Protests erupt after off-duty LA officer clashes with teens

Protesters march towards the off-duty officer's home in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. A Los Angeles policeman is under investigation after a video appears to show him firing a single round during an off-duty tussle with a 13-year-old boy. No one was injured but two teenagers were arrested after the incident, which spurred dozens of people to protest against police Wednesday night in the streets of Anaheim, where the officer lives and the confrontation occurred. (Joshua Sudock/The Orange County Register via AP)

By Associated Press February 23, 2017 3 min read

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Dozens of people, including children, were arrested early Thursday after clashing with Southern California police outside a home where a Los Angeles policeman fired a single round during an off-duty tussle with a 13-year-old boy.

Hundreds of people had gathered hours earlier after videos surfaced showing the incident between the officer, whose identity has not been released, and a group of youths.

The incident occurred Tuesday over ongoing issues with children walking across the officer’s property in Anaheim, a police spokesman told The Orange County Register.

The 13-year-old believed the officer had cursed a teenage girl who had walked on his lawn on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The little kid said, ‘I’m going to sue you,’ and then the guy thought he said, ‘I’m going to shoot you.’ That’s when he started grabbing the little kid,” Gregory Perez, 16, told The Orange County Register.