Dijon Kizzee was running from Los Angeles deputies when he was shot, lawyers say
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Dijon Kizzee was running from Los Angeles deputies when he was shot, lawyers say
Dijon Kizzee, the 29-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies two days ago, was running away from deputies when he was killed, attorneys for Kizzee’s family alleged Wednesday.
“Dijon Kizzee did not deserve to be executed like this in cold blood as he was running away,” attorney Benjamin Crump said during a virtual news conference.”He was riding a bicycle while Black.”
CNN reached out to the sheriff’s department for comment on the allegation that Kizzee was running when he was shot.
“The investigation is ongoing and there is no additional information available at this time,” a spokesman replied.
Crump, who was joined in the news conference by Kizzee’s aunt Fletcher Fair and co-counsels Dale Galipo and Carl Douglas, referred to other recent high-profile police shooting incidents, including George Floyd, Jacob Blake, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
“This legalized genocide of colored people has to stop,” Crump said, noting that African Americans have been dealing with systemic racism and oppression for over 400 years.
“This is reality TV that nobody wants to see anymore,” Crump said. “It was enough when we watched George Floyd narrate the documentary of his own murder as he was tortured to death.”
In a briefing on Wednesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said law enforcement officers don’t have a choice when responding to conflicts that might quickly escalate and lead to the use of deadly force.
“Sometimes that entire process (of trying to detain an armed suspect) is going to unfold in the matter of 2 or 3 seconds,” Villanueva said. “So there’s no deliberate choice to playing judge, jury, and executioner.”
“It’s a cute little soundbite people like to say when they don’t like the result of something, but reality is far more complicated than that.”
Deputies chased Kizzee after they tried to stop him on his bike
The sheriff’s department said that at about 3:15 p.m. PT on Monday, two deputies tried to stop Kizze e, who was riding a bicycle for traffic violations When they approached him, he got off the bicycle and ran.
Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean said deputies caught up to the suspect about a block away, and when they approached him, the man punched one of the deputies in the face and dropped some clothing he had been carrying.
It was at that point deputies saw a pistol in the dropped items and that’s when both deputies opened fire, shooting the man several times, Dean said.
Kizzee was hit several times, Dean said. The deputies were not wearing body cameras
Police said an autopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Lawyer: Law enforcement acts as ‘gangs’
Attorney Carl Douglas, who mentioned he was raised a few blocks away from where the shooting occurred, said there is no way this shooting can be justified.
Douglas referred to sheriff’s deputies as “gangs” that have been “infesting” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“We have to stop the gangs that are patrolling our neighborhood,” Douglas said.
Douglas also explained that the alleged vehicle violation Kizzee was stopped for can be as minor as riding a bicycle on the sidewalk or against traffic on the street.
“You never see anybody in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica stopped for a code violation while riding a bicycle,” Douglas said.
He said that the code violation is being used as a pretext by law enforcement to justify the interaction that lead to a deadly shooting.
‘He was a good boy,’ aunt says
Kizzee’s aunt Fletcher Fair said she is heartbroken by the incident.
“All I want is justice for my nephew Dijon,” Fair said. “He was a good boy.”
Kizzee was born and raised in Los Angeles until he moved to Lancaster, according to Fair. He took care of his sick mother before she passed away in 2011.
At a news conference on Tuesday, the family called for Sheriff Villanueva to release names of the deputies, and called for their “arrest and criminal prosecution.”
The District Attorney’s Office and Office of the Inspector General are assisting in the investigation.
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So they saw a gun on the ground... and opened fire.
I see.....
“All I want is justice for my nephew Dijon,” Fair said. “He was a good boy.”
Good boys don't fight with cops. Just about every one of these fatal encounters in the last few months has been escalated by the deceased. Same thing happens to White and Hispanic suspects.
Punching a cop in the face is not a death sentence. Or should not be a death sentence.
why is it OK to punch a Police Officer?
