Anaheim Places Officers on Leave After Fatal Shooting

At the Los Angeles Times, "2 officers placed on leave after fatal shooting in Anaheim."

And at the O.C. Register, "2 officers on leave after Anaheim shooting":

[VIDEO PULLED]

ANAHEIM – Two police officers have been placed on paid leave after one of them fatally shot an unarmed man as he attempted to flee on foot in a residential alleyway, police Chief John Welter said Sunday.

The shooting victim, 25-year-old Manuel Angel Diaz of Santa Ana, was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 7 p.m. Saturday after being shot in the alley a few blocks northeast of downtown Anaheim.

Police described Diaz as a "documented gang member," and said he was shot after the officers saw three men near a car in the 600 block of Anna Drive, near La Palma Avenue and State College Boulevard. Believing the activity to be suspicious, the officers approached the vehicle, and all three men fled on foot.

The officers chased Diaz and observed him throwing unidentified objects onto rooftops as he ran, Welter said. What led one of the officers to shoot Diaz remained under investigation Sunday, Welter said.

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said he would be asking California's attorney general to assist in the investigation.

"I'm asking for a full investigation," Tait said at a Sunday news conference. "Transparency is essential. Whatever the truth is, we will own it."

The dead man's sister, Lupe Diaz, said Sunday that her brother was "just hanging out with friends" before the shooting.

"There is no explanation," Diaz said. "It's not fair."

Continue reading.

The suspect Diaz was shot in the butt, and then again in the head, according to an eyewitness.

And note this from the Register's report: "Police reportedly tried to buy any video taken by witnesses on their cellphones, residents said." And the reporter at the clip says the same thing, so there were probably a number of requests.

The police dog jumped out of the police car unauthorized as well, which is fail.

A little damage control, no doubt.

Prof. Glenn Reynolds has written on the right of citizens to record the police, at the Washington University Law Review, "A Due Process Right to Record the Police."

BONUS: There's a huge roundup at the O.C. Weekly, and witnesses reportedly identified the deceased as Manuel "Stomper" Diaz. See, "Anaheim Police Fire Rubber Bullets at Crowd After Officer-Involved Shooting."