Los Angeles
A senior Los Angeles police officer was demoted and about 60 others were reassigned after an elite police squad waded into a crowd of demonstrators last week, swinging batons and firing rubber bullets. Police Chief William Bratton called the incident “extraordinarily disturbing” and said he was “comfortable apologizing” for “things that shouldn’t have been done.” During a large immigrant-rights rally in MacArthur Park, a group of about 40 people, described by police as “agitators,” threw rocks and bottles at police. About 600 officers then charged the crowd, swinging their nightsticks at marchers, reporters, and camera operators. “It was appalling how out of proportion their reaction was to the situation,” said Joe Domanick, an urban-affairs specialist at the University of Southern California, who attended the rally. The LAPD has long had a reputation for aggressiveness, reinforced when police were videotaped beating Rodney King during a traffic stop in 1991.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floodsCartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate changeIn the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
