Detective placed on leave over Facebook post mocking Seattle protesters hit by a car
The image was captioned "All lives splatter"
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Long Island Newsday: Man falsely reported being hit by vehicle at Huntington Station rally
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The Guardian:
Last month a report from the University of Chicago’s Project on Security and Threats concluded that rightwing extremists were behind at least 50 vehicle-ramming incidents since the latest waves of protests began in late May.
At least 18 were categorized as deliberate while another two dozen were considered unclear as to motivation, or were still under investigation.
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'KKK President' arrested for hitting protester with his truck"He told the paper he was the organizer of the National Association for Awakening Confederate Patriots and was there to exercise his first amendment right.
A hate crime investigation is underway.
...Protesters are sharing accounts of the incident in the Lakeside community on Sunday.
The organizer of the protest, who did not want to be identified, said the group assembled at Bryan Park to walk up Lakeside Avenue.
"This was a small gathering of 200-300 people many of whom brought their children or were elderly. Many of those in the back of the group were with their children or elderly," the organizer said in a statement. "I witnessed him cut around drivers who were waiting behind the protest as he drove on the median so he could get closer to the protesters."
Eva Swanson said she watched as the truck drove onto the median and into the protesters.
“[The driver] revved his engine and sped up and I thought for sure people were going to die. People were screaming,” Swanson said. “I don’t know if we were in range of him hitting us, but we were afraid for our lives and fled out of the way.”
Swanson lives north of the city and felt it was important to join the protesters. She feared that someone would drive into the crowds.
“I want to be clear though, the fear I had as a white person marching is nothing compared to the fear of violence black people face every single day,” Swanson explained.
Rachel Kurtz stated she and her family were walking towards the back of the protesters when they jumped out of the truck's path.
“I heard the engine rev up real loud behind us and it sounded as if it was coming in quickly so I shouted to my husband and son to get up on the sidewalk quick. Sure enough it came right up beside us quickly and seemed like it was trying to hit the crowd,” Kurtz explained.
Bicyclists then shouted at the driver to stop.
Bakersfield Man Who Killed Black Protestor With His Car Didn’t Face Arrest Or Charges
Video shows Forbes was not part of the main group; he was across California Ave. on the south side of the street, approximately 200 feet east of Oak St.
At one point, it appears Forbes and a couple other people attempted to cross the two eastbound lanes of California Ave., perhaps to join the main group marching in the westbound lanes.
Several other people made it safely across the street but Forbes was struck by a car traveling eastbound on California Ave. Police say the car was in the fast lane.
BPD also said Forbes crossed the slow lane and was hit by the right side of the car. Witnesses told police Forbes was crossing the street. He was not kneeling in the road, as some social media posts have said, the police department added.
A video shot by another driver traveling with the protests on the westbound side showed the car that hit Forbes had its headlights on despite earlier accounts the car did not.
Video from a red light camera at the intersection of Oak and California captured the vehicle as it drove eastbound down California Ave. from beneath Hwy 99. The video indicates the car was travelling through the intersection around the speed limit of 45 mph
Once out of the intersection, the vehicle’s brake lights were seen illuminating just before the collision. The car stopped immedately after Forbes was hit, according to BPD.
"Moore has visible tattoos that indicate his affiliation with white supremacist movements."
“It shouldn’t take that long to get a man who just admitted in front of everybody, even to the cops, ‘I did it. I hit this man. I didn’t see him. Accident or not, I hit him.’ So why wasn’t he detained? Why was he able to smoke a cigarette?” the eyewitness said."
Bakersfield police responded to criticism that Moore was allowed to sit in the front seat of the police car. Bakersfield police cars do not have cages and it is standard for a suspected to be seatbelted and transported in the front seat.