Southern California Gang Crackdown

Southern California Gang Crackdown, A man whose shooting death by police helped spark violent protests in a Southern California city was one of those sought in a crackdown on a violent gang that resulted in dozens of arrests on Friday, police said. Manuel Diaz was a confirmed member of the East Side Anaheim gang, which was targeted in a series of raids that ended with 33 arrests, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said.

Another 20 to 25 suspects already were in custody, he said. Diaz’s photograph was among those of suspects that were provided at a news conference. “He would have been arrested today,” Dunn said. Some 100 federal, state and local agents raided 54 locations in Anaheim and in Los Angeles County. Some of the raids concentrated on a poor, mainly Latino neighborhood known as Anna Drive where there has been a recent rise in gang activity and where the unarmed Diaz was killed on July 21.

The next night, police shot and killed suspected gang member Joel Acevedo after he reportedly shot at an officer. The killings prompted four days of violent demonstrations and a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit by Diaz’s family. The raids were not connected to the shootings but protests delayed them, Police Chief John Welter said.