MacArthur Park Video Heart-Ache: Fox News Crew Roughed Up By LAPD
posted at 4:41 pm on May 3, 2007 by see-dubya
Los Angeles blog LAist sends along this video of a local Fox News reporter and camera operator getting egregiously shoved and whomped by the LAPD while covering the Macarthur Park violence.
Note the eyewitness interview at about one minute in. She says
“It’s a group of young guys that started provoking the police, and then it became mob psychology where everybody just followed to go see what was happening”.
If you follow the link to LAist, you’ll see a video at the top by an activist/blogger calling himself “GameJew” who is too cool to wear a shirt under his red overalls. The language is very rough, it’s ten minutes long, and I don’t recommend it to those who haven’t built up a tolerance for hard-core anarcho-moonbat crazitude. If you are so inclined, though, that’s some sweet BDS.
He interviews all sorts of “casual bystanders”–some of whom wear black-bloc urban warrior gear, and all of whom spout hilarious whiny retro-Marxist analysis on cue. His own voiceover accuses the police of creating the situation because “it’s a natural reaction to want to stand off with them, and they create that”.* And then just to complete the stereotype, he closes out the video with some old-school-Commie Woody Guthrie licks.
Basically GameJew is trying to make this into Kent State, as if the cops just showed up and started firing rubber bullets into crowds of kids and grannies just for gits and shiggles. Well, while the LAPD isn’t covered with glory here, I think the lady in the Fox video who says there were young men provoking the police suggests it’s a smidge less black and white than Hot to Trotsky here is spinning it.
UPDATE: Commenter bbz123 reminds me of some important background at Ace’s that might shed some light on the “provocation”. Here’s a (carefully hidden in the MSM) hint: “Rocks and bottles“.
____
*Just like we made Al Qaeda attack us on Sept 11 through our aggressive posture, except of course that they didn’t actually do it and it was BOOSH. But if they had, we would have ma…Dude! Don’t bogart the kind bud! What do you mean, “we abolished private property, remember?”
Blowback
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Funny isn’t it? She managed to get everything on film except “Double time, it’s tussle time”.
What a bunch of tools.
SuperManGreenLantern on May 3, 2007 at 4:53 PM
LOL! Good job (as always) this week, see-dub.
I guess because “Faux News” was ‘attacked’ by the police that means the police weren’t involved in the vast right wing conspiracy to disrupt the ‘peaceful’ protests afterall, eh? ;)
SisterToldjah on May 3, 2007 at 4:54 PM
The cops should be funneling them and checking papers. If you are a citizen then you have nothing to worry about, if your here illegally then you get a free ride to the border. I am sick of watching this stuff, if you are not a citizen you don’t have the right to disrupt our cities and demand concessions from my government!
deadbackpacker on May 3, 2007 at 5:05 PM
Journalists.
Using the word loosely.
Narcissim.
Using the word correctly.
She was given a lawful order by tactical police and she started arguing with them.
That’s really dumb.
I guess they don’t teach ‘em how to count in journalism school, or she could have easily figured out how outnumbered she was and acted accordingly.
Critical Thinking about her situation doesn’t look to be a strongpoint either.
When there is a cordon of helmeted cops in a skirmish line, NOT the time to attempt to hold court in the streets, time to retreat when told to retreat.
Whether you feel the cops are in the right or in the wrong, there is this little thing called common sense.
And if the cops are in the wrong, don’t try for an instant settlement on the spot, that’s what your lawyers are for.
Stupid is as stupid does.
.
The Machine on May 3, 2007 at 5:07 PM
PIMF.. should be funneling them to a checkpoint and checking papers.
deadbackpacker on May 3, 2007 at 5:08 PM
Just a taste of Denver 08. Hope y’all in Colorado are ready for it. The agitators are going to have a field day. Maybe you should send the convention to San Francisco.
Limerick on May 3, 2007 at 5:10 PM
The police showed tremendous restraint in dealing with that idiot.
JayHaw Phrenzie on May 3, 2007 at 5:17 PM
That was a feel good video. Smug, law breaking, anti-USA thieves getting some. Right on.
If you are a member of the media and try to look like an illegal at a rally with “youths” starting trouble, you will be hit with night sticks and tossed through the air? Makes sense to me. What did she expect getting in the face of crowd control? Idiot.
The only thing missing was throwing anyone who could not speak English or prove they are here legally into a truck and taking them back to the border with a few rubber bullets to move them along.
LAPD is sick of it, and so am I.
Awesome.
Hening on May 3, 2007 at 5:19 PM
What’s up with this MacArthur Park business? In this day an age, in sunny-sensitive California, shouldn’t we have a Hirohito Park to stage anti-American demonstrations?
billy on May 3, 2007 at 5:22 PM
Yeah, they’re showing “unedited” video – part of it. This has been running non-stop in L.A., but there are segments of that video where you can see people standing in front of a wall of cops arguing with them, taunting them, sticking cameras in their faces, and for a few seconds you can see about 30-40 red flags – I’m going to take a wild guess and say that the red flaggers were part of the initial confrontation.
