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| NEWS > 05 May 2007 |
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Amateur online videos put poli
What the video captures is confusing, but at least this much is clear: A St. Louis city police officer pepper-sprays the man holding the camera. The video cuts to the officer walking toward the man in his backyard, then abruptly turning around and leaving.
"You've seen on videotape what he just did!" the cameraman yells.
The video was shot back in 2004, in a confrontation between city police and Danny Carter, a St. Louis resident.
But it wasn't until a few months ago that the video found a worldwide audience on YouTube. From there it found an attorney.
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 Article sourced from
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KNX1070 - CA,USA
05 May 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Los Angeles Police Department,
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FBI Opening Inquiry into LA Po
The FBI will open a civil rights inquiry into the Los Angeles Police Department's actions at an immigration rights rally where officers cleared a city park by wielding batons and firing rubber bullets, officials said Thursday.
The preliminary inquiry will seek to determine ''whether the civil rights of protesters taking part in the May 1st immigration rally were violated,'' the bureau said in a statement.
Police Chief William J. Bratton said earlier Thursday that he planned to meet early next week with the head of the FBI's Los Angeles office, Assistant Director in Charge J. Stephen Tidwell, to see if Tuesday's clashes at MacArthur Park were ''something the bureau would become involved with.''
''We'll share information and make a decision at that time,'' Bratton said in an interview with The Associated Press. ''I have no issues with the FBI coming in ... and taking a look at it.''
The chief said before the announcement he hoped a federal review would show the department has nothing to hide while dispelling any claims that police had targeted immigrants or immigrant rights' activists.
''That allegation is so laughable on its face,'' he said. Through the years, the chief has backed certain protections for immigrant witnesses in criminal probes and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants.
''It's laughable that because we had one instance in countless marches ... that this is some type of ongoing conspiracy,'' he said.
The FBI probe will be the fourth official inquiry of the violence. The U.S. Department of Justice will review the bureau's results and decide whether to initiate a full-fledge investigation.
Meanwhile, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a presidential hopeful, called for an independent federal investigation.
''I'm troubled by the disturbing images of officers going after people who posed absolutely no threat to them,'' Richardson said in a statement.
Bratton has said the use of force occurred while officers were trying to deal with a group of 50 to 100 ''agitators'' who were trying to provoke police.
Police investigators already plan to review extensive video of the rally where police broke up a crowd using batons and firing 240 rubber bullets.
News and amateur videos showed police hitting TV journalists, throwing a news camera, shoving and firing on people who were attempting to leave as the officers, clad in riot gear, swept methodically across the park.
Bratton has expressed ''grave concern'' about the incident and outlined investigations ranging from individual officers' actions up to command decision-making.
Rally organizers have derided the officers' conduct as brutal and news organizations condemned the department for its use of force against members of the media. Police union leaders have urged against a ''rush to judgment.''
The clashes started around 6 p.m. Tuesday, when police tried to disperse demonstrators who moved into a street, according to rally organizers and reporters. Authorities said several people threw rocks and bottles at officers, who used batons to push the crowd back to the sidewalk and then cleared the park.
A police order to disperse was announced in English from a police helicopter, a likely ineffective tactic because of the noise and because many at the protest were Spanish-speakers.
Bratton said police were initially trying to deal with 50 to 100 ''agitators.''
Seven officers suffered minor injuries, and another was pushed off his motorcycle. About 10 other people were treated for minor injuries, though authorities expected the number to rise.
KTTV camerawoman Patti Ballaz, who was injured while covering the clash, planned to file a claim Friday for damages against the city and the police department. A claim often serves as a precursor to a lawsuit.
The Police Department has opened two investigations, one to create an ''after-action report'' that evaluates planning and operations, and another by internal affairs to probe complaints against officers.
Bratton said department investigators were still in the process of identifying all officers involved in the clashes, but that no decision about placing any on administrative leave would be made until the probe is finished.
An independent review has also been undertaken by the investigative arm of the city's civilian Police Commission, a five-member board of mayoral appointees that sets policy for the Police Department.
That probe will try to determine, among other things, what sparked the department's response and whether the officers' use of force was ``reasonable,'' said Inspector General Andre Birotte, who will conduct the commission's inquiry. His office also wants to know where police commanders were at the time and what role they played in the response.
'' ... I am to go through these facts with a fine tooth comb and call it like we see it,'' Birotte said.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was visiting Mexico on a trade mission, said the commission was ''absolutely committed to reforming the police department and ensuring the police department respects our community.''
''In police departments in major cities across the nation and around the world you'll often see situations like this,'' Villaraigosa said. ''The difference is we will investigate - make no mistake about it.''
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