Hanging deaths of two black men investigated

Pressure leads to autopsies on bodies as first step in investigations

Officials in Los Angeles County said on Monday that an investigation is pending into the cause of death of a young black man who was found hanging from a tree last week near City Hall in Palmdale, California.

"The initial report appeared to be consistent with a suicide. We feel it prudent to roll that back and continue to look deeper, which is why currently, officially, the case is still deferred and under investigation," said Jonathan Lucas, the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner, in a news conference.

Attention has also turned to the case of another African American whose body was also found hanging from a tree in California.

Following the death of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man who was shot by a police during an arrest early this month, the sustained focus on violence against black people in the United States has set off protests around the world, prompting African countries to lobby for a United Nations inquiry to be set up into systemic racism and police brutality in the US and elsewhere, Reuters reported.

In the Palmdale case, paramedics in the small city an hour's drive north of Hollywood were called out at 3:36 am on Wednesday. Responding to a possible emergency, they found Robert Fuller, 24, hanging from the tree in a city park.

Lucas said a full autopsy on Fuller was performed on Friday. However, an independent assessment on the manner and cause of the death couldn't be made until toxicology results came in and after officials examined Fuller's medical history.

Fuller's case brought renewed attention to the death of Malcolm Harsch, a 38-year-old black man who was found hanged from a tree near a homeless encampment on May 31 in Victorville, about 80 kilometers east of Palmdale. Authorities said a thorough investigation conducted at the scene found no evidence to suggest foul play.

Suspecting a possible connection to the Fuller case, officials requested an autopsy of Harsch's body that was conducted on Friday. "Although there remains no sign of foul play, the forensic pathologist is waiting for toxicology results before assigning the cause and manner of death," local law enforcement said in a statement.

Captain Kent Wegener of the county sheriff's department homicide division said officers will try to identify surveillance and home videos that could have captured the hanging of Fuller, in addition to interviewing family members and any witnesses.

Authorities will also contact Fuller's case worker from the social services department, though they didn't give a reason why Fuller had a case worker.

Fuller's death sparked protests from family and community members who said authorities had failed to conduct thorough investigations before rushing to label both deaths as suicides.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered outside Palmdale City Hall and the park where Fuller was found hanged to mourn him and call for a thorough investigation into his death.

Protests continuing

"Everything that they've been telling us has not been right," said his sister, Diamond Alexander, in a video showed on Saturday at the Palmdale rally.

A GoFundMe campaign set up by Fuller's family to raise funds for his funeral has collected more than $210,000 in three days.

Protesters continued to gather in Palmdale on Monday to demand justice for Fuller.

Residents brought up questions about racism and Fuller's death during a virtual town hall meeting organized by law enforcement agents on Monday afternoon for area residents.

A community member who identified herself as Amanda Sullivan said during a call-in that she was concerned that there have been two hangings of black men, 80 km apart, in two weeks.

"As a white woman, I'm ashamed of the police here, too," she said, adding that she wants to know what is being done to quell the fear that has struck at the heart of minority communities in the area.

Officials in Palmdale issued a statement on Saturday supporting the call for an independent investigation and independent autopsy on Fuller's body.

Regarding the push by African countries for an inquiry into systemic racism, the text of a draft resolution voices alarm at "recent incidents of police brutality against peaceful demonstrators defending the rights of Africans and of people of African descent". The draft resolution has been circulating among diplomats in Geneva.

The 47-member UN Human Rights Council agreed on Tuesday to convene at the request of Burkina Faso on behalf of African countries after the death of George Floyd. His death has ignited the protests worldwide.

In another development, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Monday urged the US to make immediate structural reforms to end racial discrimination and to uphold its obligations under international conventions.

Xinhua contributed to this story.