John from WuzzaDem on May 3, 2007 at 5:23 PM
Where’s the part where the monkey in the red overalls messily eats an apple? This sketch isn’t as funny as it used to be, SNL really HAS gone downhill.
Bad Candy on May 3, 2007 at 5:24 PM
GET SOME !!!!! GET SOME !!!!!! C’MON, RUN !!!!!! THERE !!!!! GET SOME !!!!!!
I love the smell of ‘journalists’ being bitch-slapped in the morning.
Smells like……….
Janos Hunyadi on May 3, 2007 at 5:24 PM
Good one Machine. Loved Ace’s take on it ( throwing rocks and bottles).
bbz123 on May 3, 2007 at 5:26 PM
The only problem at Kent State was more Communists weren’t killed.
Tim Burton on May 3, 2007 at 5:28 PM
HEY SEE-DUBYA…
I just LOOOOVE your little **asterisk** style.
seejanemom on May 3, 2007 at 5:29 PM
I don’t see anybody reporting on how the actions of the LAPD that day may have stopped a riot before it got started.
Rubber bullets? Suck it up…
unamused on May 3, 2007 at 5:30 PM
Yep
Wade on May 3, 2007 at 5:37 PM
Here’s a great insight for these folks … if you go out of your way to provoke armed people, or place yourself in the midst of this type of volatile situation, the likelihood of a painful outcome will increase dramatically … this isn’t
exactly rocket science …
paul
pbary on May 3, 2007 at 5:42 PM
AAAAAHAHAHAHAAA!
Hey, I just watched that clip at “LAist”, and in it I could clearly hear the police announcement from the chopper circling the park – “Evacuate the park, immediately.”
That would be the announcement that the Fox reporter “never heard”.
A full five minutes later, the crowd of people who were still in the park seemed shocked that the police were clearing them out.
My favorite parts: Mr. Badass in the pic above running like a girl at the first sign of police, and the morons going on about the “fascist state” – you know, the one we live in, where you can taunt the police and go home without even so much as a citation.
John from WuzzaDem on May 3, 2007 at 5:47 PM
Anyone speak Spanish?
.
I would like to know what the guy with the red headband at the beginning of the video at the link LAist said?
.
Why would the other girl refuse to translate it?
abinitioadinfinitum on May 3, 2007 at 5:48 PM
Funny how people here are attempting to stick up for blatant police overreaction (yes, it is overreaction when you shoot rubber bullets into a crowd of people standing in a public park or push over men holding babies) when the police chief of L.A. won’t even stick up for them.
Here’s an idea some of you might want to think about: “The police are not always right.”
Nonfactor on May 3, 2007 at 5:49 PM
The LAPD behaved like a bunch of thugs, very unprofessional. I am no friend of the so call “immigration movement” but what up with clubbing the cameraman in the head? And this is going to cost the taxpayers in LA, I can see the lawsuit coming now and from what I saw, its justified. There is no excuse for allowing your police force to act like a bunch of jack-booted thugs.
Maxx on May 3, 2007 at 5:51 PM
L.A. as a city is gone, there is no hope left IMHO. City Hall is corrupt. City government and the general populace is in favor of Socialism and Reconquista (and it is being embraced by the school system, which is one of the worst in the nation). Infrastructure is decaying. The media is staunchly left-leaning. Health care is a joke. Gangbangers do their business with relative impunity. The LAPD are by no means innocent, they treat everyone as the enemy, and corruption is common. Hollyweird…(’nuff said there). Aside from a few AM talk radio shows that originate there, it’s pretty much down the tubes. Take a good look America, this is the legacy of an open borders immigration policy.
infidel4life on May 3, 2007 at 5:54 PM
People shoud bear in mind, too, that there’s no necessary editorial relationship (at least that I’m aware of or have observed myself) between a Fox News affiliate and the Fox News Channel proper. An affiliate could lean conservative to boring local-perspective neutral to outright guano liberal. Simply seeing the word “Fox” in the corner doesn’t always guarantee you’re in for a Brit Hume-ian experience.
Blacklake on May 3, 2007 at 5:55 PM
LOFL!!!!
bernzright777 on May 3, 2007 at 5:55 PM
It’s funny how the illegal immigrants from foreign countries, primarily from Mexico & South America, as well as their “supporters” will put forth all this effort into public disobedience and live with so much angst inside them for the “oppression and slave wages” they suffer while here in the USA… illegally… but they won’t put forth even a fraction of the same effort in their own COUNTRY OF ORIGIN so they’d not even have to suffer so horribly *sniffle* while trying to get here, much less once they arrive, for a so-called “better life”.
However, I suppose that’s because if they expended even a fraction of the same effort to rile the communities in their own homelands in order to rid themselves and their fellow countrymen of “oppression and slave wages”, the Police and Government Troops would use REAL BULLETS, and po’ folks would die.
