May 2, 2007 9:22 pm US/Pacific
Villaraigosa Calls Protest Clashes 'Unfortunate'
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is calling Tuesday's clash between police and demonstrators that capped off local immigration rallies "a most unfortunate end to a peaceful day."
Police Chief William Bratton also suggested Wednesday he disapproves of the conduct of some of his officers in the disturbances at the pro-immigration rally in MacArthur Park, and he vowed the probe into the use of force would be as open as possible.
Bratton had been scheduled to leave Los Angeles Wednesday to join Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in El Salvador, but the mayor asked him to stay in town to oversee the internal LAPD investigation.
The mayor also asked the Police Commission, the civilian panel overseeing the Los Angeles Police Department, to assess the use of force by officers clad in riot gear, and the Radio and Television News Association called "for an immediate and complete investigation of the violent treatment of journalists at the conclusion of Tuesday's immigration march."
"There is evidence that officers knocked reporters to the ground, used batons on photographers and damaged cameras, possibly motivated by anger over journalists photographing efforts by officers to control the movements of
marchers," an RTNA statement said.
Fifteen police officers were among those hurt, the Los Angeles Times reported. About 10 people were taken from MacArthur Park by ambulance to hospitals for treatment, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies
told The Times.
Davies said the injuries mainly were cuts, including head and neck wounds. None of the injuries were believed to be serious. Police reported that one demonstrator was arrested.
Bratton said he planned to hold a news briefing later Wednesday to report on the events and the number of people injured.
"Some of what I've seen as chief of the department does not look appropriate," Bratton said Wednesday morning. "There were some scenes there, clearly, based on my years of experience and the years of experience of many of my command staff, did not appear to be (appropriate)."
Tuesday's rallies by thousands of people calling for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants had been peaceful until about about 6 p.m., when police tried to disperse some demonstrators who had moved off the sidewalk into Alvarado Street.
Some demonstrators responded by throwing plastic bottles and rocks at officers. Several dozen riot police, clad in helmets and carrying batons, started clearing the park, firing a few dozen volleys of foam bullets into the crowd.
Television footage shows footage of a crowd, apparently prodded by police, sweeping through a live broadcast by a Telemundo reporter, injuring some employees of the Spanish-language station.
An officer can be seen knocking down a cameraman, then grabbing the camera and tossing it to the ground.
A Telemundo anchor said the police action in response to the behavior of some demonstrators was disproportionate. One reporter who was at the scene said a police order to clear the park was boomed from a helicopter only after
officers on the ground began moving against demonstrators and journalists.
Bratton described the disturbances as "a series of very fluid events -- there were multiple things going on."
He said the Police Commission, "unlike in the past, will be fully involved in terms of staying abreast of it .. and we'll try to do this as openly as we can."
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
