Leone Hankey
Wed, 16 Aug 2000 12:05:34 -0700
Southern California Fair Trade Network
8124 W. 3rd St, Suite 104
LA CA 90036
323-931-3669
MONDAY was a glorious day in the people's history of Los
Angeles, despite the police riot which brought it to a
conclusion.Below is a relatively objective story from CNN,
followed by a statement by ACLU attorney Dan Tokaji, and
then a statement by me(Leone Hankey).
Today, Tuesday, there was a tremendous variety of protests,
including at least one thousand rallying against US
sanctions and attacks on Iraq,(that was AP's estimate), a
march of hundreds of youth to Belmont High School, a women's
march, a union march and strike vote by County workers, and
more. There was an animal rights protest, and 45 people
were arrested, many, if not all, simply for being in the
area. We do not yet have news of them. A group of activists
has tried to peacefully protest their arrest at Parker
Center, but were blocked by police from doing so.
Tomorrow, appropriately, is a day of action against police
brutality, the prison industrial complex, the death penalty,
and to free political prisoners. For details, go to
www.d2kla.org, and review the Calendar of action.
THURSDAY'S MARCH AGAINST SWEATSHOPS, FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
AND GLOBAL ECONOMIC JUSTICE: I will send a full update about
Thursday's march against sweatshops tomorrow, but just so
you mark it in your calendar, we will assemble in the
garment district at 8th and Santee for a rally from
4pm-5pm,and then march along 7th St and then down Figueroa
toward the Staples Center. Our march officially concludes at
Olympic and Figueroa. A D2k rally/vigil/concert will take
place outside the Staples Center at 6:30pm.
********
Thousands take to the streets outside Democratic convention
August 15, 2000
Web posted at: 2:25 a.m. EDT (0625 GMT)
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Thousands of demonstrators representing
a kaleidoscope of causes marched to the site of the
Democratic National Convention on Monday, where a rock
concert crowd swelled their ranks inside the fenced-in
designated protest area.
After the concert, police said, a handful of demonstrators
taunted the officers and threw what appeared to be
batteries, bottles and other objects. Police responded by
firing small canisters of what appeared to be pepper gas.
The Associated Press reported that police also fired rubber
bullets before officers on horseback herded the protesters
to the far end of the protest area. There was at least one
injury and some arrests.
Protesters scale the fence outside the Staples Center in Los
Angeles on Monday evening during the Democratic National
Convention
Most of the rock fans and protesters stayed at the concert
site about 100 yards from the convention hall, with several
hundred police in full riot gear standing by outside the
chain link fence. The concert ended, and the disturbance
began, about the time Hillary Rodham Clinton finished
speaking and President Clinton began his address to the
convention.
Some protesters defy police
Two young men climbed to the top of the fence surrounding
the concert site and defiantly waved black flags in front of
police on the other side. They continued to wave their flags
even after apparently being hit in the face with pepper
spray. One of the men repeatedly doused his eyes from
bottles of water given to him by people in the crowd.
When electricity to the concert stage was shut off, the
crowd began to chant, "Leave the power on." Some protesters
set a U.S. flag on fire while others carried a U.S. flag
upside down.
A police representative then told the crowd, in English and
Spanish, to disperse immediately or they would be arrested.
"Please cooperate with us and leave the area peacefully
now," he said.
Officers on horseback drove most in the crowd out, but
several sat on the ground defiantly and were taken away.
Some protesters videotaped police actions, and some officers
videotaped the protesters.
Arrested demonstrators chant in support of Colombia's U'wa
Indian tribe Monday in downtown Los Angeles
Some of the protesters wore gas masks; others wrapped
bandannas over their noses and masks. Several set posters
ablaze, but the fires burned out quickly.
The concert featured the band Rage Against the Machine,
which has a profanity-sprinkled Web site railing against the
two-party system.
The protest area, the size of a medium-sized city block, was
jammed with fans and sign-waving protesters espousing
everything from the Green Party candidacy of Ralph Nader to
the Socialist Workers Party and something called
"Billionaires Against Bush and Gore" as the evening session
of the convention got under way.
Earlier protests more peaceful
Earlier Monday, a few thousand young people had marched
along streets outside the Staples Center in separate rallies
to protest alleged environmental abuses and world trade.
In one Monday morning protest, hundreds of people blocked
traffic within blocks of the hall. Police arrested 10
marchers who failed to move from the street when ordered to
do so, taking them away in plastic handcuffs and charging
them with failure to disperse. The others left of their own
accord.
Police said the demonstrators, protesting an oil company's
alleged plans to drill on sacred lands of a Colombian Indian
reserve, sat in the street and refused to move after
officers told them to.
