“We Hope They Die” & The LA Deputy Ambush

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.”

 

 

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 a rough breakdown of the narratives

 

Here’s some left narratives getting amplified:

 

 

 

And some from the right:

 

 

 

That’s all for now.

 

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Sources

L.A. County deputy alleges ‘Executioner’ gang dominates Compton sheriff stationLA Times

Video of protestors, including I hope they fucking die:

It’s a celebration and the deputy pointing a gun:

 

 

*(cop propaganda)