In an all too familiar scenario, two Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies have murdered a black, unarmed homeless man, and the entire incident was caught on film.
When deputies from the homeless outreach team arrived, a violent physical confrontation with Reinhold ensued, though it is unclear why. In the footage, Reinhold appears to push the deputies. One deputy can be heard saying, “He’s got my gun” before two shots are then fired.
Deputies began lifesaving measures to no avail. Reinhold was pronounced dead at the scene. Protests quickly ensued, calling for the officers in the killing to be arrested.
Jackson Hinkle, a past San Clemente City Council candidate, turned activist, took to Twitter to blast the officers involved.
“Clearly, these officers lacked the ability to effectively respond to the needs of this homeless man. The man was trying to walk away; they wouldn’t let him. The officers escalated the situation by body-slamming the man on the ground.”
The Sheriff’s Department claims that an additional surveillance video exists that supposedly shows Reinhold reaching for a deputy’s gun.
On Thursday, department spokeswoman Carrie Braun responded to demands to release the video, which is now part of an investigation that the Orange County District Attorney’s office.
“The decision to release that video is not solely up to OCSD due to the ongoing investigation at the DA’s office,” Braun said before adding. “We are very well aware of the national climate of police-community relations and are doing everything we can to provide honest and transparent information about what we know to be true about this incident but also be cautious to not provide information we don’t know to be true.”
The Department has since released photos of the incident.
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