I guess it’s just much easier for criminal immigrants to make their self-serving demands in a place where they don’t face large scale murder and imprisoning of “political prisoners” than it is to demand from their own government(s) the very thing they seek here.
SilverStar830 on May 3, 2007 at 5:59 PM
Multi-ethnic march? Yeah, riiight! It was a protest to legitimize illegal aliens.
csdeven on May 3, 2007 at 6:01 PM
Silver Star–
If America’s really so bad and exploitative and fascist, why do these Commies want to keep these more immigrants here? Unless they’re sadists, they should be helping them to get home!
see-dubya on May 3, 2007 at 6:02 PM
Heh, so true on both counts. Man, Mr. Badass really hauled, didn’t he?
Bad Candy on May 3, 2007 at 6:08 PM
I’m sorry, but I can’t agree that it’s all right to beat up the media when they are clearly media. Who’s the foolish one? The camerawoman there to get the story or the clown in riot gear clubbing her? The police should know better than that. And they will always lose the war of images and words.
I don’t remember who it was that said, “Never get into a war of words with someone who buys ink by the barrel.” But it certainly is synonymous with “Never be seen beating up a news reporter.”
Tennman on May 3, 2007 at 6:17 PM
Too bad they were using rubber bullets.
What?! you were thinkin’ it too.
Iblis on May 3, 2007 at 6:20 PM
You nailed it see-dubya. You can tell that these commie pinko’s are praying that this would have turned into another Kent state.
He said the police were trying to block them in to arrest them? HA! Then how did that pantywaist get away? I’ll tell you how…..police tatics to break up crowds ALWAYS leave them an avenues of escape and the police drive them (like the brain dead cattle they are) toward those routes of escape.
I don’t give a rats patootie if they didn’t order them to disperse in spanish. The criminal illegals have the savvy to get to this country, earn a paycheck, but beer, get false identities, etc, but can’t figure out they have to leave the area? Well either learn the language of the country you have invaded or go back to that $hithole of a country you came from.
csdeven on May 3, 2007 at 6:23 PM
All I can say for certain is the people were told to go, and they didn’t. Legally speaking, if officers order you to disperse, then you must. They have authority. Whether or not they were in the right by telling people to disperse I don’t know. Maybe the people throwing rocks and bottles at the police were the only ones that should have been arrested. But, we certainly are NOT living in a facist state just because people are being forced to disperse. If we were, then why in the world would all those Latinos be in such a hurry to get here?
j_ehman on May 3, 2007 at 6:23 PM
oh ya, and they were most certainly wrong when they attacked the media. that’s something that you DO NOT do. They’re just reporting, not attacking you.
j_ehman on May 3, 2007 at 6:26 PM
1) What about the news reporter doing as she was told?
2) How do the cops know she was a legit reporter? In all that chaos, ANYONE could have taken a camera….and couple that with the fact that reporters are told NOT to resist legal orders from the police, and these two fools refused to OBEY and the police treated them accordingly. They are there to clear the streets, not determine if a non-compliant reporter is just being stupid.
3) And yes, they will always lose the war of words as long as people make excuses for morons who refuse to OBEY legal orders from the police.
csdeven on May 3, 2007 at 6:28 PM
.
Do you mean like Zombies
abinitioadinfinitum on May 3, 2007 at 6:32 PM
I really need to start reading through these before commenting because every once in a while, someone nails it in a much better way.
Great job cutting through the PC BS.
csdeven on May 3, 2007 at 6:33 PM
hahahahaha
I haven’t laughed that hard in a while!
Democrats.
roflmao!
csdeven on May 3, 2007 at 6:35 PM
I thought you would like that one!
abinitioadinfinitum on May 3, 2007 at 6:37 PM
Fascist state after-party at Bob’s house everyone! Woooooo!
John from WuzzaDem on May 3, 2007 at 6:39 PM
Come on, cs, that’s prevaricating to prove an illogical point.
As the news reporter stated, the MO of these situations was for the news crew to stay with or behind the advancing line of the police. They were doing their job. It’s pretty hard to miss a news camera and a reporter with their equipment. And except for a scene from “True Lies” I’ve never heard of a cameraman or woman being an identified threat in any crowd-control situation. All it would have taken was another half a minute and they would have complied — or could have been arrested. This wasn’t a life or death situation for the riot control officer; he didn’t need to club her.
Face it: It was just plain stooopid by the policeman.
Tennman on May 3, 2007 at 6:48 PM
This was completeley mishandled, or if not, it catapulted into these dire consequences:
- the journalsh*ts are going to come out smelling like roses
- the police are going to be ‘locked up’ and restrained in their actions, when really needed
- every whiner from the Latino groups’ representation is going to file a law suit, justified or not – it has already begun
- “race discrimination” will be the slant du jour, if not du minute
- many journal-lies have already filed or will file lawsuits
- worst of all, this immigration dilemma has increased the new sign-ups for the hate groups in this country, especially in droves among the young, up to 25 years in age
All is blamed on the minutemen.