"why is it OK to punch a Police Officer?"
Who said it was okay?
So you think a cop getting punched in the face justifies the perpetrator getting shot/killed?
"The sheriff’s department said that at about 3:15 p.m. PT on Monday, two deputies tried to stop Kizze e, who was riding a bicycle for traffic violations When they approached him, he got off the bicycle and ran."
Again, this justifies him getting shot and killed?
I miss the good ole days when you just took the ticket and either paid it, fought it in court, or went to traffic school to get it dismissed.
I’m a middle,aged white male. I live in fear That every time I break the law or have a felony Warrant for my arrest, I could be killed when I resist arrest, attack police, wield illegal weapons, Or try to take their guns.
How often do you break the law?
How many felony warrants are there out for your arrest?
What felony warrants were there out for this young man, for his arrest?
I believe the warrant(s) were for some sort of domestic abuse.
That's very true. There has only been a handful of incidents this year involving police shooting unarmed blacks. In 6 of those incidents the police were being attacked.
Here is a breakdown, courtesy of Tucker Carlson:
“The first was a man called Channara Pheap. He was killed by a Knoxville police called officer Dylan Williams. According to Williams, Pheap attacked him, choked him and then used a Taser on him … before the officer shot him. Five eyewitnesses corroborated the officer’s claim, and the officer was not charged.”
“The second case concerns a man called Marcus McVae. He was by any description a career criminal from San Angelo, Texas. He’d been ‘convicted of aggravated assault, assault on a public servant, and organized criminal activity.’ At the time he was killed he was wanted on drug dealing charges. A Texas state trooper pulled him over. McVae fled in his car, then he fled on foot into the woods. There, he fought with a trooper, and was shot and killed. The officer was not charged in that case.”
“Marzues Scott assaulted a shop employee. When a female police officer arrived and ordered the suspect toward her car, he instead charged her and knocked her to the ground. At that point, she shot and killed him. The entire incident was caught on body camera. The officer was not charged.”
“Ryan Twyman was being approached by two LA County deputies when he backed into one of them with his vehicle. The deputy was caught in the car door. He and his partner opened fire. The deputies were not charged in that case.”
“Melvin Watkins of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana was shot by a deputy, after he allegedly drove his car to toward the deputy at high speed. The deputy was not charged.”
“Isaiah Lewis, meanwhile, wasn’t just unarmed, he was completely naked. Williams broke into a house, and then attacked a police officer. The police tased Williams, but he kept coming at them and attacking. The officers shot him. They were not charged.”
“Atatiana Jefferson [sic] was shot by a Fort Worth deputy called Aaron Dean. A neighbor had called a non-emergency number after seeing Jefferson’s door open thinking something might be wrong. When police arrived, Jefferson saw them approach from a window and was holding a gun at the time. According to body camera footage, the office shot Jefferson within seconds. That officer has been charged with homicide.”
“Christopher Whitfield was shot and killed in Ethel, Louisiana. He had robbed a gas station. Deputy Glen Sims, said his gun discharged accidentally while grappling with Whitfield. Sims, who is black himself, was not charged in that killing.”
“Kevin Mason was shot by police during a multi-hour standoff. While Mason turned out not to have a gun, Mason claimed to have a gun, claimed to be armed and vowed to kill police with it. They believed him. Mason had been in a shootout with police years before.”
“And, finally, the tenth case concerns Gregory Griffin, who was shot during a car chase. An officer called Jovanny Crespo claimed he saw someone pointing a gun at him. Later, a gun was in fact found inside the vehicle and yet Officer Crespo was charged anyway with aggravated manslaughter.”
What it proves is that there is no systemic racism in police departments.
I would also add that some people need to teach their children decency.
Lets be in the moment. Why did the police shoot and kill Dijon Kizzee ?
You tell me?
Let's see.
If a white male did those same things he would have been shot as well.
Or maybe we should change all the laws to exempt African Americans?
Death sentence!