Hundreds Protest After Off-Duty LAPD Officer Fires Shot Amid Struggle With Teens


A video of an off-duty LAPD officer firing his gun during a struggle with a group of teens prompted a protest in Anaheim, California. The Los Angeles Times reports that at least 300 people converged in the streets, demanding the officer to be fired for his actions.

The Anaheim shooting purportedly began Tuesday afternoon when a Los Angeles police officer, who has not been identified, told a group of teens – who were walking home from school – to “get off of my property you piece of c***.” That’s when a 13-year-old Hispanic boy, Christian Dorscht, interjected, saying that he should be respectful.

In the nine-minute video of the Anaheim shooting, it depicts an LAPD officer struggling to detain the 13-year-old boy while at least 17 juveniles looked on, recording the altercation.

It was reported that the Los Angeles police officer was detaining Christian after he believed the teen threatened to shoot him.

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However, Christian assured the officer that he misunderstood. The Anaheim boy stated that he told the officer that he was going to sue him, not shoot him.

Juveniles continued watching, except for one unidentified teen, believed to be 17-years-old, who took action. He could be seen walking towards Christian and the Anaheim officer and began tugging at the officer’s arm, trying to separate the two.

While the LAPD officer was focused on getting the older teen away from him, another boy ran towards him at full speed, knocking him into a bush but the officer continues to cling on to the boy.

Teens began shouting, “Let go of him” as several boys can be seen walking toward the off-duty LAPD officer – that’s when he reaches for his gun and fires a shot near the 13-year-old boy.

No one was shot during the shooting.

When LAPD officers arrived at the scene, Christian and the older juvenile were arrested on battery charges, while the off-duty officer was placed on administration leave.

The video of the LAPD officer firing a shot during a struggle with juveniles sparked outrage. Hundreds of residents gathered near an intersection at around 7:00 p.m. the day after the Anaheim shooting, where they held up signs and chanted “Hands up! Don’t shoot! Whose streets, our streets!”

The Anaheim protest soon turned violent when protestors began throwing “rocks at the home of the LAPD officer, spray-painted his garage, and scratched a pickup truck in the driveway.”

Some protesters even “cursed at police officers and kicked police cars.”

Riot officers were deployed to the scene, allegedly to protect the LAPD officer’s home. The Anaheim protest descended three hours later.

In a Facebook post, Anaheim police released the following statement: “The Anaheim Police Department is aware of the numerous videos posted on YouTube regarding yesterday’s Officer Involved Shooting involving an off-duty LAPD officer.”

“The Anaheim Police Department Homicide Detail is investigating the incident and the case will be presented to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office when complete. Calling and sending emails to APD voicing your displeasure will NOT impact the outcome. A decision whether or not to file charges rests with the District Attorney’s office and is based on facts and evidence.”

After the video of the shooting in California was posted on social media, the teen’s father – Johnny Dorscht – spoke out, stating that his son has “never been in trouble with the law.”

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“I’m pretty pi**** off about what happened,” Dorscht says. “You could talk to anybody, my son has very good manners. He does good in school and isn’t disrespectful or anything like that.”

“We’re going to find legal representation and begin suing. This is B.S. Even the cops, when they got there, they had all the kids down. They didn’t even go after the guy.”

Christian sustained injuries to his neck and wrist during the Anaheim shooting. He has since been released from police custody.

An investigation to “determine the actions of the officer and the circumstances” is ongoing.

[Featured Image By Andrew Kravchenko/iStock]

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