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Mass Arrests In Los Angeles : Hundreds Arrested In US

By Countercurrents.org 

27 November, 2014
Countercurrents.org

Los Angeles

Protesters plead with officers to let them go during mass arrests by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers at 6th and Hope streets on Wednesday night. Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles

LAPD officers take a young man into custody after an order to disperse was ignored at 6th and Hope streets on Wednesday night. Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Ferguson protests

Ferguson protests: Protesters stage a four and a half minute "die-in" protest on the ground to represent how Michael Brown's body was left in the Ferguson, Mo., neighborhood street where he was shot, during the third day of protest against a Missouri grand jury's decision. Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times

Hundreds of citizens have been arrested in the US . Citizens were arrested in Boston , Dallas , New York , Oakland , Los Angeles and Ferguson . They were protesting the Ferguson-injustice. More troops have been deployed in Ferguson amidst continuing protests across the US . Russia on Wednesday pointed to rioting in Ferguson and the other protests across the US as evidence that Moscow 's detractors in Washington were hypocrites and in no position to lecture Russia on human rights. In a solidarity move, the US country music star Garth Brooks canceled scheduled media appearances this week, saying it would be in poor taste to promote his comeback album during national protests.

A Los Angeles Times report said: Police made another mass arrest in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night, the third day of protests against a Missouri grand jury's decision not to indict a Ferguson police officer for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

An AP report said: Dozens of protesters in Los Angeles and Oakland were arrested late Wednesday. Police said at least 130 demonstrators who refused to disperse during a Los Angeles protest were arrested, while 33 people were detained in Oakland following a march that deteriorated into unrest and vandalism.

An earlier Reuters report said: National Guard troops and police aimed to head off a third night of violence on Wednesday in Ferguson, Missouri, as more than 400 people have been arrested in the St. Louis suburb and around the United States in unrest after a white policeman was cleared in the killing of an unarmed black teenager.

The “ Ferguson fallout: Scores arrested in Calif. Unrest” headlined AP report said:

“In Los Angeles , about 200 or 300 largely peaceful demonstrators crisscrossed downtown streets for several hours in the afternoon and evening over a decision not to bring criminal charges against a Ferguson policeman for killing a black man.

“But later some of the protesters were stopped by a phalanx of riot-clad police near the Central Library.

“Lt. Andy Neiman said an unlawful assembly was declared after some marchers began walking in the street and disrupting traffic. They were ordered to disperse but instead reformed, with police trying to corral them.

“Neiman said 130 protesters were arrested, with most appearing calm as they were handcuffed with plastic bands and walked to waiting Sheriff's Department buses.”

The report by Tami Abdollah said:

“ Oakland police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said the 33 arrests there came after a march by about 100 people through Oakland streets.

“She said that later small groups began moving through the streets with some vandalizing property, mainly breaking windows.

“Most of the protesters had dispersed but shortly before midnight Watson said that there was still a very small group that police were monitoring.”

The Los Angeles datelined report said:

“During the demonstration Wednesday in Los Angeles , demonstrators had marched to a federal building and police headquarters but they were turned away by lines of police after heading toward the county jail and then the Staples Center arena, where the Los Angeles Lakers were playing.”

It quoted Jovan Brown, a demonstrator, telling KCAL-TV: "The system is wrong. We're trying to let everybody know if we come together as a people and unite, we can change it."

The AP report presented a picture from the protest area:

“There was a brief, tense confrontation where a handful of demonstrators screamed at officers, who held raised batons. One officer struck a woman who had moved forward, and another shoved a protester.

“Finally, squads of police boxed in and began arresting around 60 remaining protesters for failure to disperse, Neiman said.

“Most of those arrested were expected to be released after posting $500 bail for the misdemeanor. However, those unable to pay the bail could remain jailed through the Thanksgiving weekend pending scheduled Monday court hearings, authorities said.”

On protesting incidents on Wednesday, the report said:

“Earlier Wednesday, nine people were arrested after they sat down in a bus lane on U.S. 101 near downtown during one of the busiest driving days of the year.

“There were smaller, peaceful protests in other communities, including San Diego and Riverside .”

A “More than 400 arrested as Ferguson protests spread to other U.S. cities” headlined Reuters report said:

“There have been protests in Boston , New York , Los Angeles , Dallas and Atlanta .”

Citing St. Louis police the report said:

“Three people were arrested at a protest near City Hall on Wednesday in which activists staged a mock trial of Wilson, who told the grand jury he shot Brown because he feared for his life.”

Wilson is the police officer who shot dead the young boy Mike.

The Reuters report said:

“ Ferguson 's mayor, James Knowles, is white, as are most of its city council members. A 2013 state attorney general's report found more than 85 percent of motorists pulled over in the city are black, and the arrest rate among blacks is twice the rate among white residents.”

Tensions between police and black Americans are simmering for decades. Many blacks feel the US legal system and law enforcement authorities do not treat them fairly.

The report by Ellen Wulfhorst, Daniel Wallis and Edward McAllister said:

“Police in Boston said on Wednesday that 45 people were arrested in protests overnight that drew more than a thousand demonstrators.

