Anti-police activists have hijacked the unfortunate police shooting of a Saint Berdoodle as a family celebrated the New York Knicks’ NBA championship win on Saturday for their own purposes.
The shooting of Jameson happened as police responded to a suspected domestic violence incident in Canoga Park.
The two-year-old dog’s death has sparked a massive online fundraising campaign – and become a new way for activists oppose the LAPD to raise their profiles.
A GoFundMe campaign established in Jameson’s memory has exploded online, raising more than $160,000 on Wednesday morning, far surpassing its original goal of $10,000.
At a Tuesday morning press conference outside LAPD headquarters, activists demanded that the department immediately release body camera footage and identify the officers involved.
Anti-police activists are demanding the release of body camera footage after an LAPD officer shot and killed a family dog Jameson while celebrating the New York Knicks’ NBA championship win in Canoga Park over the weekend. Jeremiah Garcia/gofundme
The incident has sparked outrage among neighbors and generated a massive online fundraising campaign, but it has also become the latest rallying point for activists who have long clashed with the LAPD over police accountability issues. abc7“The tragic killing of Jameson was unnecessary and unwarranted,” said Najee Ali, Senior Organizer of the Los Angeles National Action Network.
“We demand immediate accountability, which can only happen through the prompt release of the body-worn camera footage and the names of the officers responsible for shooting and killing Jameson.
“The public deserves transparency, and the family deserves answers.”
Ali argued that officers should never have remained at the residence once they determined Marie Marseille was not in danger.
“All they had to do was turn around and leave. Instead, we now have a beloved dog killed by LAPD, and we want the body camera to be shown to us,” Ali said.
Jameson, a beloved Golden Saint Berdoodle owned by Marseille, was fatally shot Saturday night after officers responded to reports of a woman screaming inside a condominium complex on Jordan Avenue.
According to police, officers arrived to investigate what they believed could be a domestic violence incident after neighbors reported hearing screams coming from Marseille’s unit. Witnesses later said the homeowner had been enthusiastically celebrating the New York Knicks’ championship victory.
Police said the large dog was with its owner when officers asked her to secure the animal. Marseille briefly closed the door before reopening it, allowing Jameson to slip outside.
“The tragic killing of Jameson was unnecessary and unwarranted,” said Najee Ali, Senior Organizer of the Los Angeles National Action Network. FOX11The LAPD said in a press release that the dog then “charged” at officers, prompting one officer to open fire.
The shooting has since become the focus of a campaign led by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Action Network, which has made police accountability and criminal justice reform central priorities.
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“Because, unfortunately, LAPD has a long history of controversial shootings of black people in LA,” Ali said.
“Now they’re killing black people’s dogs, and that dog had every right to live, just as you and I.”
The National Action Network has advocated for police accountability measures, special prosecutors in police-shooting cases, anti-racial-profiling efforts, body-camera policies, and reforms intended to increase oversight of law enforcement.
Neighbors described hearing chaos erupt after the shooting.
Ali argued that officers should never have remained at the residence once they determined Marie Marseille was not in danger. FOXIn cellphone video recorded at the complex, a distraught woman can be heard screaming moments after the gunfire.
“Oh my God! Oh my God,” a woman cried. “I cannot believe this is happening. I cannot believe this is happening.”
“We were just so happy. We were just so happy. We were just celebrating the Knicks. We were f—g celebrating the Knicks,” the woman screamed.
Raymon Alvarez, who lives across the street, told ABC7 the emotional reaction immediately caught his attention.
“The screaming I heard was like, ‘Ah! Oh my God! Oh my God!’ Like just, pure screaming,” Alvarez said.
When he returned home, he heard gunfire.
The LAPD has not publicly released body camera footage from the encounter, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under internal review.
