Sep 6, 2007 3:46 pm US/Pacific
Claim Filed Against City For May Day Melee
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
A claim was filed against the city Thursday by 164 people who say they were injured when Los Angeles police officers fired rubber bullets and used their batonsto clear MacArthur Park at the end of a May Day immigration reform rally.
The city has 45 days to accept or deny the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit. Attorneys representing families and individuals who were in MacArthur Park on the evening of May 1 said they are also asking a federal judge to grant them class action status.
Nick Velasquez with the City Attorney's Office said, "we are very concerned about the allegations, but we have not yet reviewed the complaint so we could not comment further at this time."
A representative for the Los Angeles Police Department declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Officers in riot gear fired 146 foam-rubber bullets and used batons to clear MacArthur Park after a group of 20 to 30 "agitators" threw bottles, rocks and food at police, LAPD officials said. More than 40 people, including several journalists and five police officers, were injured.
The LAPD has begun four internal investigations, while the FBI has started its own probe to determine whether any civil rights violations occurred.
A lawyer for those injured at the rally said they are seeking unspecified monetary damages and a change in the way the LAPD uses force.
"We think that there literally are hundreds if not thousands of people who were violated that day when they were forced to leave the park," said attorney Carol Sobel.
"Policies are only words on a piece of paper and we've seen over and over again in this city that officers ignore policies and ignore training sometimes because they are so instilled with a view that they get from other officers, that it's OK to use force as a first means. It's OK to use force against poor communities, it's OK to use force against people of color. That's part of the culture of the police department that needs to be changed."
Ten lawsuits and 94 other claims have been filed against the city by people who claim they were injured in the park that night, including a suit by the Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network that seeks class-action status; another by a man whose jaw was allegedly broken by a baton-wielding officer; and by three Los Angeles residents who claim they were beaten by officers dispersing the crowd.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
