The clash at MacArthur Park started after 6 p.m. when police tried to disperse demonstrators who had moved off the sidewalk onto the street. Authorities said several of the few thousand people still at the rally threw rocks and bottles at officers, who fired rubber bullets and used batons to push the crowd back onto the sidewalk.
So we not only have people who wish to disobey the police order to stay on the sidewalk but several others choose to throw rocks and bottles at the police. These people have gone from active resisters to assailants and as their actions escalate it should be expected that the response of the police would escalate also. The officers appeared to have reacted appropriately considering the disobedience to lawful police orders and the attack by "peaceful" protesters against the police.
Several people, including about a dozen officers, were hurt.
About 10 people were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries including cuts, authorities said. None of the injuries was believed to be serious.
So we find out that 10 people were injured along with a dozen policemen and none of the non-police injuries were serious. But we have this outrage from Bratton, why?
"Our national anchor was being pushed by the batons," Marcia Garcia, a reporter for Spanish-language Telemundo 52, told KCAL-TV. "Our TV set was destroyed - monitors, cables, everything on the ground; it was like a surrealistic nightmare."
The media.......need we say more. They got the in the way and their equipment was damaged and their egos were bruised. The media will run this story for their benefit and the politicians will be wringing their hands for pure political gain.
With Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa away on a trade mission, City Council President Eric Garcetti spoke to viewers in English and Spanish, stressing the duty to protect the people's right to assemble and for "a free and unencumbered news media."
Hey Asshole!!!! This isn't a 1st amendment issue its a law and order issue. Stop placating a group that are here illegally in the first place and stop accusing the police of encumbering the news media.
6 comments:
The Media tell one side of a story only - the one that sells headlines, whether it's true or not. To hell with them.
As for Bratton - that sucks. But as you said, it's typical of top city police bosses.
Be safe out there, Sarge.
Due to pressure to keep Chicago’s bond rating from falling and to keep Chicago as a viable US 2016 Olympic contender the CPD began misclassifying homicides as noncriminal deaths to lower the overall murder rate. http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_122213932.html
May 2, 2007 10:39 pm US/Central
Police Admit Some Homicides Are Misclassified
But Cops Say They Were Not Intentionally Hiding Homicides
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070502cop-trialmay02,1,924484.story?coll=chi-newsroom-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
Cop accused of robbing drug dealers
Advertisement
By Jeff Coen
Tribune staff reporter
May 2, 2007, 9:53 PM CDT
Sarge, I like ya and I'm normally in agreement, but Bratton didn't throw nobody under the bus yet, and I hope he doesn't either.
Nevertheless, by the accounts... 240 or more rubber bullets fired at a crowd of thousands to suppress the activities of a few dozen agitators (perhaps as many as 100).
The problem here was not that action was taken against the agitators. The problem was that the action taken also presented an adverse and unnecessary danger to numerous others. The numerous others included reporters, but also included women, children, the elderly.
So the question becomes, what is Bratton supposed to do? Tell people that the police will shoot rubber bullets into any crowd if someone in the crowd is agitating?
I don't care to suggest what I would have done as I wasn't there. But if Bratton doesn't acknowledge that this appears to be reckless, LA is gonna throw him and the whole department back under the bus.
So why not just say that its something they need to look at because it looks like there should have been better ways to deal with the problem? Its not suspending anyone, not accusing anyone of misconduct, not really doing anything crazy.
Its just saying that there is a problem with shooting rubber bullets into a crowd of thousands when you are only aiming for a few dozen.
I'm gonna be real surprised if you don't agree that this was a problem.
if they are Mexican nationals, wouldn't that be an act of war??
3:01 again here.
According to the media reports now, Bratton reassigned 60 or so officers involved... all from a single elite platoon of LA coppers. No individual suspensions without pay or anything like that (yet). Just a re-assignment from street duties. Still looks legit to me, and I hope nobody gets charged with anything if there is not evidence of specific malice. But how do 60 officers jointly act in this manner with improper intent? I don't think that flies with common sense.
On the other hand, he just demoted two of his top bosses who commanded the overall bureau. And his statement on CNN was something like "leadership begins at the top, and if something went wrong, than thats where it went wrong first".
Can anyone even imagine Cline or any of the other brass in Chicago doing this? With the volume and history of misconduct in Chicago, the entire brass would turn over in a year.
And that would probably not be a bad thing.
Post a Comment