‘Release his name,’ Black and Latino organizers demand identity of ICE agent who killed Keith Porter

On Tuesday, January 13, almost two weeks after the killing of 43-year-old Keith Porter, dozens of community members and social justice organizers stood in front of the Los Angeles Police Commission to demand the identification of the off-duty ICE officer who shot Porter on New Year's Eve. 

“I implore you all here today to work and use the power of your positions to help [our] family seek justice,” Jsané Tyler, Porter’s cousin, said as she addressed the commissioners who serve as the head of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). 

Tyler, who is also a community organizer and activist, said the death of her cousin at the hands of an ICE agent has left many questions unanswered and justice unserved.

“When is there going to be value placed on our lives? As an activist, as an organizer, I never thought I would be standing here for one of my family members,” Tyler said, crying. 

LAPD officers responded to the shooting that occurred in Northridge at around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 and when they arrived, they discovered Porter was suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was later learned that Porter had been shot by his neighbor, an ICE agent who lived in the same apartment complex and who left his apartment to investigate the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying the agent "bravely responded to an active shooter situation.”

Porter’s family says he was not an active shooter and instead just shot his weapon into the air to celebrate the new year, a tradition considered common throughout certain parts of L.A.

“He was shot as he was waiting for his girlfriend to come with food so they could celebrate together the new year,” Tyler said on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, dozens of people filled the five-member commission meeting, the majority of them giving public comments on Porter’s killing. Activists part of local social justice organizations, including Black Lives Matter, Los Angeles, Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, and Centro CSO,among others, are demanding that the federal agent be identified, arrested and charged. 

The public comment section of the meeting was cut short and not everyone who had signed up was able to address the commissioners. 

“You allowed LAPD to call [Porter] a suspect; he is a victim and to call him an active shooter—the shooter was the ICE agent that killed him,” Melina Abdullah, co-Founder of Black Lives Matter–Los Angeles, said to the commissioners. 

According to Porter's family, LAPD has failed to hold the ICE agent accountable and properly handle the investigation. Tyler said the ICE agent was never told to surrender his gun or given any type of sobriety test.

“We don't know what kind of drugs or alcohol he was on. He was never taken down for proper interrogation,” she said. 

Last Saturday, January 10, family members organized a candlelight vigil in Carson, where Porter was raised, where community members and organizers also asked for a transparent and timely investigation. 

Michael Williams from Black Lives Matter LA said many community members have lost faith in the oversight body of the LAPD when it comes to ICE agents and operations. 

“You all have been complicit with ICE,” he said. “We don’t come here because we expect you all to do anything. We come here because there is no better example of how ineffective, cruel, careless and corrupt the City of L.A. is than the LAPD commission, and if you think I’m wrong, then prove me wrong,” Williams said in reference to the possible LAPD persecution of the ICE agent. 

On Wednesday, Porter's family and community organizers will hold a protest outside the Hall of Justice in Downtown L.A.

Michelle Zacarias contributed to the reporting of this story.