LAPD Acts Against Elite Police Squad

Associated Press and CBS ^ | May 7, 2007

[bd476]

LAPD Acts Against Elite Police Squad

Los Angeles Police Chief Says Elite Officers In May Day Melee Off The Street, Will Face Consequences

LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2007


This video image provided by KVEA/Telemundo
shows KCAL cameraman Carl Stein on the ground
during a police response during an immigrants
rights rally, Tuesday May 1, 2007, in Los Angeles.
(AP Photo/KVEA/Telemundo)

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(AP) Police Chief William Bratton said Sunday that up to 60 members of an elite squad that swarmed into a park and fired rubber bullets during a May Day immigration rally are no longer on the street.

Bratton said he spent the weekend viewing video of the MacArthur Park incident and he said LAPD failures were widespread with officers from the top on down culpable.

"I'm not going to defend the indefensible," Bratton told journalists groups during a meeting at a television studio in Hollywood. "Things were done that shouldn't have been done."

Journalists were among those roughed up as Metropolitan Division's B Platoon moved through MacArthur and fired 148 rubber bullets to break up what had been a peaceful and lawful immigration rally.

Police said they moved in after rocks and bottles were thrown at them by 30 to 40 agitators, he said.

The Metropolitan Division is the city's premier police squad, made up of experienced officers who have extensive training in crowd control.

Bratton said up to 60 members of the Metro's B Platoon are no longer in the field. Additionally, he said, some officers will "in all likelihood" not return to the Metropolitan Division.

"Some of this will be career-impacting," Bratton said, adding that imposition of permanent discipline will await completion of the Police Department investigation.

Journalist organizations asked why officers ignored LAPD policies toward the news media worked out after reporters were assaulted during the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

A 2002 agreement called for designation of a safe spot for reporters covering news events. LAPD spokeswoman Mary Grady acknowledged reporters were not given "a designated safe spot" at MacArthur Park.

"There appears to have been here a failure to communicate," Press Photographers Association local president John McCoy said.

[LeoWindhorse]

they should give them all a medal !.....

[ozzymandus]

How dare they enforce the law!! And against harmless illegal aliens merely doing the rioting Americans refuse to do!

[skimask]

All Bratton wants is the Mayors job. He’s buying votes on the backs of good cops. Let’s see how low morale gets on the LAPD. He just might get fired before he has a chance to run for mayor.

[endthematrix]

Re: Metropolitan Division is the city’s premier police squad, made up of experienced officers who have extensive training in crowd control.

Well they did get the job done! Next time we’ll hear of the terrible job of the inexperienced untrained and ordinary cops performing crowd control duties.

[endthematrix]

And there are many new to LAPD. Plenty of cops got tossed out when they were found dealing coke and other things. So to demean a new force isn’t gonna be good to morale.

[poetknowit]

I can almost see the retirement desk and the resignation papers going in (submitted) now.
The LAPD will be a shell (empty) of its former self very soon.
What a waste of talent!

[ConsistentLibertarian]

I could be wrong, but I’m guessing Carl Stein is not an illegal alien and wasn’t rioting.

And I’m absolutely positive that journalists who stand in a public park filming a protest aren’t breaking the law.

[CCGuy]

If they moved this fast to investigate and punish the illegals we wouldn’t even have this problem!

[CCGuy]

“I could be wrong, but I’m guessing Carl Stein is not an illegal alien and wasn’t rioting.

And I’m absolutely positive that journalists who stand in a public park filming a protest aren’t breaking the law.”

Actually ANYONE at a location after the police order it vacated IS breaking the law and can be arrested.

Imagine that. Having to obey the orders of police at a riot scene. /s

[Bender2]

Re: LAPD Acts Against Elite Police Squad

I sure... don't like the sound of that!

[justa-hairyape]

Actually ANYONE at a location after the police order it vacated IS breaking the law and can be arrested.

And those were not journalists. The news agencies for the alphabet soup networks stopped performing journalism a long time ago.

[Judges Gone Wild]

How about cracking down on the professional Communist agitators who started all the trouble by tossing bottles of urine at the police!?

[ConsistentLibertarian]

“Actually ANYONE at a location after the police order it vacated IS breaking the law and can be arrested”

LOL.

If the police had wanted to arrest Carl Stein, they could have asked him to set his news camera down on the ground slowly, with no sudden movements, and place his hands behind his back so he could be cuffed and taken into custody.

Of course, had they done that, they’d still be reassigned or demoted or suspended without pay for arresting a journalist covering a legitimate news event rather than directing him towards a designated safe area as mandated by LAPD policy.

But if they assaulted a guy standing still with one of those heavy TV news cameras on his shoulder covering a legitimate news event, they’re going to lose their jobs. They could get sued too — lose their houses, their kids’ college funds, maybe even do time.

I take no delight in knowing that, but I believe in the rule of law.

[Goldie Lurks]

“There appears to have been here a failure to communicate,” Press Photographers Association local president John McCoy said.”

Appears the media failed to communicate with LAPD. After all, that is their profession and field of expertise-communication. They had plenty of prior knowledge of this event.

The media should have been aware that there was no “designated safe spot” when they assembled. Do they not ask, “Where do we set up?”

The “regulars” that cover protests, marches, rallies and events know to ask/seek information on where to assemble.

If they lacked knowledge they should have sought out LAPD for the appropriate place to cover the illegal immigration protest.

[ConsistentLibertarian]

“How about cracking down on the professional Communist agitators who started all the trouble by tossing bottles of urine at the police!?”

Hmmm ....

I hear professional Communist agitators don’t get paid as much as they used to. The big employers went bankrupt, the labor market for paid agitators collapsed ... Not many people in that line of work anymore.

Maybe we should crack down on the people who tossed bottles of urine at the police and not get caught up in what their political sentiments might be, seeing as it’s perfectly legal to be a Communist anyways.

What do you think? Sound like a plan?

[at bay]

Was there any dispute that low flying choppers had clearly communicated orders to disperse? I’d like no audio excluded from any the video, especially 10 minutes before action was taken. More than likely some media egos just thought “That doesn’t apply to us.”

Surprise, surprise.

[Axlrose]

Oh sure, sleepwalk into cultural defeat, we can’t call a spade a spade now can we ???

These are foreign invaders, organised by the Chicoms who you may have forgotten ARE VERY MUCH IN BUSINESS.

But we shouldn’t let that be an issue now should we ? Don’t want to cause offense !!!

[at bay]

And I’m absolutely positive that journalists who stand in a public park filming a protest aren’t breaking the law

Well you're absolutely wrong. The order to disperse means everyone.

[Goldie Lurks]

Most of the media spoke English and some were bilingual. No excuse for them not to follow directions.