The video is starting to roll in, and the whole world is watching. Mayday in MacArthur Park wont go down as one of our finest moments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFdNkXJMH9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9hS0ZhpFPA
Throwing rocks at the police isn't a wise idea either.
Wow, LAPD has a nice history with this sort of thing. Didnt they learn their lesson the first time?
You know, when I see stuff like that it makes me want to throw rocks at the friggin police too! They are there to protect the innocent not brutalize them if they happen to get in the way.
quote:
Originally posted by TheArtist
You know, when I see stuff like that it makes me want to throw rocks at the friggin police too! They are there to protect the innocent not brutalize them if they happen to get in the way.
Man I felt exactly the same way. When I was a kid my Mom and Dad taught me to be respectful of police officers. They were the good guys. It used to be that they were to "Serve and Protect.
I am certain the majority are fine people who joined the department to make a positive difference in the lives of the citizens in their community. Too often now some are just thugs
Unfortunately, a small handful of people failed to follow the rules and the police over reacted by being harsh to EVERYONE - including journalists on the scene. No matter the actions of a few, the police proceeded to screw up royally.
The police have a difficult job. But they are well compensated for this job and heavily trained to deal with these situations. They did not do so in the correct fashion.
The question with too many people who decide to be cops isnt whether they will carry a gun when they grow up, simply what side of the law they will be on.
quote:
Originally posted by RLitterell
quote:
Originally posted by TheArtist
You know, when I see stuff like that it makes me want to throw rocks at the friggin police too! They are there to protect the innocent not brutalize them if they happen to get in the way.
Man I felt exactly the same way. When I was a kid my Mom and Dad taught me to be respectful of police officers. They were the good guys. It used to be that they were to "Serve and Protect.
I am certain the majority are fine people who joined the department to make a positive difference in the lives of the citizens in their community. Too often now some are just thugs
You'd have had a field day with the New Orleans PD!
LOS ANGELES, CA (CNS) -- A lack of command and control of Los Angeles police officers contending with a small group of ''agitators'' escalated into the violence that marred a May Day immigration rights rally at MacArthur Park, according to a preliminary police report released.
http://www.knx1070.com/pages/518595.php?contentType=4&contentId=554881
Many of the officers were unable to identify their incident commander, and the order to fire foam-rubber bullets came from a commander stationed several blocks away, LAPD Chief William Bratton told the Police Commission.
''Based on the preliminary findings, I believe that the main reason for the department's controversial actions and large use of force in response to an environment of rock and bottle assaults on our officers by a small group of agitators ... was quite simply a command and control breakdown,'' Bratton said.
Authorities say 146 non-lethal projectiles were fired during the fracas, which left seven officers and at least 35 people, including journalists, injured. More than 500 officers were deployed in and around the park.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa praised the preliminary findings as ''a good start'' and that he hopes the investigation continues to be ''open and transparent.''
''The vast majority of the participants were gathered peacefully to exercise their First Amendment rights,'' Villaraigosa said. ''Where the evidence shows that law enforcement was wrong, we will work aggressively to make it right.''
A PowerPoint presentation led by LAPD Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell highlighted the nearly two-hour discussion.
The City Council is scheduled to review the report tomorrow, but Councilman Jack Weiss attended the presentation to get a first-hand look.
''The fog of war is a constant, not just in the military, but in the police, so it's understandable that there was confusion,'' said Weiss, chair of the council's Public Safety Committee. ''The job with command and control is you get a hold of that confusion and direct people in an orderly fashion and manner.''
Park surveillance cameras showed Deputy Chief Cayler ''Lee'' Carter walking through MacArthur Park at 6:09 p.m., about 12 minutes before officers received orders to fire ''less than lethal'' rounds.
The order, however, came from another commander, Lt. Tom McDonald, stationed at an LAPD command post at Commonwealth Avenue and Sixth Street, according to McDonnell.
Carter, McDonald, Cmdr. Louis Gray and Capt. John Egan, commanding officer of the Rampart Division, comprised the command staff charged with overseeing the event from the command post.
Carter was demoted and placed on home assignment on May 8, and resigned from the department last week. Gray, who was second in command at the park, was reassigned to the Office of the Chief of Operations.
Bratton said today that he plans to make more personnel shifts in the coming weeks.
''Our entire commission is deeply, deeply concerned about this incident,'' Police Commission President John Mack said. ''In instances where individuals have been found to have crossed the line and operated outside policy, they will be held accountable.''
It remained unclear why officers were unable to contain some 20 to 30 so- called ''agitators'' who worked up other demonstrators into a frenzy, McDonnell said.
''While the vast majority of this crowd was made up of peaceful individuals exercising their First Amendment rights, a group of agitators verbally assaulted the officers,'' he said.
The first set of marchers reached the intersection of Seventh and Alvarado streets around 4:25 p.m. on May 1, when the only incident of any significance was a man who refused to climb down from a traffic light pole as he recorded the demonstration, according to McDonnell.
The demonstration flowed along peacefully for about another 35 minutes, until officers tried to clear demonstrators from Alvarado Street so it could be reopened to vehicles.
About 5 p.m., someone threw a plastic bottle at an officer, leading to a skirmish between demonstrators and two rows of officers who advanced on foot, bicycles and motorcycles.
