Unarmed man shot over 30 times in yet another US police brutality

Police excesses against blacks in the US made the headlines once again as the lawkeepers in California shot more than 30 times into a packed vehicle in the parking lot of a shopping centre, killing a 26-year-old man and injuring a young woman.

The tragic incident happened on April 5 morning in Barstow, around 115 miles from Los Angeles, and the victim was identified as Diante Yarber, a father of three.

Yarber, who was believed to be unarmed and was driving his cousin and friends to a local shopping centre, was accused by the police of "wanted for questioning" in a stolen car case. They said the man "accelerated" towards the officers when they asked him to stop. Yarber's family and lawyer refuted the charges saying neither were he threatening nor did he do anything to be a suspect.

Yarber's family held the police accountable for the killing.

The latest incident happened just weeks after the murder of Stephon Clark, another unarmed black who was shot dead by the police while standing in his family's backyard. Clark was also killed in California - in the northern side.

The killings of Clark and Yarber showed the police's continued aggression against members of the black communities - even in a liberal state like California where movements like Black Lives Matter have long protested against police brutality.

Police sources said the officers were trying to stop Yarber while responding to a "call of a suspicious vehicle" and attempting to stop Yarber. He then reportedly went backwards and hit another car and accelerated. It was then the police shot several rounds at the car.

Attorney of Yarber's family Lee Merritt said the man was not armed and neither did his car pose any threat to the police officers. He said the use of force by firing indiscriminately at the car was "irresponsible, dangerous, mind-boggling".