15 Held in Downtown L.A. Protest
About 15 people were arrested at Pershing Square on Friday afternoon when a march and rally protesting capitalism and American involvement in Kosovo degenerated into a noisy scuffle between some of the 200 demonstrators and police.
The incident prompted police to call a tactical alert, dispatching helicopters and scores of officers in riot gear to the square at 5th and Olive streets.
At least five officers suffered minor injuries while arresting unruly demonstrators, according to Officer Dan Hudson, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Those arrested--about half of them juveniles--were booked on a variety of counts, including failure to disperse and battery upon a police officer.
Police said the demonstration began about 2 p.m., when a diverse group claiming adherence to anarchy, communism and a variety of environmental causes began marching west on 5th Street toward the square.
The demonstrators blocked 5th Street, eventually abandoning a support car in the middle of an intersection. When officers tried to disperse the demonstrators, many of them refused to leave, Hudson said.
About 80 officers then were dispatched.
Some demonstrators stayed to tussle with police while others fled.
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