Suicide finding for black man found hanging in California stirs anger

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Police in California on Friday (June 13) said a young black man found hanging from a tree likely committed suicide, stirring outrage among community members who said the authorities were too quick to draw conclusions about what could have been a hate crime.

The reaction to the death of 24-year-old Robert Fuller showed how high tensions around race and policing are running in the United States after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) was still investigating the death of Mr Fuller, who was found by a passer-by hanging from a tree a block from the city hall in Palmdale, around 50km north of Los Angeles, at about 3.40am on Wednesday.

Captain Ron Shaffer told a televised community meeting on Friday that it appeared Mr Fuller "died by suicide".

That comment drew an angry response and chants of "speak the truth" and "no peace", with audience members demanding to know why LASD called it a suicide when the coroner's report said the case had been "deferred pending additional investigation".

On social media, the hashtag #JusticeforRobertFuller trended on Twitter with users calling for a full investigation of what some speculated was a cover-up of a lynching.

Palmdale City Manager JJ Murphy said in a statement on Thursday he received confirmation Mr Fuller's death was a suicide.

He did not give details, but said many people in the community were "suffering extreme mental anguish" during the coronavirus pandemic.

A GoFundMe page set up by Mr Fuller's family to cover funeral expenses had raised more than US$110,000 (S$153,000) by Friday afternoon. A message on it read: "Thank you for standing with us during this difficult time."