CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Charges Dropped for Most Demonstrators

Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith said his office will not prosecute most of the approximately 575 people arrested May 8 during a demonstration against the Rodney G. King beating case verdict. Smith said the misdemeanor charges would be dropped because prosecutors could not prove the identities of demonstration participants. Only one man, who was not identified, will be prosecuted for allegedly spraying “caustic fire-extinguisher material upon police officers and the crowd, causing at least four police to suffer effects of the chemical,” Smith said. Police made the mass arrests when demonstrators reportedly became unruly and strayed from a designated march route. But many of those taken into custody claimed to be bystanders, and others said the march was peaceful and their civil rights were violated. Former Police Chief Richard Hongisto defended the arrests at the time, saying police believed the marchers could head downtown where looting had erupted a week before.