Disneyland Mobbed By Dancing Families Protest

“We dance in honor of all lives lost at the hands of law enforcement. . . And we demand that the police stop killing our people!! Who made them judge, jury and executioner?!?”

Anaheim’s central venue for its tourism industry, the Disneyland Resort, was mobbed on Tuesday, amongst busy visitors just hours before their “fireworks spectacular.”

Families and supporters of recent police killing victims armed themselves with masks and music as they hit the resort’s “downtown” district with a “flash-mob-style” action. Some of the masked “mobbers” carried rolled pieces of paper to hand out to guests, whom seemed supportive of the melodic rally. As some of these scrolled notes were unrolled, however, some happy faces quickly turned blank as they were struck with a bit of reality. One woman was quick to throw her note on the floor, only for a “justice warrior” to pick it up and continue handing them out.

These notes read:

“In Memory Of

Joel Acevedo – Anaheim PD

Julian Alexander – Anaheim PD

Rigoberto Arceo –Cudahy Sheriff

Hans Kevin Arellano – Santa Ana PD

Javier Arrazola, Jr. – Los Angeles PD

Andres Avila – Pomona PD

Alan Blueford – Oakland PD

Steven Bours – Downey PD

Roscoe Cambridge – Anaheim PD

Marcel Ceja – Anaheim PD

Zachary Champommier – DEA Studio City

Julian Collender – Brea PD

Cesar Cruz – Anaheim PD

Jonathan Cuevas – Lynwood Sheriff

Jose de la Trinidad – Compton Sheriff

Manuel Diaz – Anaheim PD

Ernest Duenez, Jr. – Manteca PD

Tony Francis, Jr. – Lakewood Sheriff

Oscar Grant – San Fransisco BART Police

Jason Hallstrom – Santa Ana PD

Keneth Harding – San Fransisco PD

Bobby Henning, Jr. – Paramount Sheriff

Martin Hernandez – Anaheim PD

Justin Hertl – Anaheim PD

Barry Koenigsberg – Anaheim PD

Andy Lopez – Santa Rosa Sheriff

Michael Nida II – Downey PD

Ignacio Ochoa – Paramount Sheriff

Victor Ortega – San Diego PD

David Raya – Anaheim PD

James Earl Rivera, Jr. – Stockton PD

Adolpho Sanchez – Anaheim PD

David Silva – Bakersfield Sheriff

Kelly Thomas – Fullerton PD

Bernie Villegas – Anaheim PD

Joe Whitehouse – Anaheim PD

Tyler Woods – Long Beach PD

Doug Zerby – Long Beach PD

Tonight we dance in honor of all lives lost at the hands of law enforcement. Together we fight to expose the truth that the media won’t share.

And we demand that the police stop killing our people!! Who made them judge, jury and executioner?!?

Join us before your loved one is killed by an officer!”

The action came to an end with resort security “accompanying” the flash-mob participants out the Downtown Disney district.

The Disneyland resort has been seen by residents and community members as a dominant source for revenue in Anaheim, a city that has been growing as a key location for a growing California movement against police brutality. In July of 2012, Anaheim was witness to a massive uprising that was sparked by two back-to-back fatal police shootings that resulted in the deaths of two young men, 25-year-old Manuel Angel Diaz and 21-year-old Joel Acevedo.

Later that year, supporters from neighboring cities held a demonstration at the Anaheim police department to show support for the affected communities, resounding the message of “We are all Anaheim.” That day, the rally-turned-march was confronted by militarized police as demonstrators tried to reach Anaheim’s “magical” kingdom. Convoys of militarized police, some hanging off the sides of unmarked police vehicles, blocked off the intersection leading to Disney’s theme parks. It was apparent to families and community members what the city’s interests were, and the resort would be a target for future demonstrations.

Since the slayings, officers Nicholas Bennallack and Kelly Phillips, responsible for the deaths of Diaz and Acevedo respectively, have been cleared of any “criminal culpability” by the Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas.

A civil trial against the city of Anaheim is set to take place on January 21st, 18 months to the day that Manuel Angel Diaz was killed by Anaheim officers. The trial will take place at the Santa Ana Federal Court located on the 700 West block of Civic Center Drive in Santa Ana.