Facing the Angry Mob

The ACLU, protector of the American Dream and other nice things, is suing, who else? the LAPD for pushing us media people around during the Democratic National Convention.

The suit charges that the Blue Meanies, as they used to be known, caused us to suffer scraped knees and other boo-boos, as my grandson calls them, that need to be kissed and made well.

There is no organization in the world that kisses and makes well better than the ACLU. It has soothed the legal and moral concerns of groups as diverse as American Nazis on the march and high school girls who resent showering after P.E. because it means taking off their clothes.

I love the ACLU, even when its actions seem silly and somewhat trivial. When no one else wants to get involved in an unpopular cause, it’s the ACLU that steps in to take the heat on behalf of individual rights and the U.S. Constitution.

As a result, for almost 80 years it has been vilified by both the left and the right as being either fascist scum or red-coddling, God-hating anarchists.

As a liberal puke, I’m one of those who over the years have stood firmly with them, but I’ve got mixed feelings this time, with their necessity to hug and to protect . . . well, us. There are times when we ought to take care of ourselves.

*

*

Having said that, let me also make it clear that credentialed journalists have an absolute right to be wherever the action is, whether it’s a beer hall riot or demonstrations at a political convention.

And no cop has the right to target any member of the media for physical abuse simply because he doesn’t like the idea of being documented.

If the police are using excessive force, then, by God, the public damned well ought to be informed.

On the other hand . . .

We take our chances when we’re in a crowd doing our job and the stuff hits the fan. Thus it has always been and thus it will always be. Reporters and photographers, in print and electronic media, have risked their lives and sometimes lost them covering wars and riots for the public’s right to know.

I’ve been tear-gassed, bloodied and battered during antiwar demonstrations and civil unrest more times than I can count. One of the times was by a neighbor, an Oakland cop, who unabashedly shoved me to the ground and walked over me during a demonstration, and then a week later won $25 from me in a game of draw poker.

I know, and others should know, that when you’re after the news, bad things sometimes happen, as they happened during the DNC demonstrations.

The cops, pumped up by fears of riots that never occurred, did what cops always do in similar situations, protecting themselves as well as trying to control a crowd. When you’ve got 7,000 demonstrators screaming in your face, there’s a tendency to be a little nervous about the whole thing.

Their anxiety was fueled by dire warnings from our skittish mayor and from the chief of police, both of whom were absolutely certain that the demonstrators were going to turn L.A. into a scene out of “Blade Runner.” That didn’t happen either.

*

*

The LAPD denies that it singled out the media for clubbing and rubber-bulleting. But ACLU chief counsel Michael Small, who filed on behalf of four members of the media, maintains that the journalists were apart from the crowd and their credentials clearly visible when they were targeted.

He’s received so many calls since news of the suit got out, Small says, that the action may be amended to include other reporters and photographers. He adds that electronic journalists are coming forward with tapes that will verify their charges.

It’s never easy to sort out incidents that occur during a clash of wills. Everyone hollers rights. It was the right of the demonstrators to be there, the right of the journalists to be there and the right of the police to be there. But it’s nobody’s right to violate anyone’s rights for the sake of image or ego.

I suspect that the LAPD, embarrassed by its failures in the 1992 riots and the more recent Lakers melee, was trying to prove to the world that it could keep order.

Whether or not that resulted in abuse has yet to be proved. This much I do know: There are risks journalists must be willing to take to report the news, and their presence must be allowed, despite the wishes of the LAPD. The 1st Amendment may not be something cops understand, but I strongly suspect that the ACLU is about to explain it to them.

As it does, we’ll keep sailing into harm’s way, regardless of the consequences. It’s our job.

*

Al Martinez’s column appears Sundays and Wednesdays. He can be reached online at al.martinez@latimes.com