ACLU Suit Assails LAPD’s Tactics in Protests

Demanding that Los Angeles police change their crowd-control tactics, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit Thursday, charging that the department illegally and brutally stifled protesters’ rights to free speech and assembly at last year’s Democratic National Convention and a follow-up demonstration in October.

The suit, filed on behalf of four area activist groups, claims the LAPD violated constitutional rights through the use of rubber bullets, pepper spray and low-flying helicopters whose engines drowned out speeches.

Unarmed and nonviolent protesters were “arrested without just cause . . . [and] shot by police with rubber bullets, bean bags and pepper spray” during the convention last August, said James Lafferty, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, at a news conference announcing the legal action.

The suit also focuses on events at an Oct. 22 rally against police brutality outside Parker Center.

Police officials countered Thursday that they acted properly during the demonstrations, becoming aggressive only when provoked or when witnessing wrongdoing.

Asked about claims that the police violated constitutional rights, LAPD Cmdr. Sharon Papa said some of the activists “put themselves in harm’s way and now they want to cry foul.”

The LAPD arrested about 200 protesters, mainly for minor infractions, during the Democratic Convention.

During the convention, a massive phalanx of police--in riot gear, on horseback, on motorcycles and circling the skies in helicopters--fanned out through downtown, monitoring and reacting to protests. In one of the tensest incidents, police reacted forcefully to a small group pelting them with debris, opening fire with rubber bullets on a crowd that included many peaceful demonstrators.

LAPD Chief Bernard C. Parks later issued a public apology to anyone “injured unnecessarily.” Still, the chief heaped praise on his officers for their overall performance.

In the October demonstration, officers and protesters clashed, but there were few arrests. Both sides blamed the other, with protesters claiming they were attacked with batons and rubber bullets without provocation and police saying they reacted after being pelted with rocks.

As in the aftermath of the convention, there was little lasting damage. Some protesters came away with minor cuts and bruises, but there were no major injuries.

Still, ACLU lawyer Dan Tokaji said Thursday that he considered it lucky that nobody was killed during either protest. “The LAPD emptied its arsenal of war toys” on the crowd, Tokaji said.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, asks that the LAPD be required to change its crowd-control policies. The suit also seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.