Anti-Karlin Protesters Enter Courthouse : Demonstration: Crowd denounces probation for Korean-born grocer who killed black teen-ager. Marchers confront deputies before dispersing.

Hundreds of protesters, demonstrating against the judge who sentenced a Korean-born grocer to probation in the shooting of a black teen-ager, surged into the Compton courthouse Thursday and had a brief, chaotic confrontation with deputies before dispersing.

The demonstration flared when activist Danny Bakewell, president of the Brotherhood Crusade, called on the crowd of about 350 assembled on the courthouse steps to take their protest directly into the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Joyce A. Karlin.

Amid chants of “Karlin must go,” protesters flooded past security guards, marched into the lobby and attempted to enter the elevators to Karlin’s 10th-floor courtroom before organizers led the group back outside.

One demonstrator, identified as Michael Tankersley, 50, of Compton, was arrested for assaulting a deputy with a sign stick, police said. There were no injuries.

“It began as a peaceful demonstration and it ended as a peaceful demonstration,” said Compton Mayor Walter R. Tucker III, one of the leaders of the protest. “We were certainly not there to hurt anyone. But it easily could have become a dangerous situation.”

The Compton protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations against Karlin, the controversial judge who presided over the Latasha Harlins murder case.

Harlins was shot by a Korean-born grocer, Soon Ja Du, who believed Harlins was trying to steal a $1.79 bottle of orange juice.

The March shooting, which became a symbol of the tensions between Korean grocery store owners and their black customers, was captured on videotape by the grocery store’s security camera and replayed on television throughout the course of the trial. The tape showed Du grabbing Harlins’ sweater and Harlins punching Du in the face before she turned to walk away.

Du, who claimed the gun fired accidentally, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. In an unexpected move, Karlin rejected the Probation Department’s recommendation for a 16-year sentence and gave Du five years probation, sparking a community uproar.

Bakewell denounced Karlin as a racist and declared his intention to picket her Manhattan Beach home.

Thursday’s demonstration, sponsored by the Compton City Council, the Brotherhood Crusade and several local churches, was intended to “send a message that we as a people are strong and we’re going to stand up and be counted,” Tucker said. “People know her (Karlin’s) decision was blatantly and egregiously wrong.”

The protesters originally planned to form a human chain around the courthouse. But after speeches by Tucker, the Rev. Richard Sanders and others, Bakewell told the crowd that they should take the protest to Karlin herself.

“We decided to go in peacefully, to take the demonstration inside to make the powers that be aware that we are not going to take this blatant injustice sitting down,” said Sanders, pastor of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church in Compton.

Led by Bakewell, the protesters marched in at about 11:30 a.m., toppling a metal detector as the crowd pushed forward.

“I think a lot of people expect people to stay outside and that’s not where I come from,” Bakewell said. “We went in peacefully. We went in big numbers, but I don’t think anyone was out of hand.”

The crowd was stopped by deputies at a doorway in front of the elevators.

After a few minutes, the leaders of the protest decided it would be safer to move the crowd outside again.

“There’s no doubt about it, it was very volatile--and that was reflective of the sentiments of the community,” Tucker said, estimating that the crowd stayed inside for about 10 minutes.