Letters to the Editor: LAPD wants to uphold protesters’ free speech rights, Chief Michel Moore says
To the editor: The Los Angeles Police Department is committed to continuing to improve our performance with regard to protests, including documentation of dispersal orders and protecting the rights of peaceful demonstrators and journalists. (“Too few checks on police dispersal orders,” editorial, Sept. 30)
Over time we have observed police officers confronted with violent and destructive behavior intermixed with otherwise peaceful protests. Efforts to separate peaceful demonstrators from those seeking to injure police officers or commit acts of arson and looting is difficult during a volatile incident. The department has no interest in blocking or kettling peaceful protesters who are complying with police orders.
Ensuring that department personnel — from our top commanders to the officers on the front line — perform with the needed precision requires ongoing training and improvements. That is just what our recent After-Action Implementation Plan intends to accomplish.
I am hopeful with the collective demands of everyone involved that our After-Action Implementation Plan is met with the necessary investment by the city to ensure our most recent experiences set the stage for lasting change.
Michel R. Moore, Los Angeles
The writer is chief of the LAPD
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