Entelechy on May 3, 2007 at 6:52 PM
In that situation the police do not have time to deal with people who do not follow orders. RESPONSIBLE reporters do what they are told and if they choose to ignore those orders, well, they’re just plain stupid.
Here’s the problem with making excuses for stupid reporters. Had the police ASSUMED the intent of the person just by the visual impression they project and not by how they acted too, and that person eventually hurt someone, people would accuse the police of not treating the person according to their ACTIONS instead of their appearance. The responsibility is on the citizen to obey legal commands. If he does that and then gets bashed in the head, well he’d have a case.
csdeven on May 3, 2007 at 7:00 PM
She says reporters are supposed to stay near or behind the policeline. She speaks as if they did and were attacked anyway. Yet it is clear at different points that reporters were both in front of and behind the police line and mixed with the crowd and did not follow police orders. I’m totally confused, does she not realize she was not doing what she was supposed to?
Resolute on May 3, 2007 at 7:07 PM
GameJew is a videogame blogger who works for a videogame website called ScrewAttack.com
GameJew is primarily a video game/electronic reporter/reviewer who wears the mario overalls (those are the red ones your talking about)without anything else as being ‘his thing’
He’s never done anything really political and the website is strictly a videogame one that produces some pretty funny stuff in the way of top 10 lists and the Angry Video Game Nerd.
Defector01 on May 3, 2007 at 7:08 PM
http://www.screwattack.com/GameJewMain.html
Defector01 on May 3, 2007 at 7:10 PM
In a perfect world, that would be true. But to look at both sides of the equation, someone doing what they’ve always been allowed to do, trying to clarify the situation, and then being shoved to the ground, the camera trained on the situation and then the clubbing, that’s the sequence.
I agree. It was incumbent on the reporter to move back. It was more incumbent on the police officers to use good judgment. They’re the trained ones. They’re the ones with the batons and guns. There was no offensive action on the part of the news crew to justify the immediate and excessively forceful action on the part of those who are charged with “serving and protecting” the public.
That’s my thought on the matter. We’ll just have to disagree in principle and let it go at that.
Tennman on May 3, 2007 at 7:12 PM
Fair enough. Thanks for the discourse. :-)
csdeven on May 3, 2007 at 7:15 PM
LOL…..exactly what I was thinking when they first aired this footage on Tuesday night.
Boo Frickin’ Hoo.
I also find it curiously amusing how the LAPD chose to give those dispersal instructions in English….too funny.
But as Entelechy surmised…this is basically a big sh*t sammich and all us Angelenos are gonna be forced to take a big bite.
In a word, I think the LAPD might’ve screwed the pooch on this one.
The Ugly American on May 3, 2007 at 7:36 PM
I gave it a try, but I’m having trouble picking out exactly what he’s saying.
I thought it was “miegra policia la vienda porqueria” but I couldn’t get any of that to translate on Babel Fish.
What I heard as “miegra” might be “migra” which is SoCal Spanish slang for the US Border patrol. “Policia” is the easy one – police. Of course, I don’t know if that’s supposed to be one term “the border police” or if it’s “Border Patrol & Police”. I found a similar word to “vienda” that meant “to come” and a similar word that meant “to sell”. Not sure if either of them are correct. Porqueria was translated by a Spanish slang dictionary as “crap”.
So, it might be something like (and take this with a grain of salt) “The immigration police are selling crap!” Or, a more ‘slangy’ translation could be “The immigration police are full of crap”
Of course, since the other girl didn’t want to translate, I think it might have been more along the lines of “The immigration police are full of sh*t”……
Or, I could be completely off….as I said, I was having trouble picking out the words and my Spanish skills are definitely rudimentary.
JadeNYU on May 3, 2007 at 7:37 PM
Oh, and a side note to people who don’t know too much about protests/demonstrations — the reason some people wear masks over their face is because the police often film the people or take pictures of them and store them in a database.
Nonfactor on May 3, 2007 at 7:41 PM
There seems to be some sentiment that the reporters provoked or at least did not sufficiently comply with law enforcement, and therefore deserved their treatment.
Here’s a different perspective.
Suppose Bryan, Michelle, me or any other videoblogger was present and filming the events. Not being a member of the MSM, we would have no identifiable gear/cameras/etc. If we did hear an order to disperse, we would likely retreat, but continue to film. Our cameras would make us a target.
This very well could be repeated ad nauseam next year here in Denver. Michelle might have some visibility as a columnist and well-known author, but most of the rest of the videobloggers (someone like Zombietime) do our work undercover. The likelihood that something like this will happen increases.
