D.A. to Avoid Calling Police as Witnesses During Convention

The district attorney’s office will avoid calling police to testify in court during the Democratic National Convention to allow the Los Angeles Police Department to keep as many officers as possible on the streets when as many as 50,000 protesters are expected to converge on the city.

A memo being circulated to prosecutors asks them “to assist LAPD in maintaining the public’s safety during the convention,” which runs Aug. 14-17 at Staples Center. The action comes in response to an LAPD request, the memo says.

“The eyes of the nation will be focused on Los Angeles for four days,” Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert P. Helflin says in the memo, which urges prosecutors to schedule preliminary hearings, trials and motions around the convention dates. As an alternative, the memo requests that police witnesses be placed “on call” during the convention.

“During the four days of the convention, LAPD intends to have a maximum deployment” of its 9,346 sworn officers, the memo says. “All vacations will be canceled and officers will not be permitted to use accrued overtime.”

The memo further states that the LAPD is predicting “a high probability of going on tactical alert or mobilization” during the convention. That means all officers must report for 12-hour shifts.

The LAPD has refused to publicly discuss its planned strategy or tactics in the event of mass civil disobedience or violence. City officials expect between 10,000 and 50,000 protesters to converge on the area near Staples Center, where Democratic Party delegates from across the country will meet.