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Trayvon Martin case: Los Angeles protest turns violent | Trayvon Martin case: Los Angeles protest turns violent |
(35 minutes later) | |
Los Angeles officials have appealed for calm after protests turned violent over the acquittal of a neighbourhood watchman who killed a black teenager. | Los Angeles officials have appealed for calm after protests turned violent over the acquittal of a neighbourhood watchman who killed a black teenager. |
Fourteen people were arrested amid vandalism and assaults in a south-west district of the Californian city. | |
The city's police chief said his officers would adopt a tougher approach to any further disturbances. | The city's police chief said his officers would adopt a tougher approach to any further disturbances. |
George Zimmerman, 29, was cleared on Saturday of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's death in Florida last year. | George Zimmerman, 29, was cleared on Saturday of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's death in Florida last year. |
Federal officials are now investigating potential civil rights charges against Mr Zimmerman. | Federal officials are now investigating potential civil rights charges against Mr Zimmerman. |
Street assaults | Street assaults |
Los Angeles police said about 150 people splintered off from a peaceful vigil in the Crenshaw area on Monday, some of them jumping on cars and breaking windows at fast-food outlets. | |
Several protesters vandalised a Walmart in the neighbourhood. Aerial broadcast news footage showed some of the troublemakers kicking and punching people on the street. | Several protesters vandalised a Walmart in the neighbourhood. Aerial broadcast news footage showed some of the troublemakers kicking and punching people on the street. |
Police, who brought 300 officers to the scene, declared an unlawful assembly about three hours later, and most people left soon after. | Police, who brought 300 officers to the scene, declared an unlawful assembly about three hours later, and most people left soon after. |
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti held a late-night news conference after cutting short a trip to the US East Coast because of the disturbances in his home city. | |
He praised the "overwhelming majority" who had demonstrated peacefully. | |
"The trial that we saw in Florida has ignited passions but we have to make sure that it will not ignite the city," Mayor Garcetti said. | |
He was joined by Police Chief Charlie Beck, who said: "This will not be allowed to continue." | |
Meanwhile, in Oakland, California, protesters briefly shut a highway during rush hour on Monday evening. | |
Police made several arrests after disturbances broke out in the centre of the city. | |
Rocks and bottles were thrown at Oakland police officers, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. | Rocks and bottles were thrown at Oakland police officers, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. |
The newspaper also reported that a waiter trying to shield windows at a restaurant was struck in the face with a hammer. | |
It was the third night of protests over the Trayvon Martin case in the state of California. | |
Peaceful demonstrations and vigils have been held in cities across the US, with more protests planned for next weekend. | |
Jury 'initally split' | |
One of the jurors of the sequestered, all-female panel of six told CNN in an interview aired on Monday evening that the jury had initially been split. | One of the jurors of the sequestered, all-female panel of six told CNN in an interview aired on Monday evening that the jury had initially been split. |
The juror, known as B37, said that she and two others believed that Mr Zimmerman was not guilty, while the other three thought he was guilty. | |
She said that after much deliberation, they ultimately agreed that not guilty was the only verdict they could reach based on the law in the case. | |
B37 said she believes Mr Zimmerman's "heart was in the right place" and that the only thing he was guilty of was a lack of "good judgement" in confronting the teenager. | |
She added that while "both [George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin] were responsible for the situation", she had "no doubt George feared for his life". | |
B37 initially said she would write a book on the trial but has since changed her mind. | |
Mr Zimmerman's parents, meanwhile, told broadcaster ABC that they had been targeted by an "enormous amount" of death threats. | Mr Zimmerman's parents, meanwhile, told broadcaster ABC that they had been targeted by an "enormous amount" of death threats. |
"'Everyone with Georgie's DNA should be killed' - just every kind of horrible thing you can imagine," Robert Zimmerman, the father, told ABC about the threats. |