UPDATE: Viral Facebook Video Shows Off-Duty Copy Man Shooting at Teens

Feb 22, 2017
3:54 PM

UPDATE: OC Weekly posted another video of the incident minutes before a gun was pulled.

Protests are also occurring in Anaheim.

Original Story

The following Facebook video was published Wednesday from the Raza Unida page, along with this post: “Man claiming to be police officer grabs young Chicano kid violently and eventually pulls gun out and shoots at kids. This is the same Wild West Rangers mentality that these people still hold and feel more emboldened to act on it now. They feel they must subdue the Native! They feel they must subdue the Mexicans! This happened in Anaheim, California. 2/21/17”

As of this posting, the video has gotten close to 1 million views.

Here is what KTLA is reporting about the incident:

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer opened fire Tuesday during a physical confrontation with two male juveniles in Anaheim, police reported.

The altercation happened around 2:40 p.m. in the area of Euclid Street and Palais Road. Anaheim police said no one was struck by the gunfire, but two juveniles were later arrested.

One juvenile was taken into custody for making criminal threats and battery, while the second juvenile was arrested for assault and battery, police said in a news release.

After firing his gun the off-duty LAPD officer detained at least one of the juveniles, Anaheim police said.

A Facebook post in Spanish from the mother of one of the boys to singer Larry Hernandez’s page says more about the incident (typos edited):

Larry, yo soy la madre de este niño en el video. El se llama Christian y solamente tiene 13 años. El es in buen niño sin ningún record criminal Por defender a su amiga de classes fue maltratado así como de ve en video. El hombre en este video es en la policía del condado de Los Angeles California. El oficial quien en el momento de los hechos estaba “off duty” le disparo a mi hijo y gracias a dios le fallo el tiro. Se llevaron a mi hijo detenido con cargos de “assault and battery” y “Terrorist threats”. La fecha de los hechos es martes 21 de Febrero 2017. Todo comenzó después de que salió de la escuela a las 2:30 pm. El departamento de policía de Anaheim “Anaheim police department” aparte de arrestar a mi hijo y al individual que lo atacó no, detuvieron a mas de 20 estudiantes que fueron testigos de los hechos. Después de estar más de 8 horas esperando a que me dijeran algo me avisan que lo van a trasladar al juvenile hall de Orange County. Habiendo tantos testigos y videos no sueltan a mi hijo solamente porque el individual que lo atacó es un police officer quien estaba off duty. Estoy desesperada porque contacte a varios abogados y me cobran demasiado por sus servicios. Se que Eres una persona de bien y justa. Te pido de Corazón que por favor me puedas ayudar a comparative este video ya que mucha gentt lee tu página se comparta esta injusticia y ojalá alguien pueda ayudar con sus prayers #prayforchristian

Here is our English translation:

Larry, I’m the mother of the boy in the video. His name is Christian and he’s only 13 years old. He is a good boy without any criminal record. For defending his classmate, he was mistreated as you can see from the video. The man in this video is a police officer from Los Angeles County in California. The officer who at the time of the event was “off duty” shot at my son and thanks to God his shot missed. My son was taken away on charges of “assault and battery” and “Terrorist threats.” The date of the events is Tuesday, February 21, 2017. It all started after he left school at 2:30 pm. The Anaheim Police Department, in addition to arresting my son and the individual who attacked him, did not detain more than 20 students who witnessed the events. After waiting for more than 8 hours, they told me that they will transfer my son to the juvenile hall in Orange County. Even with so many witnesses and videos, they won’t release my son only because the individual who attacked him was an off-duty police officer. I am desperate because I contacted several lawyers and they charged me too much for their services. I know that you are a good and just person. I ask you from my heart that you please help me to share this video since a lot of people read your page and to share this injustice and hope someone can help with their prayers #prayforchristian

In addition, the Anaheim Police Department posted the following on Facebook:

The Anaheim Police Department is aware of the numerous videos posted on YouTube regarding yesterday’s Officer Involved Shooting involving an off-duty LAPD officer. The Anaheim Police Department Homicide Detail is investigating the incident and the case will be presented to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office when complete.

Calling and sending emails to APD voicing your displeasure will NOT impact the outcome. A decision whether or not to file charges rests with the District Attorney’s office and is based on facts and evidence.

And this is what the OC Register reported:

Sgt. Daron Wyatt, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department, declined to confirm the authenticity of the videos. However, the sergeant did say “they appear to depict portions of the incident.”

The confrontation began over ongoing issues with juveniles walking across the officer’s property, Wyatt said.

During the Tuesday confrontation, a 13-year-old boy is accused of threatening to shoot the off-duty officer, at which time the officer attempted to detain the boy until Anaheim police arrived, Wyatt said.

That led to a physical confrontation between the officer and several other juveniles, Wyatt said. During the confrontation, the officer discharged his firearm one time.