Fed Up, Koi Calls Police to Handle Paparazzi

Koi, a trendy Pan-Asian restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard, has emerged as the place Hollywood stars go to be seen. In a testament to Koi’s star power, the paparazzi -- sometimes as many as 12 -- line up at the entrance and rarely go home empty-handed.

But on Friday -- with Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Venus Williams and other big names inside -- the restaurant management finally had enough and called Los Angeles police to control the photographers.

Police arrived, took the names of the photographers and warned them that they would be arrested if they trespassed on Koi property.

Officer Jaime Chacon said the management called the police “because they’re tired of the paparazzi out here harassing their customers.”

Chacon also had a warning for the photographers: “There’s boundaries, and if you respect that, there won’t be any problems. Just don’t block the entrance, just don’t block the alley with cars, and there won’t be any problems.”

The move is the latest evidence of rising tensions between celebrities and the paparazzi since an April car accident between Lohan and a photographer a few blocks from Koi. At the urging of some stars, Los Angeles County prosecutors are examining whether teams of paparazzi could be prosecuted on felony conspiracy charges for orchestrating risky photo ambushes.

On Friday night, the West Hollywood restaurant’s general manager, Jorge Pultera, said he called police because he felt some of the photographers were bothering customers. Managers at the restaurant did not return calls seeking further comment Monday.

Friday was a night like most others at Koi, a 3-year-old restaurant that draws such names as Madonna, Bruce Willis and Heather Locklear. On Friday night, paparazzi favorites Lohan and Hilton were there along with “The O.C.” star Mischa Barton, tennis great Williams, as well as lesser-known names like the reality show stars “the Gotti boys.”

About a dozen photographers clustered on the sidewalk near the restaurant’s bamboo-shrouded entrance and called out greetings and niceties to their subjects as the stars exited their Hummers and Range Rovers.

“Hey Paris, welcome back, Paris,” one called out to Hilton, who had recently returned from a month abroad. “Over the shoulder, Paris. Hey, that’s nice.”

Most nights the dance runs smoothly between paparazzi, celebrities and restaurant management.

But on Friday, restaurant managers decided things were getting out of hand, though it is unclear exactly what incident led to their decision to call police.

Just before police arrived, a handful of photographers had sprinted to the alley when someone tipped them off that Lohan was exiting through the back exit. As two friends tried to shield Lohan and a bodyguard shined a flashlight into camera lenses, the paparazzi clustered around Lohan, snapping frantically.

The police arrived moments later.

When Barton made her exit into the alleyway, the officers wouldn’t allow photographers close enough to snap any photos.

Moments later they came out front, issued a warning to the paparazzi, requested identification and took down everyone’s personal information.

Chacon said he and his partner, Michael Tilden, had watched a videotape inside the restaurant that indicated that some photographers were acting improperly. He would not elaborate.

But the photographers said they were doing nothing wrong.

“You might want to talk to your staff before talking to us,” one paparazzo said to restaurant manager Pultera as the officers copied down his personal information. “Half of your customers call us, that’s the catch.”

Photographer Anthony Goodrich, who said he has gone to the restaurant every night to take photos for the last eight or nine months, said the visit from the police was highly unusual.

“[They’ve] always been threatening to call the police,” Goodrich said of the management. “We get a threat at least once a night. We get threats from the owner, we get threats from all the doormen. They always say they’re going to call the cops if we don’t stand to one side of the sidewalk.”

But the paparazzi know their boundaries and stay within them, Goodrich said.

“Nobody was blocking the public entrance because we know not to do that,” Goodrich said. “That would be stupid because we want people to come and go so we can take their pictures.”

It remains unclear whether other celebrity haunts will follow Koi’s lead.

LAPD spokeswoman Mary Grady said that though it is not unusual for celebrities to seek police help dealing with paparazzi, getting a call from a restaurant “is not the regular routine.”

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.