Tensions continue to rise between the community and the Los Angeles sheriff's department, after last Sunday's fatal shooting of 16-year-old Anthony Weber. An emergency town hall meeting was held Wednesday to address the community's outrage over the teen's killing and how the police were handling the sensitive matter. However, the meeting seemed to only add insult to injury as Weber's family and fellow resident's questions went unanswered.
The forum was held at New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church in South Los Angelos, at least 150 people present.
According to the LA Times, the teen's father, John Weber, brought an enlarged cellphone photograph of his son lying on the ground.
"Where's the gun?" he asked. "I know where the bullets are, they're right in my baby's back."
His questions were met with silence from sheriff officials.
Weber's brother, also named John Weber, addressed sheriff's officials, asking "Was my brother murdered? Yes or no?"
He was met by a resounding "Yes!" from others in the crowd.
When he asked a sheriff's captain if his brother's family or community was "due something," Capt. Christopher Bergner responded "absolutely not."
Brother of #AnthonyWeber (the unarmed 16-year-old that was killed by LASD a few days ago) asked Capt. Christopher Bergner of @LASDHQ Homicide Bureau a question at tonight's Town Hall and was answered with this disgusting response… pic.twitter.com/XpUdrt1Mxv
— Dignity & Power Now (@PowerDignity) February 8, 2018
"You killed a 16-year-old!" one man reportedly screamed.
With such a lackluster response from an official, and an angry group convening around the panel, the meeting was ended early. Bergner's response didn't sit well with the others who sat on the oversight panel.
"We are just as insulted by that response as the community," said commissioner Xavier Thompson.
Patti Giggans, another commissioner, said the meeting ended early because Weber's family and the community were disrespected.
"The way families are treated after a shooting is not OK," she said.
Allegedly, Bergner couldn't hear the question asked. In a statement released Thursday morning, the sheriff's department claims he answered "absolutely not" because of his mishearing the question due to the noise in the room. They say he heard, "Don't you think we are doomed?"
On the night of Weber's death, deputies responded to a report of a young man in blue jeans and a black shirt, pointing a handgun at a motorist in the 1200 block of 107th Street. Deputies encountered a 16-year-old boy on foot who matched the description. According to the sheriff's department, they spotted a handgun tucked in his pants. When they ordered him not to move, Weber ran. When he turned toward the deputies, one of them fired about 10 shots, striking him several times in the upper body.
While Weber was said to have a gun, a gun has not been recovered. Authorities said a gun carried by the boy may have been taken by someone in the crowd that converged on the scene.
The family and the community are still searching for answers.
