About 50 people marched in South Los Angeles to protest alleged police brutality and officers arrested six when protesters tried to block traffic, police said today.
The protesters gathered about 11 p.m. Monday and marched near 65th Street and Broadway, where 25-year-old Ezell Ford was shot by LAPD officers on August 11.
They marched on to 69th Street and Broadway where they were met by a massive police presence that followed them to Broadway and Florence Avenue where some protesters attempted to lie down in the intersection and block traffic, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Rick Rodgers.
“They refused to obey a command to stop blocking traffic and refused an order to disperse,” Rodgers said.
Four protesters were arrested for blocking traffic in the street and two were arrested when they attempted to help protesters escape from police custody, police said. They were three men and three women.
It was believed the protesters were marching to the LAPD’s 77th Street Station, he said. As of 12:30 a.m. there were no longer enough protesters to warrant a police presence, Rodgers said.
The protest came as the LAPD issued a”blue alert” in response to violence in Baltimore over the death of a man who suffered a spinal injury. LAPD officers were required to work strictly in two-person teams throughout the day.
“We are aware of the incident (in Baltimore), so we’re not going to have one-man cars today,” LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera said.
Violence broke out in Baltimore hours after the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody. Protesters took to the streets of Baltimore, shattering car windows, looting a pharmacy and setting fire to at least one police cruiser. At least 15 police officers suffered injuries, including broken bones, and one officer was knocked unconscious, police said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said “the situation locally and across the state is calm.”
“Los Angeles is calm for a reason,” he said. “The L.A. Sheriff’s Department has worked side by side with our police partners, faith leaders and the community as a whole to ensure that we know the pulse of the community, because that really is the definition of public safety. And we welcome the community’s watchful eye, even as we ensure those within our ranks are held to a very high standard.
“We’ve worked too hard for too long to allow (actions) in other cities to erode the relationships that we’ve been able to build with our communities,” he said. “We respect the right of people to exercise their First Amendment rights peacefully but we can’t condone violence or lawlessness of any kind. Any act similar to what we saw…throughout the day in Baltimore … will be dealt with appropriately here.”
