Samoan Students Protest Shootings by Officer

Samoan students at El Camino College in Carson took part in a rally Monday to protest the Feb. 12 shooting deaths of a college football player and his older brother by a Compton police officer who was called to their home to investigate a domestic dispute.

The deaths of Pouvi Tualaulelei, 34, and Italia Tualaulelei, 22, a linebacker on the college football team, have sparked cries of protest from the Southland’s Samoan community, which is expected to stage a demonstration this morning outside Compton City Hall.

Compton police have acknowledged that the Tualaulelei brothers were unarmed, but said they attacked the officer and tried to take his gun. The elder brother’s wife called police to report that her husband had beaten her. An autopsy report showed that the two men were shot 20 times, with several shots hitting them in the back.