Thread: Immigration melee victims, L.A. reach $10Mil settlement

Immigration Melee victims, city of L.A. reach tentative settlement

People close to the talks put the deal at about $10 million. Hundreds of marchers and journalists and 18 officers were hurt in the May Day clash at MacArthur Park involving LAPD officers.

By Joel Rubin
10:51 AM PST, November 19, 2008

Victims of the melee in MacArthur Park last year involving Los Angeles police have reached a tentative multimillion-dollar settlement with the city, people close to the settlement talks said today.

The sources declined to provide details of the settlement and spoke on condition that their names not be used because the terms of the agreement are confidential pending the City Council's approval of the deal. A couple of the sources, however, placed the proposed settlement at about $10 million.



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The council is expected to discuss and possibly vote on the settlement today.

Last year, as a May Day immigration march was concluding at the park, lines of police in riot gear moved in to clear the area. Reacting to a pocket of agitators throwing bottles and other objects, officers from the LAPD's elite Metro Division used batons and fired rubber bullets into the crowd of largely peaceful demonstrators. Hundreds of marchers and journalists and 18 officers suffered injuries. No one was killed.

In the immediate aftermath, Police Chief William J. Bratton removed two command-level officers from their posts; one later resigned. And in September, after a long internal investigation, he announced his plans to suspend 11 officers and called for the termination of four others for excessive use of force, failing to rein in other officers or lying to investigators during the inquiry.


A scathing internal report by senior LAPD officials placed blame on poor leadership and planning, as well as the overly aggressive tactics by officers in the field.

The settlement would resolve a class action lawsuit and several individual lawsuits filed in federal court -- the majority of the claims against the city. It does not include, however, lawsuits filed in state courts by journalists who were targeted by police, a source said.

Rubin is a Times staff writer.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 0307.story

So tell me......do those 18 officers, hurt in the course of doing their job, get to sue the illegal aliens who caused their injuries?

I'm also wondering how many non-victims have claimed they were injured in order to grab another handful of $$?

Email alert issued.

RED ALERT FOR Texas.

Everyone on board please!

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-138508.html

These "victims" always know that the governments of liberal cities are easy targets. But you have to belong to the right "group" to get an award.

Originally Posted by azwreath

So tell me......do those 18 officers, hurt in the course of doing their job, get to sue the illegal aliens who caused their injuries?

I'm also wondering how many non-victims have claimed they were injured in order to grab another handful of $$?

Unfortunately AZW, this is LA, home to the reconquista Mayor and his Police Chief puppet Bratton! Those police officers did not stand a chance as both Bratton and Vilareconquista immediately took the side of the illegal invaders and their supporters! Bratton sold out his own rank and file and never once gave his officers the benefit of the doubt in this case!

This despite the fact that 18 officers were attacked and injured by this angry, militant mob of illegal invaders and their advocates! That alone would seem to demonstrate that officers were justified in their use of force in order to protect themselves and control that crowd! None of that mattered I guess.

Once again, the criminal illegal invaders and their ilk get a payday at the expense of tax paying Americans!

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Originally Posted by azwreath

So tell me......do those 18 officers, hurt in the course of doing their job, get to sue the illegal aliens who caused their injuries?

I'm also wondering how many non-victims have claimed they were injured in order to grab another handful of $$?

Unfortunately AZW, this is LA, home to the reconquista Mayor and his Police Chief puppet Bratton! Those police officers did not stand a chance as both Bratton and Vilareconquista immediately took the side of the illegal invaders and their supporters! Bratton sold out his own rank and file and never once gave his officers the benefit of the doubt in this case!

This despite the fact that 18 officers were attacked and injured by this angry, militant mob of illegal invaders and their advocates! That alone would seem to demonstrate that officers were justified in their use of force in order to protect themselves and control that crowd! None of that mattered I guess.

Once again, the criminal illegal invaders and their ilk get a payday at the expense of tax paying Americans!

I remember that travesty well NB.........never have I seen something so disgusting in my life as police officers being persecuted for doing their jobs.

You know what will happen, don't you? When all Hell breaks loose out there.....and it WILL.....the police officers are going to turn their backs and walk away.

May I ask you NB.......are you planning to leave CA? I don't recall if I've ever read anything saying if you were or weren't and I just can't imagine what it must feel like living on the edge of never knowing what is going to happen out there next.

Originally Posted by azwreath

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Originally Posted by azwreath

So tell me......do those 18 officers, hurt in the course of doing their job, get to sue the illegal aliens who caused their injuries?

I'm also wondering how many non-victims have claimed they were injured in order to grab another handful of $$?

Unfortunately AZW, this is LA, home to the reconquista Mayor and his Police Chief puppet Bratton! Those police officers did not stand a chance as both Bratton and Vilareconquista immediately took the side of the illegal invaders and their supporters! Bratton sold out his own rank and file and never once gave his officers the benefit of the doubt in this case!