Following the sit-down protest, about 1,000 marchers
returned to Pershing Square, where they were entertained by
music from singer and environmental activist Bonnie Raitt.
In the second march, this one against the World Trade
Organization and corporate globalization, between 2,000 and
2,500 protesters set out from Pershing Square and marched
through the city's financial district, passing the World
Trade Center, Southern California Edison Co., Arco, Citibank
and other large companies.
Police approach an unidentified demonstrator
At each site, they halted and chanted, "Stop Corporate
Greed" and, "Save the Trees." They then returned to Pershing
Square to regroup for a later march toward the Staples
Center seven blocks away.
There were no incidents of violence or lawbreaking in the
march organized by the anti-World Trade Organization group
Global Exchange, the Rainforest Action Network and Southern
California Trade Network. But police maintained a heavy
presence of uniformed officers wearing helmets and face
masks alongside the marchers and blocking select
intersections.
The 10 arrests in the other protest happened just before the
convention was gaveled to order and raised to 24 -- at that
time -- the total number of convention-related arrests since
Saturday.
In both protests, the marchers represented a coalition of
causes, many of which share a dislike for international
corporations and world trade.
"The fact is, we really think that the system is rigged, and
we can't be fully heard on the convention floor alone, so we
really have no choice but to raise our voice outside," said
Lenore Hinkey, of Global Exchange.
******************
Below is a letter sent to the City Attorney this morning.
Dan Tokaji
Staff Attorney
ACLU So. Cal.
August 15, 2000
BY MESSENGER AND FACSIMILE
Debra L. Gonzales
Deputy City Attorney
200 North Main Street, Suite 1700
Los Angeles, California 90012
Re: SEIU Local 660 v. City of Los Angeles, CV 00-7119-GAF
D2K Convention Planning Coalition v. Parks, CV 00-8556-DDP
Dear Ms. Gonzales:
As you know, we represent the D2K Convention Planning
Coalition and other groups engaging in peaceful and
protected speech around the Democratic National Convention.
We write to express our outrage at the egregious violations
of basic civil rights committed by the Los Angeles Police
Department (LAPD) last night. We demand an immediate meeting
with you and LAPD officials with decisionmaking authority,
so that the police lawlessness that the world witnessed last
night is not repeated at the other marches and rallies that
will be taking place this week.
The pretext for the LAPD's shutdown of the lawful, protected
demonstration that was taking place last night was
apparently the actions of a few individuals, throwing debris
over the southern fence of the public assembly area, and two
young men sitting on top of this fence. None of these
people were affiliated with D2K, and the rally's organizers
made efforts to stop them. But instead of dealing with
these few individuals, by citing or arresting them, the LAPD
decided to use this incident as an excuse to commit blatant
violations of the most basic constitutional rights.
At approximately 8:00 p.m. -- an hour before the rally's
scheduled conclusion under its lawfully issued permit -- the
LAPD unilaterally pulled the plug on the entire event. The
LAPD did so even after rally organizers had assured LAPD
officials, including Lt. Fred Booker, that they would
voluntarily ask people to leave the public assembly area,
but before the organizers had had the opportunity to do so.
Without allowing rally organizers peaceably to ask the crowd
to disperse, the LAPD shut off the power while music was
being played on stage and in a scripted message --
improperly declared the entire event an unlawful assembly.
Despite the LAPD's unlawful action in terminating the
assembly, rally organizers continued to attempt to cooperate
with the police. D2K organizers encouraged those present to
leave expeditiously, while at the same time informing the
LAPD officers on the scene that it would take some time to
clear the numerous people present from the public assembly
area.
The LAPD refused to wait. Numerous LAPD mounted officers,
in full riot gear, chased demonstrators, media and,
observers into the southern end of the public assembly area.
Then, without warning, those officers chased the frightened
people to the north out of that area, swinging their batons
with their horses galloping after spectators. At the same
time, other officers in riot gear fired upon others in the
assembly who were desperately trying to leave. Numerous
innocent spectators, including legal observers and at least
three members of our legal team, were struck with
projectiles fired from LAPD guns. One of them, Professor
Karl Manheim, was required to obtain medical treatment at a
local hospital for his LAPD-inflicted injuries. We do not
yet know how many other people were injured, or how
seriously, by the LAPD's orchestrated assault.
