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Robert Fuller death: Hundreds protest in Palmdale; city & county officials request probe by State AG

by Anthony Cheval • June 13, 2020

The protest began around 11 a.m. Saturday, June 13, at Palmdale City Hall. [ANTHONY CHEVAL] [Inset: Robert Fuller]
PALMDALE – Hundreds of people gathered in Palmdale Saturday to demand answers in Wednesday’s death of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old black man found hanging from a tree near Palmdale City Hall.

Sheriff’s officials previously said that the death appears to be a suicide, but the investigation is ongoing and they’re waiting for full autopsy results before making a final determination.

Saturday’s protest began around 11 a.m. outside Palmdale City Hall. Fuller’s sister Diamond Alexander told the crowd, “My brother was not suicidal, he wasn’t.” Protestors marched to the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station and back to City Hall before the crowd made its way to the tree in Poncitlan Square where Fuller’s body was found with a rope around his neck just before 4 a.m. on Wednesday, June 10.

Demonstrators chanted, “If we don’t get no justice, then you don’t get no peace!” as they marched east on Palmdale Boulevard to 20th Street East where they were confronted by deputies who ordered them out of the street. Protesters stayed in the street on Palmdale Boulevard, while chanting “Why are you in riot gear? We don’t see no riot here!”

Protesters then marched west on Palmdale Boulevard to Sierra Highway, where officers formed a human barricade and forced the protesters out of the street and back into Poncitlan Square.

Throughout the rally, several protesters stressed the need for an independent investigation into Fuller’s death. Some drew parallels between Fuller’s death and the death of Malcolm Harsch,  a 38-year-old black man who was reportedly found hanging from a tree in Victorville on May 31. Like Fuller’s family, Harsch’s relatives are doubtful he took his own life. [Read more on that story here.]

Palmdale city officials on Saturday called on the state attorney general to investigate Fuller’s death.

“The City of Palmdale is joined by State Senator Scott Wilk, Assemblymember Tom Lackey and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor Chair Kathryn Barger in requesting that the State Attorney General Xavier Becerra step in and oversee an independent and thorough investigation in the death of Robert Fuller,” city officials said in a news release. [View it here]

County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, “The attorney general, as the lead attorney and law enforcement official for the state of California, will lend additional expertise and oversight into this important investigation and provide the community with the answers they deserve.”

Anyone with information about Fuller’s death is urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.

Previous related stories:

Watch: Demand grows for full investigation into death of Robert Fuller in Palmdale

Suspected suicide: Body found hanging from tree in Poncitlan Square, Palmdale issues statement

Protesters marched from City Hall to the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station. [ANTHONY CHEVAL]
The crowd eventually made its way to the tree where Robert Fuller’s body was found with a rope around the neck just before 4 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, in Poncitlan Square, across from City Hall. [ANTHONY CHEVAL]
Residents erected a makeshift memorial around the tree where Fuller’s body was found. [ANTHONY CHEVAL]
Sheriff’s deputies kept protesters at bay, as protesters chanted, “Why are you in riot gear? We don’t see no riot here!” [ANTHONY CHEVAL]
No arrests were made in connection to Saturday’s protest. [ANTHONY CHEVAL]

Filed Under: Crime/ Safety, Home, Palmdale

34 comments for "Robert Fuller death: Hundreds protest in Palmdale; city & county officials request probe by State AG"

  1. PI in Mississauga says

    December 16, 2020 at 8:57 am

    Easy to follow, easy to read…heck I put to leave a commment!

  2. Pallet Town Trainer says

    June 16, 2020 at 11:33 am

    you’re conflating two completely different things.

    and you also ignored the fact that the “investigation” that was conducted found there to be no racial motivations.

  3. Oyuki says

    June 15, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    He probably killed himself and everyone is acting wild about it . Just wait before you go loot and damage properties .These are just opportunists.they are criminals

  4. Mike says

    June 15, 2020 at 2:42 pm

    Your comment is racist.

    • Trumpist#1 says

      June 16, 2020 at 10:24 am

      Mike:

      Get some new [removed] to spread around. People act like animals, you attribute it to racism to excuse and rationalize their lawlessness and inability to catch up to the rest of society and other minorities.

      Your continuous pathetic bleating and braying of “racism, racism, racism” are wearing thin and don’t cut it. Some people are just savage animals and you can’t admit it. White people didn’t own slaves and don’t owe black people sh!t! I call hypocrisy!

  5. Stinger says

    June 14, 2020 at 1:22 pm

    There is no evidence, as yet, to support any conclusion in either case. Thus far, the two cases appear similar only in the method of death, with different implements used in each. Claiming that either man was ‘lynched’ (a legal misnomer, btw) is premature and should not be encouraged by anyone.

    That said, the fact that two men of the same ethnicity have been found in a reasonably close vicinity of each other in less than two weeks – during a period of civil unrest involving said ethnic group – is cause alone to become suspicious and want an extreme amount of detail of evidence to confirm either their separability or inclusion into a larger overall case.

    Spouting claims of any law enforcement entity being involved in these men’s deaths in any way, other than professionally, is premature, inappropriate, inflammatory, and just plain wrong. Wait for the evidence, then decide your course of action, people.

    • Sad World says

      June 15, 2020 at 3:03 am

      Three deaths now. Another black man was found in Manhattan hanging from a tree. Another alleged suicide.

      • Stinger says

        June 16, 2020 at 9:20 am

        There is insufficient evidence provided in that case to be able to draw any firm correlations between these cases.

        Be patient. Wait for the facts. Decide your path.

  6. Me says

    June 14, 2020 at 12:14 pm

    So ridiculous to think the sheriff dept would go around hanging people. I also believe they are being set up.

