemned violent protests against the killing, saying Wednesday she did not want them to become her son’s legacy.

“I watched as my son took his last breath. I watched as his heart stopped beating for the last time,” Genevieve Huizar said, breaking into sobs. “Please, please, please stop the violence. It’s not going to bring my son back, and this is the worst thing any mother could go through.”

Her news conference followed a fourth day of violent protests over Saturday’s police shooting of Manuel Diaz and the Sunday police shooting of another man who fired at police during a pursuit. A police dog escaped shortly after Diaz was shot Saturday and bit a bystander.

In the latest wave of protest, as many as 600 demonstrators surged through downtown Tuesday night, smashing shop windows, setting trash fires and hurling rocks and bottles at police, authorities said.

Huizar said her family had not participated in any violence.

At an earlier news conference, Mayor Tom Tait said the U.S. attorney’s office had agreed to review the officer-involved shootings and that he planned to meet with members of that office and the FBI on Friday.

The shootings and resulting demonstrations marred the image of the Orange County city, which is home to Disneyland and the Angels baseball team but also has neighborhoods teeming with gritty apartments.