Anaheim councilwoman is asked to resign after shooting comments

An Anaheim councilwoman is under growing pressure to resign following her online remarks that a fatal police shooting of a 21-year-old man had “saved us a trial.”

Lucille Kring, who now is running for mayor of Orange County’s largest city, quickly apologized for her remarks, but some residents pushing for her resignation said it was too late.

Robert Moreno Jr., 21 was fatally shot last Thursday by officers following a police chase. Authorities said Moreno had fired at officers and injured a police dog, Bruno.

“The shooting saved us a trial. Always a good outcome,” Councilwoman Lucille Kring wrote on an online thread for residents of the city’s Colony District.

The fatal police shooting, as well as Kring’s remarks, drew dozens of residents to the Anaheim council meeting Tuesday. The relationship between police and residents in the city’s dense central neighborhoods has been a hot-button issue for several years.

Donna Acevedo, whose son Joel Acevedo was shot in an officer-involved shooting in July 2012 that fueled days of protests, said she didn’t care whether Kring retracted the statements because they reflected how she really felt.

“You have no business whatsoever running for mayor, you should step down from where you’re sitting,” said Acevedo, who is also running for a seat on the City Council. “You don’t represent the city, you don’t care about people.”

Kring remained still and looked on as several people spoke out against her.

Genevieve Huizar, who recently lost a wrongful death lawsuit for the officer-involved shooting of her son Manuel Diaz, called Kring’s statements sickening.

“Lucille, apology not accepted,” Huizar said. “How dare you? How dare you?”

Moreno was shot after two Orange County probation officers went to a home in the 1100 block of Mayfair Avenue. The suspect they were looking for was with two men who ran when the officers approached, authorities said.

One of the men fired at officers multiple times, said Anaheim police Lt. Tim Schmidt..

During a subsequent search, Bruno found Moreno hiding near a trash can. The suspect then fired on officers and Bruno, striking the dog in the face. The officers returned fire and killed Moreno, authorities said.

On Tuesday night, a soft drink can and a water bottle were filled with pink roses at the driveway where Moreno was shot.

Jennifer Garcia, 25, who lives nearby, said a lot of the attention had been focused on Bruno the police dog and very little on Moreno.

“Everybody can easily judge [Moreno] but honestly they never knew who he was,” Garcia said. “He deserves justice as much as the dog does.”

[For the Record 6:25 p.m. PST March. 26: An earlier version of this post said Robert Moreno Jr., was 22 years old, he is 21.]

adolfo.flores@latimes.com

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