This despite the fact that 18 officers were attacked and injured by this angry, militant mob of illegal invaders and their advocates! That alone would seem to demonstrate that officers were justified in their use of force in order to protect themselves and control that crowd! None of that mattered I guess.

Once again, the criminal illegal invaders and their ilk get a payday at the expense of tax paying Americans!

I remember that travesty well NB.........never have I seen something so disgusting in my life as police officers being persecuted for doing their jobs.

You know what will happen, don't you? When all Hell breaks loose out there.....and it WILL.....the police officers are going to turn their backs and walk away.

May I ask you NB.......are you planning to leave CA? I don't recall if I've ever read anything saying if you were or weren't and I just can't imagine what it must feel like living on the edge of never knowing what is going to happen out there next.

I'm absolutely planning on leaving AZW! I just don't know where to go at this point! I have lived here my entire life, so it's hard to get up and go. Honestly, It's expensive to live here and jobs within the transportation industry (where a majority of my experience is) are hard to come by for a white male who speaks poor spanish.

Seems as if more and more companies in this state now require their managers/supervisors to speak spanish. Could it be because the labor they are hiring in their warehouses, docks and or drivers do not speak English?

Sorry, but something's definitely wrong when you read the classifieds and many of the jobs in your field require you to be bilingual, ( with spanish as the second language). Even a college education with some graduate school does not seem to give you any advantage unless you can speak spanish.

I don't know AZW if the grass is going to be any greener some place else. I guess I can always come back to CA if it's not....

RED ALERT!!! PLEASE JOIN IN!!!

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-808934.html#808934

L.A. to pay nearly $13 million over May Day melee, sources say

The settlement would mark one of the largest payouts ever made to resolve LAPD misconduct. Department has sanctioned officers and trained force to prevent another such incident.

By Joel Rubin
7:00 PM PST, November 19, 2008

The city of Los Angeles would pay nearly $13 million to immigration protesters and bystanders injured by Los Angeles police officers during a melee at MacArthur Park last year, according to sources familiar with a tentative settlement reached by both sides.

If approved by the City Council, the mayor and the judge overseeing the bulk of the plaintiffs' claims against the city, the settlement would go far in bringing to a close an embarrassing and damaging chapter in the LAPD's recent history. It would mark one of the largest payouts ever made to resolve LAPD misconduct.

Further payouts are likely to journalists who also sued, charging that they were roughed up by the LAPD while covering the event.

The sources declined to provide details of the settlement and spoke on condition that their names not be used because the terms of the agreement were confidential pending the council's approval of the deal. Several of the sources, however, confirmed the size of the proposed deal at $12.85 million.

The council was scheduled to discuss the settlement in private Wednesday, but emerged without voting on whether to approve it. The council is expected to take up the matter again in the near future.

City Council members, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief William J. Bratton all declined to comment. Representatives from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a major Latino advocacy group that has been involved in the settlement talks, also declined to comment.

Last year, as a May Day pro-immigration march was concluding in the park west of downtown, lines of police in riot gear moved in to clear the area. Reacting to what authorities described as a pocket of agitators throwing bottles and other objects, officers from the LAPD's elite Metro Division used batons and fired rubber bullets into the largely peaceful crowd. Hundreds of demonstrators and journalists and 18 officers suffered injuries. No one was killed.

In the immediate aftermath, Bratton removed two command-level officers from their posts; one later resigned. And in September, after a long internal investigation, Bratton announced plans to suspend 11 lower-ranking officers and called for the termination of four others for excessive use of force, failing to rein in other officers or lying to investigators during the inquiry.

Investigators were unable to identify several other officers who probably would have been punished for their roles in the incident.

A scathing internal LAPD report placed blame on poor leadership and planning as well as the overly aggressive tactics by officers in the field.

With graphic images of the violent chaos recorded by photographers and television crews in the park, the clash gained immediate worldwide attention. It dealt a serious public relations blow to a police department that under Bratton has made a deliberate effort to shake a reputation for brutality that stems from the Rodney G. King beating, the Rampart scandal and other incidents.

The fallout also strained Bratton's relationship with leaders of the union that represents rank-and-file officers, who criticized him harshly for his comments about the officers' conduct.

Desperate to avoid another such misstep, the LAPD retrained all its officers in basic crowd control tactics and overhauled the way it prepares for and manages protests and other major events. This year's May Day marches -- as well as other tense protests such as those following voters' decision this month to ban same-sex marriage -- went smoothly.

The proposed settlement would resolve a class action lawsuit and several individual lawsuits filed in federal court -- the majority of the more than 300 claims against the city. It does not include, however, lawsuits filed in state courts by journalists, a source said.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the amount paid to each person would vary dramatically from several hundred thousand dollars to a few thousand dollars based on the extent of their injuries and medical expenses, sources said.

Rubin is a Times staff writer.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 0307.story

Victims of the melee in MacArthur Park last year involving Los Angeles police have reached a tentative multimillion-dollar settlement with the city

Yep, opportunity abounds for immigrants in the land of milk and honey, especially the illegal IMMIGRANTS! Remember, they're are just trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.