  7. Next! says

    June 14, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    If they didn’t commit suicide someone killed them to make the police look bad, that’s prob what happened come on!

  8. Riot Gear says

    June 14, 2020 at 10:03 am

    Civil Disobedience can result in a riot and the law has to be prepared. So that’s the answer to that ignorant question,”why are you in riot gear?”. Stay off the streets, they are meant for cars. Pull the required permits to demonstrate. Above all, DO NOT bring attention to yourselves. That is a common denominator to tragedy. Blocking traffic is enough to be Civil Disobedience. And to have X. Becerra oversee the independent investigation no longer makes it independent. Besides, he has blundered some of his cases in court.

  9. KayDee says

    June 14, 2020 at 9:26 am

    Hey remember when those Palmdale teachers were laughing and hold up a NOOSE in the school break room? SMH https://theavtimes.com/2019/05/09/principal-and-teachers-placed-on-leave-over-controversial-photo-at-summerwind-elementary/

    • Alby says

      June 14, 2020 at 10:22 am

      What does That have to do with This?

      • James says

        June 14, 2020 at 10:53 am

        Nothing. But that doesn’t matter to the uneducated.

        • Alby says

          June 14, 2020 at 12:22 pm

          The uneducated did make a big deal out of it.

          • KayDee says

            June 14, 2020 at 1:28 pm

            Wow smfh! If you don’t understand what’s wrong with teachers make light of a noose in this day and age then you part of the problem!!

          • Alby says

            June 14, 2020 at 8:19 pm

            And what are you, the solution? Are you gonna loot and protest over it? Unfortunately, you are ingnorant to the full story of the little fake noose in school and also foolish for adding two different stories together. Its people like you that stir the pot and make the problem bigger than what it is. Its you thats part of the problem. Please stay off the roads while protesting. Quit making your next generation of dreamers look foolish for the U.S. to look down upon.

      • Kino says

        June 14, 2020 at 5:21 pm

        Nothing people just want to make things up cause they get offended for everything .

    • Pallet Town Trainer says

      June 14, 2020 at 10:24 am

      What’s wrong with taking a picture of yourself holding up a noose? From what I recall an investigation was conducted and no racial motives were found. But, let’s just be clear, we’re lambasting women who simply took a picture with a noose. It’s not as though the noose was around a black kid, or a black doll, it wasn’t a drawing of a noose tied around a black person’s neck. It was literally just a noose. Who cares? Why was this a big deal? Why is a noose synonymous with racism against blacks when nooses have been used to hang so many different people? Countless whites have died via noose

      • Mark says

        June 15, 2020 at 8:34 am

        You tell them! If they have a burning cross on their desk, it doesn’t mean it’s raciest! It wasn’t in an African American’s yard!

        • Mark says

          June 15, 2020 at 8:35 am

          sarcasm BTW

    • Mike says

      June 14, 2020 at 6:22 pm

      Let’s face it. Racism does exist in the AV just as it does in all fifty states. It’s a problem this country is either unwilling or incapable of addressing.

      • Trumpist#1 says

        June 16, 2020 at 10:30 am

        Mike:

        Your argument of “racism, racism, racism” as the end all and be all for every problem is getting stale and irrelevant. Get some new arguments to defend and rationalize people acting like lawless savages.

  10. Me. Nuts says

    June 14, 2020 at 7:36 am

    YOU POOR LOSS SOULS IN THE ANTELOPE VALLEY. ALWAYS WANTING A FREE HANDOUT, AND DO NOT WANT TO GET UP IN THE MORNING AND WORK.

  11. Michael says

    June 14, 2020 at 6:15 am

    All these people demanding justice should wait for the investigation to finish before making there own conclusions. Maybe he did hang himself. Its a sad story.

  12. Udnid says

    June 14, 2020 at 1:44 am

    Just have the DOJ investigate or review the Harsch and Fuller cases.

    • Stinger says

      June 14, 2020 at 1:04 pm

      Now, be honest, Udnid… Do you really believe that anyone would trust anything that comes from the Trump/Barr DoJ on this, or anything else, at this point?

      • Lady Liberty says

        June 14, 2020 at 5:59 pm

        Trump/Barr yes. Newsom/Becerra no.

  13. Anonymous says

    June 14, 2020 at 12:45 am

    They found a man hung in a tree in Victorville ca 2 weeks ago. wonder if the same rope was used in both cases maybe they can test both ropes used for dna. Both families should get in contact with each other maybe hire private investigator what I find a coincidence is the man found in victorville was found near a homeless encampment and Robert Fuller was found by Palmdale city hall but years ago i don’t know if it’s still the same but a lot of homeless people would hang out in that area cause it was shaded with grass.

    • James says

      June 14, 2020 at 10:51 am

      All school aged kids need to read the above post. This is why you need to stay in school. Learn how to write sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. Otherwise, people will scroll by your post because it’s just a confusing string of letters that doesn’t make sense.

      As far as the rope DNA, this is ridiculous. Besides the rope being held as evidence and inaccessible to be used again, most rope is made of synthetic materials that doesn’t have DNA.

      • Mike says

        June 14, 2020 at 10:42 pm

        DNA from the person or persons that handled the rope, James.

    • Why? says

      June 16, 2020 at 12:25 pm

      The City now clears out the homeless, new leadership demanded it. Palmdale City Council is anti people unless your Republican.

  14. Murphy says

    June 13, 2020 at 10:51 pm

    This has not been handled very well by Palmdale City at all, who’s in charge?? Is anybody?

  15. Ron says

    June 13, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    Why dont they just wait for an investigation? What if it turns out just to be a suicide? People coming up with all kinds of conspiracy stuff. With no proof at all.

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