Chief Michel Moore faces calls for an investigation into the LAPD's handling of protests after videos surfaced showing officers using batons and other force on unarmed protesters.
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu wrote a letter to Decker calling for the civilian commission to investigate how the department responded to demonstrations in the Fairfax district Saturday.While the area saw significant looting and police cars being set on fire, footage has also emerged showing officers striking unarmed protesters with batons. A reporter for L.A. Taco also said he was attacked with a baton without provocation, despite declaring himself a member of the press.
“Folks who loot or commit arson or assault police officers are committing crimes and that cannot be condoned or tolerated. At the same time, you can’t attribute what some folks did on one day, and then deal with peaceful protesters on a different day and hit them with batons,” Lieu said Friday. “They are a different set of people, so it’s not a justification to say just because some people did some looting, therefore we’re going to treat all protesters the same.
Asked about the use of batons or foam rounds to break up demonstrations, Moore said officers could be justified in using such force if an unlawful assembly is declared because of violence, attacks on officers or destruction of property. But he said the key was the “proportionality” of force used and acknowledged at least one incident from last weekend required his involvement to stop officers from being violent.
“Officers were taking rocks, bottles, other projectiles [and] sustaining injuries from members within a very large crowd. And that crowd, it was the determination of on-scene commanders that it was an unlawful assembly, and that that crowd needed to disperse,” he said. “And what I witnessed was officers resorting to force, including baton strikes to achieve that, and I went personally to the scene and took actions to stop that action.
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