Hanging death of Black man in California park ruled suicide

The death of a Black man found hanging from a tree in a Southern California city park last month was ruled a suicide Thursday following a police investigation prompted by outrage from the family who said authorities initially were too quick to rule out the possibility he was lynched. The manner of 24-year-old Robert Fuller’s death on June 10 in Palmdale intensified the racial angst that already was at a boiling point following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Family members said they couldn’t imagine Fuller taking his own life and community activities noted the Antelope Valley area north of Los Angeles where the death occurred has a history of racist incidents.