“In Dallas , seven were arrested for blocking traffic on Interstate 35, a major north-south U.S. roadway.

“In New York , where police used pepper spray to control the crowd after protesters tried to block the Lincoln Tunnel and Triborough Bridge , 10 demonstrators were arrested, police said.

“Protesters in Los Angeles threw water bottles and other objects at officers outside city police headquarters and later obstructed both sides of a downtown freeway with makeshift roadblocks and debris, authorities said.”

On protesting-scene in Ferguson , the report said:

“The crowds in Ferguson were smaller and more controlled than on Monday, when about a dozen businesses were torched and others were looted amid rock-throwing and sporadic gunfire from protesters and volleys of tear gas fired by police. More than 60 people were arrested then.

“A Conoco gas station and convenience store in Ferguson has escaped looters with armed, black local residents guarding the white-owned store.”

The Ferguson datelined Reuters report cited a fact under a sub-heading 'SAD FACT'. It said:

“Obama's Justice Department is probing the Ferguson shooting as it considers whether to bring federal civil rights charges against the officer and the police department.

“‘The sad fact is that it brings up issues that we've been struggling with in this country for a long, long time,' said Matthew Green, an associate professor of politics at the Catholic University of America.

“‘These are not problems and issues that are going to get resolved by one president in the remainder of his term.'

“ Wilson said his conscience was clear. He told ABC News that there was nothing he could have done differently that would have prevented Brown's death. But the parents of the slain teenager said they did not accept the officer's version of the events.

“‘I don't believe a word of it,' Brown's mother Lesley McSpadden told ‘CBS This Morning' on Wednesday.”

Los Angeles protest-scene

A Los Angeles Times report headlined “LAPD arrests about 130 Ferguson protesters in downtown L.A. ” said:

“About 30 more protesters gathered late Wednesday near Staples Center and headed north toward LAPD headquarters. As the protesters walked, police warned them not to block traffic. The demonstrators stayed on the sidewalk and arrived at the headquarters about 11:35 p.m. , chanting ‘we want peace' and ‘Hands up, don't shoot.'

“Disruptions began earlier during Wednesday night's protest and included protesters hitting vehicles in the street and running through intersections, LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman said.”

The LAT report said:

“The order for more than 100 people to disperse came just before 7:30 p.m. , as officers blocked in the protesters on 7th Street between Figueroa and Flower. Officers announced that members of the crowd would be arrested if they did not leave within four minutes.

“Protesters began running, and two people were quickly taken into custody.

“Among them was a demonstrator who had taunted police with a Taser.

“The crowd chanted, ‘Let him go.'

“Police pressed forward toward demonstrators with their batons in front, pushing the crowd back. A woman fell and was arrested as the officers continued forward.”

The report added:

“Protesters were on the sidewalk on the corner of 6th and Flower streets when a line of officers started making a run to circle the group. Some of the protesters attempted to get past them and three were pushed by a baton-wielding officer into the window of a store.

“Two of the protesters got away, but one person was held against the window and detained.

“One by one protesters were cuffed with zip ties and walked to a police bus waiting to take them to jail.

“The MetroRail posted on its Twitter account that the 7th Street Metro Center station was closed due to a ‘nearby civil disturbance.'”

The report said:

“Before the arrests, the crowd had been heading toward Staples Center , after spending several hours marching to LAPD headquarters and the county's main jail, frequently halting traffic.

“‘We see you,' some chanted, as they walked past the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, an apparent reference to the protesters arrested Tuesday night being held inside.

“When protesters reached Cesar Chavez Avenue and Vignes Street , officers with hands on their batons blocked the way toward the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. Sirens blared in the background and a helicopter's searchlight flashed on protesters chanting and standing in the intersection.

“‘Free the protesters, kill killer cops,' they yelled.

“But rather than chant, Ray Spears, a resident of Eagle Rock, opted to strike up a conversation with a nearby officer. When the 25-year-old told the officer he was a Christian, the officer responded that he was too.

“‘I think that all human beings are made in the image of God, and we have civil rights, human rights,' Spears said.

“‘Hey man, we're on the same page,' the officer responded.

“When Spears held out his fist for a fist bump, the officer raised his hands, he was holding a baton.

“‘I would if I could right now,' the officer told him. Spears called the conversation "a little glimmer of hope.'

“Protesters then retreated from the intersection, walking back into the tunnel they had just passed through on Cesar Chavez. The crowd walked into the street at some points and police scrambled to set up protection between oncoming traffic and the crowd.

“The group paused briefly at the Metropolitan Detention Center , where organizers had said protesters arrested Tuesday night were being held.

“‘Fight the power,' the crowd yelled. Later, as protesters continued the march, some sat cross-legged in the intersection of 5th and Spring streets.

“The demonstration ended in a similar mass arrest to the one that followed Tuesday night's protests, when some people managed to briefly shut down the 101 Freeway and the LAPD made 183 arrests.

“The number surpassed arrests in other major cities in the nation on the third night of protests over the grand jury decision this week in the killing of Michael Brown by a white police officer.”

 


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