Dijon Kizzee Killed by LA Sheriff's Department

Ellie Beaver writes about Dijon Kizzee; a 29-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by police in LA county on September 1st. On Monday afternoon, Kizzee was riding his bicycle when the Police stopped him for “riding in an unlawful manner.” Kizzee ran from the officers; when they caught up with him a few blocks away, he was shot after dropping items of clothing and a semi-automatic handgun on the floor. This article describes recent protests, and the police's response to demonstrators.

Dijon Kizzee was riding his bike around 3:15pm on Monday the 31st of August, when he was stopped by police for a "vehicle code violation". The 29-year-old was later shot dead by police.

Image credit: Say their Names LA, Feb 5 2021

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s statement recalled that, upon being stopped, “Kizzee punched one of the officers and dropped what he had been carrying”. After dropping the gun onto the floor, alongside a bundle of clothes, cops shot him 20+ times in the back. According to neighbors, they “kept firing at him after he had fallen to the ground,” and left his body in the street for 8 hours.

Bodycam footage of the event has not been released, and the only footage available is witness recorded. Kizzee allegedly dismounted his bike and ran after being stopped by the police for riding his bike in an "illegal manner”, however no specific code violation was named.

Neighbors and protesters raised the alarm at 11:00 pm that night, as Dijon’s body was still lying on the ground at the scene of the shooting. The deputies involved in his death “have been removed from the field pending review of the incident” according to the LA Sheriff's Department.

Cellphone footage showed the deputies handcuffing Kizzee even though he was already deceased. The man who took the cell phone video can be heard yelling, “He’s dead already. How are you gonna handcuff a dead man?”

Investigators are yet to interview the deputies involved, and have not spoken to witnesses. They still need to review mobile video footage according to the sheriff's lieutenant, who promised the facts of the case would eventually be presented.

Kizzee was a family-oriented man who “grew up in South L.A. and later moved with his mother and younger brother to the Antelope Valley to escape violence in the area”. The Kizzee family attorney and legal representatives have called the incident “an outrageous execution” and “another example of the excessive use of police force directed at Black people”.

Arlander Givens, 68, who witnessed the police drive past, said he now feels uneasy in police presence. His wife tells him to be careful when he goes shopping, and elaborates: “I’ve got nothing to hide, I’ve got no reason to run, but when I see the police over my shoulder, I worry.” This is the second police shooting the citizens of Westmont have witnessed in just three months.

Protesters gathered on Monday at the scene of the shooting in the Westmont neighborhood, and at the LASD’s south LA station. Multiple specialized Sheriff's response teams began mobilizing near the LA station, as police fired non-lethal rounds and flashbangs into the crowds.

Protests continue for the third night in a row, as many view Kizzee’s death as “yet another painful episode of systemic police brutality and racism”. The protests continued in the Westmont neighborhood throughout the week amid the national public outcry over social injustice and the shooting of unarmed Black men and women. Anger over police brutality has grown immensely over recent months, especially after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, and several others. At least a dozen people have been arrested and taken into custody during the protests.