ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Federal officials will review two deadly police shootings that sparked a fourth day of violent protests that left downtown business heaped with shattered glass and jails full of demonstrators.
Mayor Tom Tait said Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney's Office has agreed to review the weekend killings, and he will meet Friday with members of that office and the FBI.
"We will have a clear and complete understanding of these incidents" followed by a public dialogue on which actions should be taken, Tait said at a news conference.
The shootings and resulting demonstrations marred the image of the Orange County city, which is home to Disneyland and the Angels baseball team, but also has neighborhoods teeming with gritty apartments.
The mother of Manuel Diaz, one of the men fatally shot, condemned violent protests against the killing, saying Wednesday that she did not want them to become her son's legacy.
"I watched as my son took his last breath. I watched as his heart stopped beating for the last time," Genevieve Huizar said, breaking into sobs. "Please, please, please stop the violence. It's not going to bring my son back, and this is the worst thing any mother could go through."
Huizar said her family had not participated in any violence.
On Tuesday night, as many as 600 demonstrators surged through downtown, smashing windows and vandalizing 20 businesses, setting trash fires, damaging City Hall and the police headquarters and hurling rocks and bottles at patrol cars and police in riot gear, authorities said.
The violence was finally quelled about 2 a.m., police said.
Twenty-four people, including four minors, were arrested on suspicion of crimes ranging from failure to disperse to assault with a deadly weapon, Police Chief John Welter said at a news conference.
Video showed knots of young men and women looting a T-shirt store.
About 300 police from Anaheim and surrounding communities were called in, and riot-clad officers used batons, pepper balls and beanbag rounds.
At least six people were injured, including a police officer who was struck on the arm with a brick, a protester who was hit in the chest by a pepper ball, and two reporters who were struck by rocks and a beanbag round, police and witnesses said.
None was immediately hospitalized.
Police will examine videos of the protests to identify violent protesters, and there could be further arrests, Welter said.
He and Tait said peaceful demonstrations will be permitted, but they promised to crack down on any further violence.
"Vandalism, arson and other forms of violent protest will simply not be tolerated in our city," Tait said.
The violence erupted from a peaceful rally after demonstrators unable to get into a packed City Hall meeting blocked a nearby intersection.
Diaz's family sued the city and the Police Department on Tuesday, claiming he was shot and killed Saturday while running away, lawyer James Rumm said. The family is seeking $50 million in damages.
The second shooting occurred Sunday when officers spotted a gang suspect in a stolen SUV. A brief pursuit ended when three people jumped from the vehicle and ran. Joel M. Acevedo, 21, fired at an officer, and the officer shot and killed him, authorities said.
At Tuesday's City Council meeting, scores of angry residents packed the chamber. Some called for the police chief to be fired and for creation of a civilian police oversight commission.
Residents said the city needs to pay more attention to poor, gang-ridden areas.
The back-to-back deaths took the tally of shootings by officers in the city to six so far this year, up from four a year before. Five of the incidents were fatal.
Welter has said that Diaz was shot after two officers approached three men who were acting suspiciously in an alley before running away.
The chief would not say what led an officer to shoot Diaz. But Welter said Diaz failed to heed orders to stop and threw something on the roof of the complex that contained what officers believe was heroin.
Mayor Tom Tait said Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney's Office has agreed to review the weekend killings, and he will meet Friday with members of that office and the FBI.
"We will have a clear and complete understanding of these incidents" followed by a public dialogue on which actions should be taken, Tait said at a news conference.
The shootings and resulting demonstrations marred the image of the Orange County city, which is home to Disneyland and the Angels baseball team, but also has neighborhoods teeming with gritty apartments.
The mother of Manuel Diaz, one of the men fatally shot, condemned violent protests against the killing, saying Wednesday that she did not want them to become her son's legacy.
"I watched as my son took his last breath. I watched as his heart stopped beating for the last time," Genevieve Huizar said, breaking into sobs. "Please, please, please stop the violence. It's not going to bring my son back, and this is the worst thing any mother could go through."
Huizar said her family had not participated in any violence.
On Tuesday night, as many as 600 demonstrators surged through downtown, smashing windows and vandalizing 20 businesses, setting trash fires, damaging City Hall and the police headquarters and hurling rocks and bottles at patrol cars and police in riot gear, authorities said.
The violence was finally quelled about 2 a.m., police said.
Twenty-four people, including four minors, were arrested on suspicion of crimes ranging from failure to disperse to assault with a deadly weapon, Police Chief John Welter said at a news conference.
Video showed knots of young men and women looting a T-shirt store.
About 300 police from Anaheim and surrounding communities were called in, and riot-clad officers used batons, pepper balls and beanbag rounds.
At least six people were injured, including a police officer who was struck on the arm with a brick, a protester who was hit in the chest by a pepper ball, and two reporters who were struck by rocks and a beanbag round, police and witnesses said.
None was immediately hospitalized.
Police will examine videos of the protests to identify violent protesters, and there could be further arrests, Welter said.
He and Tait said peaceful demonstrations will be permitted, but they promised to crack down on any further violence.
"Vandalism, arson and other forms of violent protest will simply not be tolerated in our city," Tait said.
The violence erupted from a peaceful rally after demonstrators unable to get into a packed City Hall meeting blocked a nearby intersection.
Diaz's family sued the city and the Police Department on Tuesday, claiming he was shot and killed Saturday while running away, lawyer James Rumm said. The family is seeking $50 million in damages.
The second shooting occurred Sunday when officers spotted a gang suspect in a stolen SUV. A brief pursuit ended when three people jumped from the vehicle and ran. Joel M. Acevedo, 21, fired at an officer, and the officer shot and killed him, authorities said.
At Tuesday's City Council meeting, scores of angry residents packed the chamber. Some called for the police chief to be fired and for creation of a civilian police oversight commission.
Residents said the city needs to pay more attention to poor, gang-ridden areas.
The back-to-back deaths took the tally of shootings by officers in the city to six so far this year, up from four a year before. Five of the incidents were fatal.
Welter has said that Diaz was shot after two officers approached three men who were acting suspiciously in an alley before running away.
The chief would not say what led an officer to shoot Diaz. But Welter said Diaz failed to heed orders to stop and threw something on the roof of the complex that contained what officers believe was heroin.