Riot Police Break Up SoCal Immigration Rally

[Purveyor]

Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/13239006/detail.html

Riot police were called to a MacArthur Park near downtown and fired rubber bullets at a crowd, officials said.

The incident was caught on tape by several media organizations.

Numerous officers were deployed to the area at dusk.

---
Police used batons to push several people who had spilled into the street back onto the sidewalk.

Read more: NBC Sandiego

[Purveyor]

1. More reports for the LA Times...

Tuesday's protests were generally peaceful most of the day, but the calm was broken by run-ins between police and demonstrators during an evening rally in MacArthur Park.

Just after 6 p.m., some of the few thousand participants still in the park started throwing plastic bottles and rocks at police, said Mike Lopez, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. Then, several dozen riot police, clad in helmets and carrying batons, started clearing the park, firing a few dozen volleys of rubber bullets into the crowd. No one appeared to be hit. A reporter saw at least three people struck by police batons.

Several marchers and police officers were injured, Lopez said, adding that arrests were made but it was not known how many.

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One of those at the scene, Hamid Khan, executive director of the South Asian Network, termed the police action "absolutely an atrocity" and said officers "overreacted." The police action had cut short several speeches, he said, as people left when the confrontation began.

A police car blazing its lights about 6:50 p.m. -- still well before nightfall -- was bombarded by bottles and clothes as it passed. The line of police fired several volleys of the 37-millimeter to 40-millimeter "less-lethal munitions" from wide-barreled launchers resembling shotguns. People started running, while also throwing things -- from plastic bottles to palm fronds -- at Metro buses. One took a piece of wood and hit a bus.

[Tekla West]

3. I marched today

a gringo, in Santa Rosa. The crowd was nice, well humored, but the cops were - as per usual here - a bit overpresent. Can't imagine what they were like in LA. Not exactly a reputation for good behavior.

[goclark]

4. Right you are ~ the police in that area are known for

their unkind treatment of others.

[Tom Joad]

2. Ruben Salazar, Presente!

[EFerrari]

5. I've been working another side of the street and didn't see this.

:(

[emlev]

6. More info, from the National Immigrant Solidarity Network

May 1, 2007 10:00 PM PST

National Immigrant Solidarity Network and Action LA is outraged to learn that at about 6:30 PM, May 1, the LAPD fired rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds of hundreds of people at the May Day rally in McArthur Park. This was after the police had declared an unlawful assembly. Most of the people present did not hear or know about the police declaration..

The LAPD failed to act professionally and demonstrate restraint when it used excess force against a peaceful rally of families which included mothers, babies and young children. The LAPD lacked recognition of the consequences of it's actions.

Shame on the LAPD for failing to careful think before using brutal force to attack peaceful marchers.

We are calling community members, civil leaders to Immediately call LAPD chief William Bratton, and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa office, to demand the following:


1) An immediate independent police investigation of the May Day incident at McArthur Park, and demand officers who violated the police guidelines be punished.

2) The immediate and full disclosure from LAPD of any people arrested and detained, we further demand that the LAPD not act as immigrant agents to enforce Federal immigrant law. Due-process of any detainees must be respected.

We encourage anyone if you have information about the May Day McArthur Park incident, please contact us: [phone] or e-mail: [e-mail]

We'll issue another detail statement soon and your support is highly appreciated.

Lee Siu Hin
National Coordinator
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
ActionLA Coalition


LAPD Hotline:
Toll Free (1-877-275-5273)
Spanish Line (Español)
213-928-8222

LA Mayor's Office:
213/978-0600

National Immigrant Solidarity Network
No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!
webpage: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org
e-mail: [e-mail]
New York: [phone]
Los Angeles: [phone]
Washington D.C.: [phone]

[emlev]

7. More, now on BRADBLOG

At this link.

[kster]

8. KNR... nt

[maddezmom]

9. Kick

[Heidi]

10. Kick.

:kick:

[BradBlog]

11. BREAKING: Police Fire Rubber Bullets, Tear Gas into Crowd at Los Angeles Immigration Rally

Source: BRAD BLOG



BREAKING: Police Fire Rubber Bullets, Tear Gas into Crowd at Los Angeles Immigration Rally
LAPD Chief Claims 'Elements of the Crowd' Threw Projectiles at Police in Riot Gear, News Reports Say the Rally Had Been Peaceful
National Coordinators Call for Independent Investigation, Further Information from Those at McArthur Park Rally...

Officers in riot gear from the Los Angeles Police Department fired rubber bullets and used tear gas to disperse a "crowd of hundreds" gathered at a local park for a previously peaceful May Day immigration rally.

National rally coordinators are protesting the action and have sent us a statement via email asking citizens to call on LAPD Chief William Bratton and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to demand an independent investigation into the "May Day incident at McArthur Park". They are also seeking information from anyone in the crowd at McArthur Park in Los Angeles during the incident. The statement, sent from Lee Sui Hin, National Coordinator from the National Immigrant Solidarity Network/Action LA Coalition, is posted in full at the end of this article.

NBC 4 is reporting that Bratton is claiming "15 officers were hit by missiles that were thrown at them by 'certain elements of the crowd ... who we don't believe were representative' of most of those who were there...While he spoke, a person could be heard declaring, 'That's not true.'" ...

FULL REPORT: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4498

Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4498

[emlev]

12. kick

[roody]

13. Cops terrorize Mayday protestors

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/05/197818.php

[Barrett808]

14. k & r

[skooooo]

15. I left a cake in McArthur Park once...

it got soggy.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. Dammit!

You beat me to it.

I was gonna say, "I told them not to leave that cake out in the rain".

Sigh.

[LiberalFighter]

17. Police did more than just batons

They were very brutal in this situation.

I don't trust any police officer that grabs a camera man's video camera and throws it to the ground. That to me IS an attempt to prevent their actions from being criticized.

Number 1 requirement in any police code of conduct should require the immediate termination of any officer guilty of illegal destruction of media property.

[Zhade]

18. Gee, the cops used fascist tactics? How...normal.

I wonder how many people had drugs planted on them this time.

[emlev]

19. New Video now on BRAD BLOG

This shows quite a lot more of what happened than anything else I've seen. Disturbing.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4502

[entanglement]

20. The NBC article claims "no injuries" - but the slideshow has a photo of an injured man

???