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]]>Darnell Hicks’ life was thrown into disarray after he was falsely accused of being the gunman behind an ambush on two Los Angeles County deputies, shot last weekend while sitting in their patrol vehicle.
As a manhunt for the shooter got underway Saturday evening, the youth football coach and father of two daughters said he began receiving text messages that featured a fake “be on the lookout” (BOLO) alert. They had his name, address, driver’s license photo and license plate number.
The post said Hicks, 33, was armed and dangerous, warning, “The suspect has vowed to shoot more law enforcement officers.”
“I didn’t think nothing of it [at first],” he told Fox News on Wednesday. “I thought they were just playing games with me, like a prank.”
DEPUTY SHOT IN COMPTON ATTACK RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
Darnell Hicks, 33, who coaches youth football, said his life was turned upside down after he was falsely accused of being the gunman who attacked two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies last week.
(Darnell Hicks / The Cochran Firm)
The two deputies were assigned to the sheriff department’s Transit Services Bureau and graduated from the academy 14 months ago, officials said. A video of the attack shows them parked at the Compton Metro station around 7 p.m. Saturday when a gunman approaches and fires several shots into the passenger window.
The deputies – identified only as a 31-year-old woman and 24-year-old man – were rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery. The man was released Wednesday, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. The woman is still hospitalized.
Hicks said he was riding his dirtbike all day Saturday. Worried about the false accusation, he said he called the sheriff’s Compton station.
On Sunday, the sheriff’s department addressed the rumor in a tweet, calling it “ERRONEOUS information.” It said there were “no named or wanted suspects at the time.”
Hicks’ attorney, Brian Dunn of the Cochran Firm, said his client has no connection to the shooting. He criticized the department for not going further to clear Hicks’ name, and for its generic description of the suspect as a “dark-skinned male.”
“This is an appeal to what we call ‘belt whistles’ by associating a certain type of violence with a certain race of individuals and it covers millions of people when you just see ‘dark skinned’ Black male,” Dunn told Fox News.
“The sheriff’s department does not appear to be interested in tearing down the walls that have separated them from the community. All we saw was a slight post on social media. They should be doing a press conference to clear this man’s name.”
Hicks said he feared for the safety of himself, his two daughters and his 93-year-old grandmother, with whom he lives. He said he’s received death threats and is afraid to take his children out. In addition, the rumors have impacted his daily routine, his apparel business and the way others view him.
“I know for a fact that most people are going to start looking at me differently because they follow trends on social media. They see people saying negative things and a lot of people are going to run with that,” he said.
“I just happened to get food yesterday at night and a guy said a joke like, ‘Oh, you’re the cop killer’ and he was just laughing.”
It is unclear why Hicks was targeted, Dunn said, but he characterized Hicks as a casualty in efforts to sow distrust amid national race and police issues.
Darnell Hicks said the false accusations that he shot two sheriff’s deputies have impacted his clothing business and daily routine.
(Darnell Hicks / The Cochran Firm)
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“I’ve lived through this for at least a part of this week with this man, and I’ve seen how his life has been turned upside-down,” Dunn said. “He didn’t do anything to anyone. Yet he’s now a casualty in this war of hatred.”
Hicks, who lives in Compton, said he prayed for the officers but also feared the attack could result in over-policing in the community.
“I’m scared for everybody else out there because I know that this could lead to a lot and something else can happen to another Black male,” he said.
As of Wednesday, no suspect has been identified in connection with the shooting and a reward of more than $300,000 was being offered.
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]]>The post Los Angeles-area city manager put on leave over social media post on two shot deputies appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>The city manager of a Los Angeles-area suburb was put on paid administrative leave Tuesday after his social media post on the ambush shooting of two sheriffs’ deputies over the weekend was heavily criticized.
Jose Ometeotl was put on leave pending an internal investigation, Lynwood City Councilman Salvador Alatorre told Fox News following the council’s closed session meeting Tuesday night. Alatorre put forth the motion to discipline or dismiss Ometeotl following his personal Instagram post that read “chickens come home to roost” after two deputies were shot multiple times while sitting in their patrol vehicle Saturday in the nearby city of Compton.
Michelle Ramirez, the city’s director of community development, will step in as acting city manager.
Alatorre told Fox News in a text message that the move against Ometeotl was “Protocal” [sic] and that “he is gone, will not represent Lynwood anymore.”
“It’s a legal process to protect the city,” Alatorre added.
He previously said the city manager went beyond his authority with his remarks, even though it was posted to his private account.
“He represents the city of Lynwood 24/7,” Alatorre said Monday. “He cannot make statements while he’s employed by our city, especially when he jeopardizes public safety.”
The council received 78 written comments regarding the post, with only three defending Ometeotl. However, nearly all of the public speakers who commented during Tuesday’s virtual meeting showed support for him. Some said that much of the criticism about his social media post came from people who live outside the city.
Many cited the sheriff’s department’s involvement in several high-profile shootings and other incidents while accusing the agency over over-policing the community.
In his post, Ometeotl said communities like Compton have been “plagued by deputy gangs that inflict fear and violence in the community.”
“These deputies murdered, framed and stole from the community just because they could,” the post read.
Lynwood borders Compton to its south. Ometeotl added that he prayed for the wounded deputies but also demanded justice for victims of police shootings. He did not immediately return messages from Fox News seeking comment.
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A video of the brazen attack appears to show a gunman approaching an LASD patrol vehicle parked near a Metro rail station and firing several shots into the passenger window. The deputies — identified as a 31-year-old female deputy and 24-year-old male deputy — were wounded.
They underwent surgery and are recovering in a hospital.
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