I am all for law enforcement against communist moonbat provocateurs, but having been recently strong-armed by police at a CU-Boulder event celebrating Ward Churchill because the organizers didn’t like dissenters there, I am a bit hesitant to grant police such wide latitude in simply lumping everyone at a scene together. I understand that they have the authority to give commands, and that actions on the scene are made in the moment. But someone simply standing there and holding a camera getting clubbed? Come on.
elpresidente on May 3, 2007 at 7:47 PM
“gitts and shiggles”
Now, THAT’s funny…
Lonevoice on May 3, 2007 at 7:57 PM
About 15 years ago I went to the yearly festival known as taste of Chicago to pick up my girlfriend who was working. I was late and the park was being shut down so a police line was sweeping through the park clearing people out. I walked up to one of the cops and asked if was alright to get my girlfriend who was in a booth about 50 yards away. he said no everyone had to leave. I stood there for about 10 minutes trying to yell and get her attention. Finally I saw a Sargeant and walked up to ask him the same question. As i approached he started screaming at me to get the eff out of there. So I tried to explain that she was within sight and then he smacked me on the side of the head. About 15 cops in the area converged on us. He was a lot smaller than me and a lot older so I was more in shock than hurt. The commotion got my girlfriends attention and after I told that was a big mistake she convinced me to leave. We must have walked half a mile when one of the cops came running up to me and tried to bully me into keeping my mouth shut and then when he saw that wasn’t working appealing to me as a fellow white man.
Cops are people and they screw up. They have a tough job and I am all for giving them the benefit of the doubt but when they do screw up they need to be disciplined and/or fired. I don’t know how anyone can look at the tape of the reporter and think that the police behavior is justified. It’s just thuggish.
Bill C on May 3, 2007 at 8:12 PM
Nonfactor on May 3, 2007 at 5:49 PM
And you almost never are.
EEprom on May 3, 2007 at 8:28 PM
.
Muchos Gracias
My Spanish is limited also and He did talk fast.
abinitioadinfinitum on May 3, 2007 at 9:08 PM
This brainless dike is spewing the propaganda pretty thick…”rubber bullets and, and…all kinds of things”.
That would be rubber bullets and, and…rubber bullets. Another dipshit media celebrity kept saying there “were bullets flying all over the place”.
Again, having no war experience and no knowledge of guns, police, confrontation, public decency, journalism, or proper English, little rubber balls become “bullets and all sorts of things”.
CW, you gave these ass-holes more credit than they were due. LAPD is way overdue to do some serious head-cracking. Had they acted like a police force in South Central, we all could have saved $1 billion and a lot of lost ground as a society…
Jaibones on May 3, 2007 at 9:09 PM
Yes I needed to see that so I could make my own mind. I guess my own mind is now made. Keep up the good work, cops!
Kevin M on May 3, 2007 at 10:37 PM
The cops are getting a SERIOUSLY bad rap on this. They were just doing their job trying to keep the peace. Anyone… ANYONE, including cameramen and reporters, not moving away from the area, deserved what they got. Cops have to have absolute control to keep the situation in check. They’re lucky they used rubber bullets instead of OC spray. They’d be crying literally for a different reason.
MsUnderestimated on May 3, 2007 at 10:42 PM
Question: Do you believe the police can do what they want if they give a warning beforehand? What does this extend to?
P.S. Policestate much?
Nonfactor on May 3, 2007 at 10:52 PM
My guess is that the Communist/Socialist agenda is very important to those that want to see their doctorine become the seat of government in the USA. While they feign caring for the “oppressed slave” illegal immigrants, they give the impression that they rally to the oppressed enslaved illegal immigrants cause. In taking the oppressed slave illegal immigrants “under their wing”, they gain their trust, and they harvest more soldiers from the illegal immigrant base. South America is basically Communist/Socialist for the most part anyway, so the illegal immigrant sees no problem in making the connection. There are 12 Million+ illegal immigrants in the USA, that’s a helluva lot of prospective new members once they are given their citizenship on a silver platter… and get the right to vote.
SilverStar830 on May 3, 2007 at 11:45 PM
LAPD Chief Bratton has asked for an FBI probe, to see if the civil rights of some of the protesters were violated by the police actions.
However, he also said today that there will be no drive to go after the individual policemen, but rather to find out what policies/procedures need to be changed for the future.
Heard on the John and Ken show, KFI640AM, this afternoon, that Mr. Bratton commented today that the instigators, the com*unist El Salvadoreans who threw the bottles and rocks at the cops, were very organized and attacked in flanks, three in total: first, with mixed men/women, the second, approaching just females and the third mixing it up with all kinds of rebels. Apparently they do this frequently at various rallies.
Entelechy on May 3, 2007 at 11:58 PM
Policestate much?
?
First off, the LAPD Chief of Police is a ba$tard for second guessing his very own department in the media in order to save his own a$$. With a demonstration of this size and magnitude, the orders should have been coming from the apex of the food chain (ie: HIM) from the get-go. If that’s not the case, he’s a cowardly prick for not calling the shots from the start. If it is the case, and he was calling the shots, then he’s hanging out his entire Police Force to dry for his own utter incompetance.
