Two 19 year old youths have been stabbed in Anaheim in the past few days. One was innocent and the other was supposedly a gang member. Both appear to have been attacked by gang members.
Anaheim’s Latino population blew up this summer when police shot a young man who was fleeing from them. They said he had a weapon but none was found. He appeared to reach into his waistband but perhaps he was pulling up his trousers?
Now that gang violence is exploding in Anaheim what are the police to do? They don’t want more riots. But you can’t let these gang bangers run wild either. It is a conundrum.
Note that the victims are themselves Latinos. Should Anaheim’s Latino residents advocate to stop the gangs instead of rallying in their support?
Is there some happy medium to be found? Can cops do their job without coming off as racists? And will the working people of Anaheim rally against the gangs? Shouldn’t they?
And what about the schools in Anaheim? Are they failing to do their jobs? Or is this all on the parents?
Thank you New Anaheim for being the first to ask some truly relevant questions about the state of Anaheim today. The issues are deep rooted and important and will not be solved with people pointing fingers but working together with open hearts. All the other blogs are so busy carpet bombing each other, no one is really reporting or helping, just polarizing.
Very well said. Thanks for the kind words. Now is the time for real leaders to arise. I pray that will happen as these assaults are just deplorable.
There should be policy making such as the protest one that exists today. Violence is being issued by the gang members thus the people affiliated with said gang should be arrested for association for the gang member. Violence by gangs should be discouraged. If violence is being produced by a group then the group should be responsible. They either report the member who committed the violence or they are seen as a criminal organization and should be held accountable.
Their rights as a citizen could also be revoked for being in a criminal organization such as a gang. Deportation is also an option. Make it a felony to be involved with a gang that is known for violence or any other criminal activity. I am sure there is room for policy towards gangs. It just needs to be broadened to effect all gangs out there not just the individual. Gangs aren’t about individuals but a group of people.
Though there is a sense of racism in police. Stopping Latinos more often than whites. Statistics prove that racism exists amongst the police. You only arrest more of the minorities because they are checked more often. I know more white people that do marijuana and cocaine than Latinos. Actually, every single white person I know does some illegal drug. The man being shot is a different issue than gang violence. The people are not rallying in support of gangs but against police shooting an unarmed man. Police should have procedures which I am sure they do before firing a gun.
As I said in my earlier post. Implement policy towards all gangs, not just ethnic gangs. Violence can not solve violence. That in itself is wrong. What can police do? Find the criminals and bring them to justice. That won’t result in suing. Two different problems, this news article is a slippery slope. Informal Fallacy.
I think the problem for cops is that their choices are limited. They are given lethal weapons and are trained to kill. So when a gang banger flees when ordered to stop, and then reaches for his waistband, it elicits a lethal reaction.
I don’t want to see innocent Latinos get hassled but gang bangers are not innocent.
I am not well informed on the subject. Can you clarify for me if this Latino was a suspect or if he was simply being harassed. If they told him to drop whatever he had and got a visual before they fired. Informed that they will shoot him if he does not remove his hand from the spot. Was this Latino a gangster? I believe cops should be limited but if he was not a suspect in any crimes or seen with a gun then he should not have been shot.
This however is a different matter. Gangsters actually committing acts and attributing it to their gang should be arrested. Either deported or imprisoned. There is a difference between running and being known to be from a gang.
He was a gang member.
Brian,
Your opinion is not substantiated by fact.
The only proved way of reducing crime is identifying violators and arresting them when law applies. Nothing else have proved efficacious.
Don’t forget the criminals initiate violence. They’re the ones illegally carrying guns and other weapons. They are a threat to cops. And that have chosen to be a threat to cops.
Shoot first, ask questions later
Daryl Gates reduced criminal acts of gangs by encouraging his cops to be proactive. His cops hooked & booked bad guys.
Anaheim, every city for that matter, can virtually eliminate gang crimes with proactive law enforcement.
Cops do not target race or ethnicity, (Mexican is an ethnicity of the Caucasian race.) Cops target criminal activity. Cops would be derelict were they to dedicate an inordinate effort in Anaheim Hills were crime is very low. Cops must be encouraged to aggressively target gangs and other criminals where they commit crimes.
Statistically, Hispanics are grossly overrepresented in the CJS while Anglos are underrepresented. Hence, it’s simple. Send cops where crimes are committed. And support them. Cops are human and will screw up upon rare occasion. If they screw up while trying to do that which is right, support them. If cops are not supported, expect crime to increase.