Protesters demand arrest of prominent democratic donor Ed Buck after police find second Black man dead in his home
Monday night, protesters swarmed to the home of prominent Los Angeles Democratic donor Ed Buck, to demand his arrest after a Black man was found dead for the second time in 18 months at his West Hollywood apartment.
—Another Black Man is found dead in home of California Democratic donor Ed Buck—
Buck, 60, is a longtime political donor, a former West Hollywood City Council candidate and a well-known figure in LGBT political circles in Southern California, the Daily Mail reports.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies’ responded to Bucks’ apartment complex Monday to respond to a report of a person not breathing, the department said in a statement.
Some 100 or so demonstrators protested outside of Buck’s home to call attention to the death of a Black man in his 50s who was at Buck’s home with him.
Police questioned Buck but no arrest was made.
Buck previously was investigated for the 2017 overdose death of another Black man named Gemmel Moore. More reportedly died of a crystal meth overdose and the case was closed by the Los Angeles District Attorney due to insufficient evidence to prosecute.
The Daily Mail reported that Jasmyne Cannick, a public affairs strategist who worked with Moore’s family, said Buck baits Black men with the promise of cash and then injects them with drugs for his own sexual gratification.
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Cannick said the DA and Sheriff’s Department “have blood on their hands” for what she said was their failure to investigate the deaths properly.
“This was preventable. We knew he hadn’t stopped, that it was only a matter of time before this happened again. And now it’s only a matter of time before it happens a third time if he’s not stopped,” she said.
Buck was present for the deaths of both men, the Sheriff’s Department said Monday. Buck’s attorney, Seymour Amster, said Buck was cooperating with investigators.
The Advocate has reported on numerous young gay Black men in L.A. who allege that Buck has a fetish for shooting drugs into Black men he picks up off the street or on hookup sites.
Moore had reportedly written about Buck injecting him with dangerous drugs before his death.
This is a developing story.