There is no conceivable justification for the LAPD's actions
last night. In shutting down this event, the LAPD violated
D2K and its members' basic constitutional right to assembly
and expression under the First Amendment. In clearing out
the entire area through the use mounted police in riot gear
using pepper spray, rubber bullets, and batons and thereby
injuring an as yet untold number of people the LAPD has
violated their right to be free from the use of excessive
force under the Fourth Amendment. This is undoubtedly only
the tip of the iceberg. We know, for example, that numerous
legal observers and members of the media were assaulted by
LAPD officers in riot gear last night as well. The LAPD
further violated the constitutional rights of legal
observers, by declaring a group of them located on a
sidewalk near Loyola Law School -- on Albany north of
Olympic, several blocks from the Staples Center -- an
unlawful assembly and ordering them to disperse, for no
other reason than to eliminate witnesses to LAPD misconduct.
The LAPD's unlawful assembly orders also violate the
settlement agreement in the Vassos litigation, which
requires the LAPD to narrowly tailor such orders.
The police misconduct witnessed last night cannot be
tolerated in a democratic society, especially outside one of
the most important events in the Nation's political life.
As you yourself stated to the Court just last Friday, the
First Amendment rights of protesters are every bit as
essential as the rights of those gathered inside the Staples
Center.
The LAPD has not merely failed to protect demonstrators'
right to free speech; it has run roughshod over them. What
happened last night was nothing less than a premeditated
police riot. Two different federal judges have already
found the LAPD to have violated the First Amendment rights
of protesters at this Convention. This is the LAPD's third
strike.
We must have assurances that the LAPD will not repeat its
conduct of last night at other events this week, and
especially not at D2K's rally scheduled for the last night
of the Convention, August 17, 2000. We demand an immediate
meeting and LAPD officials with decisionmaking authority.
Should you refuse to meet with us, we will have no choice
but to move ex parte for another order, preventing the LAPD
from violating our clients' First and Fourth Amendment
rights.
Sincerely yours,
Daniel P. Tokaji
ACLU Foundation of Southern California
Carol A. Sobel
Law Office of Carol A. Sobel
Robert M. Myers
Newman.Aaronson.Vanaman
Professor Karl Manheim
Loyola Law School
By: ________________________
Daniel P. Tokaji
****************************
In response to Gil Contreras' article which included the
statement:
"Approximately 15 minutes into their performance, the
electricity to the designated protest area was pulled,
presumably by the LAPD. Apparently the time limit on the
permit for last nights concert had been reached and the LAPD
wanted to shut the area down."
Dear Gil Contreras, and everyone:
Our permit at the free speech area across the street from
the Staples Center was from 6pm --to 9pm. The unlawful
assembly order from police came over the sound system at
8pm---we had another full hour by law, as part of the legal
order stemming from the ACLU lawsuit against the city. The
plug was pulled on the sound about quarter to 8pm.
The federal judge in the case specifically said we had the
right to be present when delegates were, but my analysis is
that the police decided differently. The violent dispersal
of the crowd, hitting an eleven year old child, bystanders,
news staff, and protestors alike with impact weapons and
some with chemical weapons, cleared the way for almost all
delegates to exit to empty streets.
Given the statements Commander Kalish had issued for days
about his concerns about the Rage Concert possibly creating
a violent-prone crowd, and immediately issuing a similar
statement after the police action, it seems clear that this
was in no way a "response" to a few isolated incidents near
the fence that had injured no one, and according to
eyewitnesses were initially limited to throwing plastic
bottles and to climbing the fence in order to plant flags on
the top, before police responded with indiscriminate pepper
spray. This was the police plan from the get-go.
Particularly when you consider that simultaneously, the site
of the Shadow Convention and of the Independent Media Center
was shut down, the IMC's satellite feed was prevented, AND
the websites of the LA Independent Media Center and
d2kla.org went down.
The police riot serves the city and the state's interest of
intimidating,chilling and repressing the activities of
protestors, preventing their message from getting to
delegates and to the public, and possibly leading to the
rest of the protests this week either drawing less people
due to fear, or to continued police attacks on protestors
now this precedent has been set. Kalish in his press
conference, repeated the word violence over and over again
with regard to the demonstrators, despite acknowledgment
that almost all of the protests--and thousands of
protestors-were entirely peaceful.
The violence of the police is also clearly related to the
multi-ethnic character of the protest rally/concert. The
LAPD is determined not to allow too many people of color to
gather unmolested in the City of LA in a political way.
They reference the so-called Laker "riots" for this(while
actually thinking of the 1992 Rodney King unrest) but the
reality is that the social order in Los Angeles is so unjust
that control over the poor, the disempowered, the majority
people of color population is maintained by only a thin
cover of law( a cover exposed by the Ramparts
scandal)--massive force by the state is always near the
surface to keep people "in their place."
The transformation of the mostly white protest movement in
Seattle and D.C. into a multi-racial force for fundamental
social change in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, that links
the local with the global, is the corporate/government
leaders' worst nightmare, as it is our best dream. They will
try to nip these developments in the bud ---we will nurture
them, whatever it takes.
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