Damage reported after downtown L.A. protest that targeted LAPD headquarters

A protest Monday night in downtown Los Angeles turned destructive when dozens of demonstrators smashed storefront windows and tried to tear down metal barriers outside police headquarters.

A group of protesters took to the streets around 9 p.m., heading toward LAPD headquarters on 1st and Main streets. Officers in riot gear stood watch as some in the group yanked repeatedly on fences erected along Spring Street.

A smoke bomb or fireworks also may have been set off during the incident, KCAL-TV reported. Video from the scene showed participants with their faces covered burning an American flag near police headquarters and using what appeared to be metal pipes to break windows of a nearby building.

No damage was done to the LAPD building, said Officer Drake Madson, a police spokesman.

However, windows and doors of nearby structures were broken, and other property was damaged during the demonstration. The front doors of the California Secretary of State building on Spring were smashed.

News video shows several protesters being detained, but no arrests were made, Madson said.

Early Tuesday morning, Juan Rodriguez was sweeping up shattered glass outside a boarded-up clothing business in the 400 block of Broadway. Other windows and doors in the vicinity were also covered after being damaged the night before.

No injuries were reported in the demonstration, and police said protesters left the area about 11 p.m.

It was not immediately clear what the group was protesting, but it may have been in response to the fatal shooting by a white police officer of 31-year-old Jonathan Price, an unarmed Black man, outside a convenience store in East Texas on Saturday.

Price’s name was found written at the scene by protesters, according to media reports.

Shaun Lucas, the officer who shot Price, was arrested Monday. He since has posted $1-million bail. Price’s family said he was intervening in a domestic dispute when he was killed.

City News Service contributed to this report.