Protest Tomorrow In Honor Of Doug Zerby, Who Was Holding A Hose Nozzle When Long Beach PD Fatally Shot Him Last December

By Marisa Gerber Fri., Dec. 9 2011 at 3:43 PM

Doug Zerby

Almost exactly a year after Long Beach police gunned down Doug Zerby, his supporters are gathering for a rally.

On Dec. 12. 2010, officers shot Zerby, who they thought was armed, but was really just holding a hose nozzle.

ANSWER LA is asking people to show up in downtown Long Beach tomorrow morning to remember Zerby, but also to cry out for a culture change within the department.

"A year has gone by and nothing has changed. As a matter of fact, the fact that those officers are getting away with the murder has allowed other officers to carry on in a violent matter with impunity," says Doug Kauffman, a spokesman for ANSWER LA.

Kauffman cites the officer-involved shooting of Ishmael Lopez in August as another example of the "trigger-happy" department.

People who want to protest should show up at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Lincoln Park, at the corner of West Broadway and Pacific Avenue, Kauffman says.

Tags:

Doug Zerby, Long Beach Police Department

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Dweezle.Di

I wonder if the 2 cops replying to this article were involved in the shooting?

Robbie

Im not a cop. I am someone who sees my country going to Hell because of a bunch of crybabies. People need to take responsibility for their actions.

Dweezle.Di

People protesting are NOT crybabies. A man who is shot to death for the crime of holding a water nozzle is not a crybaby, (he is dead). A homeless schizophrenic beat to death by Fullerton pigs in front of at least 10 witnesses is not a crybaby. Our country is going to hell because of greed & corruption when 1% of the population own the legislature. Our personal liberties are being violated daily by a spy state that is allowed to go on because of a fear mentality. Our nation is becoming a fascist state not much different than Germany of 1932. We have the highest per capita prisoner population in the world.

909Jeff

I hear ya... Thats why I say I'm divided on it. I'd like to give the cops the benefit of the doubt that they were acting in the best interest of theirs and the safety of others. Unfortunately each time you have a Kelly Thomas scenario it makes it harder to give them that benefit of the doubt.

Dweezle.Di

I was posting as 2 separate but vaguely similar instances, but I was not there when the guy was shot. I have seen cops over react, and having family that were cops in LA and grown up hearing the racist and violent bragging when they were drunk at parties. I have an idea what happens all too often. I did not review the original post about this shooting before commenting, I did not remember if the drunk, (now deceased) was pointing the nozzle at officers, or if he was just holding it at his side or if the hose attached appeared to be a high capacity magazine for a semi automatic pistol, I do remember he was drunk and being abusive, I believe someone may have stated in a 911 call that he was armed, (often people feel they must exaggerate in order to make officers respond faster) but in the end he WAS NOT armed, and was no danger to anyone. COPS do have a difficult job, they never know for sure what is involved on each call. Perhaps that's why they make the big bucks, (& fat pensions) but brutality & over reaction is too frequently blown off, and swept under the rug. That's what people are protesting.

909Jeff

I wouldnt compare this dude to Kelly... Kelly was mentally ill and unarmed. True this dude was in fact un armed but who was going to be the one to detirmine that? I come down on both sides here. Did this dude deserve to die? Nah, but at the same time he did very little to avoid the confrontation. What was he doing that warranted the cops to be called? Why was he holding an object at night that looked like a weapon? Why did he raise it in a manner that would make them think it was a weapon? Kelly was a Victim of police abuse. This guy was no victim.

Steve

Doug Kauffman is a pussy. He wouldn't last 5 minutes in a ride-along. He'd be in the back seat telling the officers "oh, don't stop the car. Something might happen to us. I need my mommy."