No Police Force, especially one the size of LAPD’s with their history, which puts them under the microscope already anyway, deploys ANY less-than-lethal use of force and crowd control tactical movements without orders from the ranking commanding officer in this type of scenerio.
It’s nothing to do with Police State, as much as you may want to portray it that way for your own ends, it’s everything to do with getting a job done the best way you can given the fact that no matter what you do, it’s not enough or too much regardless. You don’t stand idley by while taking rocks and bottles when there are 10′s of thousands of people facing you. Inciting a riot is easy, and chucking foreign objects at the police from within the midst of a throbbing mass of already pissed off people is a sure way to incite one.
Cops can’t win in a situation like this, but that LAPD Police Chief is the biggest a$$hole I’ve seen yet if he’s going to go in front of the media and basically say he’s going to part and parcel hand-pick some sheep to slaughter to appease the cry-babies that were there at their own risk while knowing full well it could get very ugly before they even got out of bed that day.
SilverStar830 on May 4, 2007 at 12:00 AM
So why didn’t any members of the Minutemen Project wear bandanas over their faces (or white hoods, as some on the left would suggest) when they marched with Ted Hayes recently?
Oh right…none of them are wanted by the police.
The Ugly American on May 4, 2007 at 12:12 AM
Don’t even try to explain anything to nonfactor, Ugly
It’s the Classic Troll, sitting there watching our posts with only one hand typing, waiting for what it thinks is an opening to score what it thinks are points.
All nonfactor ever does is roll out the same crap talking points, and I’ve been listing to Sheiss like this for about forty years now, and it never changes.
Janos Hunyadi on May 4, 2007 at 12:22 AM
Hey this is post 9/11 USA. Who knows what could have been in that crowd. These people are already breaking the law just by being here. Wanting to make nice,nice with the Feds aint gonna cut it. Now add the violence factor and wham instant reaction by the LAPD which I think is justified. The women and children thing aint gonna fly with, either obey orders in an emergency situation or pay the consocuences period. The language barrier don’t cut it either, on the contrary I think it demonstrates clearly the need to learn and speak english (the official language). The whole argument for these illegals is bogus EVERY nationality that ever came the USA had to learn to speak the mother toung. These A-holes need to get with it or GTFO!!!!!
sonnyspats1 on May 4, 2007 at 12:47 AM
BTW These douches did choose May Day to demonstrate AND were carrying red flags so they need to fess up where their allegiance lies.
sonnyspats1 on May 4, 2007 at 12:52 AM
They store people in a database? That’s frightening.
John from WuzzaDem on May 4, 2007 at 1:00 AM
You wouldn’t know a police state if one bit you in the ass.
John from WuzzaDem on May 4, 2007 at 1:03 AM
I KNOW!!!!….
*shivers uncontrollably*
The Ugly American on May 4, 2007 at 1:24 AM
I have no problem with LAPD over this.
Any time cops have riot gear on, order people to leave the area, and start moving forward, -that’s not the time to try to argue, or think it doesn’t apply to you. If you’re not moving out of the area, you get hit hard enough that you leave, or can’t get back up and come at the officers from behind.
This also applies to the media when they don’t play by the rules, because the media has no right to interfere with the officers while they are handling business.
Anyone can easily leave the area, go to a place away from the incident and call the police for an inquiry on why they were ordered to leave, then file a personal complaint if they feel the police action was unwarranted.
Dan866 on May 4, 2007 at 3:36 AM
I can’t help thinking that these are the same people that President Bush has trashed and split the GOP by supporting their criminal behavior.
I’m sure that some cops will be
prosecutedpersecuted over this too.It’s well past time for a fence, strict immigration enforcement on the jobsite, and finally deportation of everyone not here legally.
Every demonstration such as this should have long lines of INS busses in attendance.
Buzzy on May 4, 2007 at 5:26 AM
Explain to me why FOX-LA is sending an “ethnic” reporter to cover a story about Immagracion? Why not use one of the blue-eyed, blonde reporters out of stock to at least pay lip service to impartiality?
Reporters aren’t a special class of people; they are expected to observe lawful orders like everyone else. Differentiating one cameraperson from the hundreds of other people with cameras (from organizations like the Black Block, the NLG, etc.) is not the business of riot police.
thegreatbeast on May 4, 2007 at 10:19 AM
Facism never looked more fun!
mesablue on May 4, 2007 at 12:08 PM
LAPD perhaps being over zealous? Nuh-uh.
honora on May 4, 2007 at 12:24 PM
The police don’t have supreme power to do what they want simply because they tell people to leave a public park. It doesn’t give them carte blanche to do whatever, and if you think so you’re just asking to be ruled over by somebody. For a conservative website the lack of libertarians here is frightening.
“The rules”? It’s not like this is a game. There are things called “laws,” and just because a police officer does something does not make it “lawful.”
Or they could exercise there Constitutional right to a peaceful protest. Just seeing what you are saying makes me pity what some people may think of the Constitution. “If the police don’t allow you to speak simply get away from the police and then call the police for an inquiry on why they prohibited you from speaking…” Pathetic.
