About a hundred protesters from around Southern California gathered in Anaheim on Sunday night to demonstrate against police violence. The protests culminated in a raucous demonstration in front of the home of Kevin Ferguson, a Los Angeles Police Department officer who recently became embroiled in a storm of controversy last week after a video of him pulling a gun and firing at a group of Latinx teens went viral. This is not the first demonstration this weekend on the subject.
While the initial protests were planned by the Young Survivors Legacy Support Network in front of the Anaheim Police Department, about midway through the rally, a dissenting group splintered off and formed a separate and spontaneous demonstration. These marchers accused YSLSN organizer Damion Ramirez of taking too much time at the megaphone and downplaying the role of race in this incident. One marcher who accompanied the splinter group, Eduardo Escobedo, accused Ramirez of “class reductionism.”
After huddling by the parking lot of the police department to decide what to do, the splinter group marched down Harbor Boulevard chanting slogans like, “no justice, no peace.” At West Broadway, they looped back through the intersection toward the police station, at one point shouting at a police cruiser that happened to be waiting in the left-turn lane.
The protesters reconvened at the police station and agreed to meet at Palm Lane Park, about half a mile away, where they would proceed to Ferguson’s home. Once at the park, however, a veteran activist advised the group that it would be unwise to disturb the peace, as the police would have an excuse to start rounding up suspects. As a result, protesters proceeded to Euclid Street and Ball Road, where they marched around the intersection and held signs as cars honked in support.
After marching for about half an hour, roughly two dozen people from Euclid Street and Ball Road decided to go to Ferguson’s house anyway, despite a heavy police presence in the area. There they loudly chanted in unison, took pictures on Ferguson’s lawn and kicked dirt onto his driveway. The police did not raid the demonstration and crowd dispersed at around 8:30 p.m.