A police officer who mistakenly shot a 14-year-old girl dead as she hid in the dressing room of a Burlington store is a veteran cop who advocated for the Black Lives Matter movement, it has been revealed.
William Dorsey Jones Jr, 42, who served in the Los Angeles Police Department for more than a decade, fatally shot Valentina Orellana-Peralta on December 23, his lawyer told The New York Times.
Jones’ social media pages and website show that he backed Black Lives Matter and pushed for change within the police department.
‘I’m a black man, I’m the father of a black son, I’ve been the vict(im) of racism,’ Jones reportedly wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted.
‘I’m the LAPD. I have the power & determination to affect CHANGE in the community. I’m a proud member of the #thinblueline & #blacklivesmatter.’
Police body cam footage released on Monday showed a suspect, Daniel Elena-Lopez, 24, entering the store in North Hollywood, California, appearing to later have a different outfit and swinging his bike lock and chain at some female customers.
A cop could be heard firing three bullets at the suspect, who falls to the ground. More footage shows a woman on the ground covered in blood.
Jones has been placed on administrative leave. He said he is ‘absolutely devastated’ by the teenage girl’s death.
In 2019, Jones reportedly started a clothing line called Use of Force Fitness but shuttered it as tensions between police and people of color escalated in 2020.
He also apparently started a nonprofit named Officers for Change, which handed out donated backpacks and school supplies from cops to at-risk youth.
Jones initially pursued a career in entertainment but then went into law enforcement. He was a patrol officer for eight years and a community relations officer for three years.
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