I love the assumption that every Mexican-American must be pro-amnesty. But did you ever think that a Hispanic reporter might be able to converse with the people on the scene more easily than a “blue-eyed blonde reporter”?
Who’s to say the orders were lawful? Who’s the say the actions were lawful? Just because the police do something does not make it lawful.
Equal beatings for everyone.
Nonfactor on May 4, 2007 at 1:22 PM
I have been a member of Hot Air for a while and I really like a lot what I see here. With that being said I have to say that many of you are so blinded by politics that you become complete idiots when it comes to events like these. I am VERY much against illegal aliens. I think the border should be shut down and people should be deported for immigration violations. However, this idea that the only people at this protest were illegal aliens is absolutely ridiculous. The idea that these people “got what they deserved” is ridiculous. Many people there WERE AMERICAN CITIZENS. I live in L.A. and I have been involved in these rallies as part of medical teams. Whether you are for or against illegal immigration is not the point. YOU DON’T TREAT PEOPLE THIS WAY. If someone is out of line then you arrest them. You don’ walk through crowds indiscriminately shooting them with rubber bullets, beating them with batons and spraying them with pepper spray. THERE WERE MANY CHILDREN THERE. Were there troublemakers? Of course, but they are at EVERY immigrant rally and are easily identifiable. They wear all black and cover their faces with bandanas. The police new EXACTLY who the trouble makers were but they chose to assault all they confronted. For those of you who like to run your mouths about how people should have just left you may be right. But you have NO IDEA how big this park is. You don’t just walk fifty feet and you’re out. When if your family was separated and you’re trying to find your wife and kids? Too bad? Sorry about your luck? Some of you here make me sick to think you are in my party. As I said earlier many if the attendants were AMERICAN citizens and whether or not an order was given to clear the park is not the point. You don’t shoot at people running away. You don’t beat them when they are on the ground. You don’t shoot people trying to help someone up who has fallen. This makes me sick and frankly so do some of the people in this thread.
calirighty on May 4, 2007 at 1:59 PM
Hey, I’m no apologist for the MSM, nor do I have any sympathy for illegals who take to the streets with stupid claims of the southwest USA belonging to Mexico. But let’s face it, if it weren’t for this local Fox news crew, we wouldn’t have any footage for the kind of Republican love fest we’re having right now.
If you live in a town like Washington long enough, you learn it soon enough. These guys are pumped up, they are on the high side of adrenalin. They see anyone with a pulse as a potential threat, until they determine otherwise. And frankly, in this line of work, you’re going to get a few psychopaths who relish having an excuse to use a nightstick on defenseless women. I mean, if they can’t get away with beating their wives, what choice do they have?
That female reporter with an obvious press pass and a microphone was no more a threat than their Aunt Minnie. Nor did she have much control over which way the wind was blowing. You wanna blame her for not getting out of the way? Ever try to get out of the way of a moving train? How about a moving train that’s half a mile wide? How about a moving train half a mile wide that doesn’t care who it hits with a loaded weapon?
Nah, didn’t think so.
On days that the World Bank is in session, the last place I want to be is at my office just west of the White House. So I’m no dummy; I work from home. But I’ve also walked along a sidewalk minding my own damn business, and have been yelled at by cops who had an extra helping of hormones that morning.
If they’d had the slightest excuse to draw nightsticks, I never would have seen it coming. Hey, I’m just a guy walking down the street who didn’t read the paper that morning. It doesn’t explain everything, but it does explain some of it.
Easy to be a bad-ass sitting behind that computer, eh, tough guy?
manwithblackhat on May 4, 2007 at 2:45 PM
Before you ask, yes, I know about psychological screening for police work. I also know that a very small percentage can fool the system. And it only takes a few to get the rest of the crowd stirred up.
manwithblackhat on May 4, 2007 at 2:47 PM
Nonfactor – are you a libertarian? Dude do your homework-
Right from the FAQ page of the Libertarian Party Website:
Pretty much “My freedom ends where your’s begins.” – Hey no problem there. So if any person can’t walk through that park because other people are throwing rocks and bottles, the laws say the police have the authority to break up the crowd. Start with 407 PC and work your way down. You can google it.
I’m not going to get sucked into a long argument here. I don’t live in a “police state” and neither do you.
