for podcast of Chief Bratton and Police Commission President Mack's Media Brief on MacArthur Park Disturbance, click here
Los Angeles:
Police Chief William Bratton today provided members of the media with
the following comments regarding the confrontation with police that occurred last night in MacArthur Park:
"In my capacity as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, I want
to assure the public we all serve, the political leadership of the
City, the media, and the men and women of the Department, that the
Department, in conformity with the Consent Decree, our policies and
procedures, and guidance from the Police Commission, will conduct
comprehensive, detailed investigations into the unfortunate events that
occurred in MacArthur Park yesterday, at the conclusion of what had
been a series of peaceful marches, demonstrations, and rallies by tens
of thousands of participants.
"My responsibility and obligation as Chief of Police is to investigate
what happened, determine why it happened, and address and correct
identified problems and issues. In this instance, we will specifically
focus on command and control of our officers, our strategic planning
efforts and tactics, and most importantly, our significant use of force
while attempting to address the illegal and disruptive actions of 50 to
100 agitators who were not a part of the larger group of thousands of
peaceful demonstrators.
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"As Chief of this Department and as a resident of this City, both of
which I have come to love, I share the understandable concern and
frustration of all of you that once again the Department, its members
and the community are involved in such a troubling event. Echoing
Mayor Villaraigosa's comments, any time that our law enforcement
officers use force, the public has an absolute and unqualified right to
expect and demand an aggressive review of the facts and receive an
honest reporting of the conclusions and recommendations.
"Last evening, shortly after the events at MacArthur Park and after
discussions with Mayor Villaraigosa and Police Commission President
John Mack, I held a series of command staff meetings to initiate
several investigations into this matter. The Inspector General, Andre
Birotte, participated in the meetings held last night and throughout
the day today, and will be involved as they move forward.
"One of the two investigations will focus on creation of an “After
Action Report" to be prepared by Chief of Operations, Earl Paysinger.
This comprehensive evaluation of the planning and operations relative
to yesterday's events will be the foundation for a report to the City
Council.
"A second use of force investigation into complaints about our
officers' actions will be conducted in full conformity with Consent
Decree mandates, and will be headed up by Chief Mark Perez and the
Internal Affairs Division of our Professional Standards Bureau.
"Last night, Chief Perez and his investigators were deployed to
MacArthur Park to gather information and conduct interviews. They were
also sent to local hospitals to determine how many people were injured
and to get their statements. Investigators will be interviewing the
organizers of the event as well. Today, Professional Standards Bureau
investigators are still collecting physical evidence, which includes
video coverage from the local media, the LAPD Video Unit and video from
surveillance cameras around the park.
"Investigators will be interviewing injured members of the media later
this afternoon. They will also work to identify the officers involved
in the uses of force.
"The ultimate goal of the internal affairs investigation is to:
•Thoroughly investigate citizens' complaints of misconduct to determine accountability of individual officers' actions.
•Where an officer's actions are determined not to meet LAPD
professional standards, to assist in determining the appropriate
discipline.
"I have appointed my Chief of Staff, Jim McDonnell, who also oversees
our Use of Force Review Boards, to oversee and coordinate both
investigations.
"As I have stated, I am committed to an aggressive and exhaustive
review of the facts. To assist us in these investigations we need the
participation of the media and the public. If you have information or
complaints concerning yesterday's incident, we encourage you to contact
Internal Affairs at 1-800-339-6868 or the Inspector General at
213-202-5866.
"While there is still a great deal of fact and detail that must be
sorted through, we do know the number of people hurt in the
confrontation between police and demonstrators, including several
members of the media, continues to grow. Seven LAPD officers also
suffered minor injuries caused by demonstrators throwing objects, and
one motor officer was pushed off his bike.
"Eight adults and one juvenile were arrested for several offenses,
including drinking in public, assault with a deadly weapon for throwing
a rock at officers, and one arrest was made for interfering with
police.
"In conclusion, before opening up to your questions, I regret and am,
as are all of you, disturbed by the events so vividly depicted in the
various news report videos. Police use of force in any context is
always visibly and emotionally upsetting, even when necessary and
lawful – our challenge in reviewing and investigating the actions of
our Department and its officers, and that of the public, is to
determine if that use of force was an appropriate response to the level
of threat, disturbance and danger that the officers were encountering.
My commitment to you is to meet that challenge."
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