Yesterday, two LA County Sheriff’s deputies were sitting in their car when someone walked up and shot both through the window. They were quickly taken to the hospital. Soon thereafter, the LASD tweeted that protestors were blocking the hospital entrance and yelling, “We hope they die.”
Moments ago, 2 of our Sheriff Deputies were shot in Compton and were transported to a local hospital. They are both still fighting for their lives, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We will update this thread with information as it becomes available.
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) September 13, 2020
This image is stark—a mass of protestors celebrating violence against police and actively trying to prevent them from receiving medical treatment by blocking the doors to the hospital.
Many on the right are emphasizing this image. Because if you’ve been watching clips of protestors blocking roads and spreading anti-police messages (like hanging signs that say all my heroes kill cops), it’s a perfectly plausible narrative.
Videos from this encounter show that the protestors appear few in number, and are standing in front of the emergency entrance road, not blocking the front doors. Yet, one protestor does chant “It’s a celebration,” while another at one point says, “I hope they fucking die.”
The primary narrative on the left is that the original LASD tweet is grossly overstating the hospital protestors—it’s just more copaganda.* They’re also strongly emphasizing that a journalist was arrested during this encounter.
Others on the left are emphasizing that the LASD has had some issues with law-enforcement gangs gaining influence the department. The LA Times reports that some such gang tattoos even use nazi imagery, supporting the image of police as racist fascists in uniform. This context, combined with frequent stories about police brutality, is somewhat justifying the violence against these deputies, leaning into a “community fighting back” kind of story.
Here’s some left narratives getting amplified:
Was the ambush shooting of 2 deputies in Compton tonight, retaliation for the fact that the LASD has white supremacist gangs that target citizens, and officials refused to do anything about it?https://t.co/0iBYNHMKg2
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) September 13, 2020
Was the ambush shooting of 2 deputies in Compton tonight, retaliation for the fact that the LASD has white supremacist gangs that target citizens, and officials refused to do anything about it?https://t.co/0iBYNHMKg2
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) September 13, 2020
And some from the right:
These bastards are Biden supporters.
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) September 13, 2020
They want cops and you dead.
Vote accordingly. https://t.co/7CjSTvHtL1
As if ambush of cops were not appallingly evil enough, a mob of “protestors” tried to prevent the cops who were shot multiple times from getting emergency medical care
— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) September 13, 2020
THIS IS BLM. You’re seeing the consequences of the lib apparatus leveraging cop hatred for political power. https://t.co/UZZbhWW0be
That’s all for now.
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L.A. County deputy alleges ‘Executioner’ gang dominates Compton sheriff station – LA Times
Video of protestors, including I hope they fucking die:
A tense situation developing in Lynwood as a handful of protesters on sidewalk shout at deputies outside St. Francis medical center where 2 deputies are recovering from surgery after being shot tonight in Compton pic.twitter.com/wwpcnVFvOI
— Josie Huang (@josie_huang) September 13, 2020
It’s a celebration and the deputy pointing a gun:
I’ve deleted my previous retweet from @LASDHQ claiming a large number of protestors were blocking the entrance to the hospital. That is a gross mischaracterization. In reality, there were less than 10 people standing on the public sidewalk. #LASD #Compton pic.twitter.com/d968YyJfFp
— Eric Wasserman 🦆 “WASS” (@EricWasserman1) September 13, 2020
*(cop propaganda)