Dan866 on May 4, 2007 at 6:19 PM
I saw several videos of the incident. LAPD says that they were trying to prevent people from moving to the street. In all the videos I saw, police were advancing on grass or dirt. They were not in the street when they were beating people on the ground with batons. They were not in the street when they were assaulting well identified news reporters. They were not in the street when they were firing rubber bullets into crowds. They knew who the rock and bottle throwers were. Everyone here knows who they were, yet the police assaulted whomever crossed their path. So let me get this straight. LAPD says they wanted people out of the street. Video shows them assaulting people in the park where there were no streets. So if you can’t be in the street and you can’t be in the park then where in the hell can you go? It sickens me that LAPD had several HUNDRED officers working in the vicinity yet they couldn’t manage to arrest the trouble makers. I guess they figured “Why arrest someone when we can beat them?” Here’s an idea: We can’t catch the rock throwers so let’s beat the reporters. We can’t catch bottle throwers so let’s fire rubber bullets into crowds with children. The police have the right to maintain order but they do not have the right to destroy property such as news cameras. They do not have the right to beat people who are fleeing. They do not have the right to strike defenseless people who are on the ground. And to top it all off now my tax dollars will be used to pay for the property damage they caused and the lawsuits that are sure to follow. What a disgrace.
calirighty on May 4, 2007 at 7:12 PM
This country is at war! Many of the LAPD are war vets! We are in a state of alert nationwide! First they are illegal and second some broke the laws further by acting out with violence. Just as I would want to be protected from a prison riot I want to be protected from these illegals who don’t have rights either. So I won’t be confused with someone who thinks he’s a badass sitting behind a computer.
sonnyspats1 on May 4, 2007 at 7:22 PM
I suppose everyone in Los Angeles is an illegal. I suppose the news anchors who I have watched on TV for the last 7 years are illegal. I suppose everyone who was beaten on the ground was illegal. Sonnyspats1 you are an idiot if you believe that. some of the protesters WERE illegal. Some of them WERE throwing bottles and rocks. But you know what? You arrest the people who are responsible. You don’t just call open season on everyone you see in the park. This was not a prison riot. These were people who had A VALID PERMIT TO BE IN THE PARK UNTIL 9:00 P.M. What happens if I (a white man) and his family were in that park when they decided to start assaulting people? Am I just out of luck? What about MY rights? Oh that’s right. I guess only the bad-ass LAPD have rights. You are sick.
calirighty on May 4, 2007 at 7:58 PM
calirighty on May 4, 2007 at 7:58 PM
Where is all the consideration for the fact these people are protesting to continually break Federal laws? For all you know the order could have come down for political reasons to gain sympathy for their cause. Just consider the people who were assulted the sacrifical lambs for their cause, they are hero’s down in the bodega tonight. I don’t give a rats ass about their plight I got my own. Life is tough and these A-holes ars a pain in Americas ass!
sonnyspats1 on May 4, 2007 at 8:19 PM
Some of those assaulted were not protesters. They were news reporters. Not everyone is an illegal alien. The last time I checked the Constitution guaranteed people the right to protest their government. It doesn’t matter WHAT they were protesting or whether or not what they were protesting was legal or illegal. As I said earlier I am no lover of illegal immigrants. They can round them all up and deport them as far as I am concerned. That being said, you STILL don’t assault defenseless AMERICAN CITIZENS just because you don’t like what they were protesting. That is treading dangerous territory. The police had the option of dealing with the situation the way the were trained but unfortunately they decided to transfer out of the park about 80 officers who were SPECIFICALLY TRAINED for this situation. You had rogue cops shooting at anything that moved. You had officers beating people who were complying with the order to move. You had officers assaulting well known news reporters who were trying to get into their vans. You had police officers destroying television station equipment. If you don’t think this was mishandled then you are nuts.
calirighty on May 4, 2007 at 8:51 PM
calirighty on May 4, 2007 at 8:51 PM
Right or wrong I kinda liked it. I am tired of these instigators taking sides with illegals and other who knows what elements of this Chevez/commie movement! If the Mexicans are so great let them go home and fix their country . I for one am not gonna lay down for a bunch of subversive elements posing as a humanitarian movement. It’s illegal period. Who is it gonna be next the terrorist groups crying for bullshit rights. Yes I am crazy. Crazy about this great country and the geek squad trying to tear it down in the name of reconquista. Bullshit! I hope to see more footage of the same zero tolerance for any bunch of a-holes.
sonnyspats1 on May 4, 2007 at 9:36 PM
So I guess according to you we just suspend the constitution and attack whoever we feel like as long as we don’t like them. Nice. Just shoot people wether they are illegal or not. NIce. Just beat people when they are on the ground whether they were protesting or not. NIce. I guess the end justifies the means. According to your logic the British were in the right to massacre the citizens of Boston. According to your logic it was OK to beat and kill blacks during the civil rights movement. According to your logic it was right for the National Guard to murder 4 students at Kent State University. According to your logic the end justifies the means regardless of the cost. People like you are why both World Wars Happened. If you don’t like someone just shoot them. What a sad home you must have grown up in.
calirighty on May 4, 2007 at 10:04 PM
That was then this is now. Cry me a river!
sonnyspats1 on May 4, 2007 at 11:57 PM
Glad to see someone on the right look at this from an apolitical standpoint.
Nonfactor on May 5, 2007 at 1:15 AM
(Someone had to say it — after all, it’s the LAPD ya’know.)
CyberCipher on May 5, 2007 at 1:32 AM