A group of masked ''agitators'' then yelled at officers and began throwing food, rocks and more plastic bottles, some filled with frozen water or sand, McDonnell said.
At the same time, three men pulled an officer from his motorcycle along Alvarado Street, injuring the officer's back and chest.
Event organizers used an LAPD vehicle equipped with speakers to urge demonstrators to go back to the park by 5:45 p.m. and managed to clear the area within five minutes.
But just before 6 p.m., a group of about 20 agitators ran through the park toward Alvarado Street, encouraging other people to follow them, authorities said.
''It looks like they're inciting everybody else,'' an unidentified officer said on the radio.
Officers returned to Alvarado Street, where some demonstrators began throwing objects at police again. That was when the commanding officers met with supervisors from the LAPD's elite Metropolitan Division to discuss how to deal with the problem.
Just after 6 p.m., McDonald requested that the event be declared an unlawful assembly because the demonstration had turned violent.
A police helicopter flew over the park 15 minutes later, giving orders in English for the mostly Spanish-speaking crowd to leave the park. At the same time, video footage showed three officers striking a man with a baton.
As the scuffle between demonstrators and police intensified, McDonald gave the order for officers to prepare to fire the non-lethal weapons at 6:21 p.m., McDonnell said.
''Rocks and bottles are continuing,'' an officer said on his radio. ''We have to push.''
Just before 6:30 p.m., Metropolitan Division officers clad in riot gear swept through the park to clear out demonstrators, reporters and anyone else in their path, while other officers continued to advance and keep demonstrators walking several blocks away to the intersection of Sixth Street and Lafayette Park.
At the end of the demonstration, five people were arrested and at least 42 were injured.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing some 9,500 LAPD officers, recommended a series of command, control and training changes in the wake of the disturbance at MacArthur Park.
''The May 1 incident revealed the downside of the department's cost- based decision over the past several years to abandon introductory training for new Metropolitan Division officers, and to not train all officers for large tactical situations,'' the LAPPL said in a statement. ''Moving forward, the LAPD leadership also needs to evaluate the training of command staff to respond to large demonstrations.''
If they had their butts back across the border where they need to be, this wouldn't be an issue.
These "illegal" immigrants don't want to be Americans. All they want to be is Mexicans living on US soil where they can reap the wealth that our governmental system feeds them.
Send them home with a boot up there butt.
quote:
Originally posted by Porky
Send them home with a boot up there butt.
Better yet, send them home with a rifle and a ballot.
If you substitute the word "Illegals" for "Jews" or "Ni@@ers" you can see what a slippery slope this sort of rationalization could become.
Regardless of what we think of the victim's nationality or politics or skin color, there is simply no excuse for a free society to loose
control of it's police department the way LA did.
When you also consider that these people train our police, we shouldnt be so quick to dismiss what could be a warning flag.
quote:
Originally posted by patric
If you substitute the word "Illegals" for "Jews" or "Ni@@ers" you can see what a slippery slope this sort of rationalization could become.
Regardless of what we think of the victim's nationality or politics or skin color, there is simply no excuse for a free society to loose
control of it's police department the way LA did.
When you also consider that these people train our police, we shouldnt be so quick to dismiss what could be a warning flag.
The bright lights have affected your brain.....
quote:
Originally posted by Breadburner
The bright lights have affected your brain.....
He's shining a bright light on something, all right. But
he's not the one that's acting crazy.
quote:
Originally posted by patric
Regardless of what we think of the victim's nationality or politics or skin color, there is simply no excuse for a free society to loose
control of it's police department the way LA did.
I haven't heard anyone saying that they don't like Mexicans or etc. The problem is there are some Mexicans here illegally and there is no excuse for allowing this to continue.
If people want to protest for illegals to be accepted and do their protest in a manner where it is disruptive for Police to control, then they need their butts kicked and hard enough to kick them back across that border.
quote:
Originally posted by Porky
quote:
Originally posted by patric
Regardless of what we think of the victim's nationality or politics or skin color, there is simply no excuse for a free society to loose
control of it's police department the way LA did.
I haven't heard anyone saying that they don't like Mexicans or etc. The problem is there are some Mexicans here illegally and there is no excuse for allowing this to continue.
If people want to protest for illegals to be accepted and do their protest in a manner where it is disruptive for Police to control, then they need their butts kicked and hard enough to kick them back across that border.
Porky; if that were ever going to be something that would work..? they should have begun oh... around 40 years ago.
What I do see on the horizon that is frightening
is the
real potential... in many areas.. for something similar to Watts... in the 60's and the Crenshaw District... in the 90's.
I would like to think we have progressed some since then..
That as a Nation we have not just changed the color we make feel powerless.
quote:
Originally posted by Porky
I haven't heard anyone saying that they don't like Mexicans or etc. The problem is there are some Mexicans here illegally and there is no excuse for allowing this to continue.
When some malcontent throws a plastic bottle at a cop, you deal with it at that level. Instead they rioted, clubbing journalists and families with kids enjoying a peaceful May Day celebration.
The absence or presence of illegal aliens should not be a rationalization to justify a complete breakdown of discipline in one of the largest police departments in the U.S.
This should have never happened in America.