Thread: L.A. POLICE FIRE ON ILLEGAL ALIEN PROTESTERS - UPDATED

Anger Flares in L.A. After Fatal Police Shooting

Los Angeles police officers wore riot gear Tuesday as they patrolled near the site of the shooting.

By ANA FACIO CONTRERAS
Published: September 8, 2010

LOS ANGELES — City officials and Guatemalan leaders have moved to calm feelings and quell anger after the fatal shooting of a Guatemalan construction worker by a Los Angeles police officer set off two nights of violent protests in a neighborhood populated largely by Central American immigrants.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, people perched on rooftops in the Westlake district were seen hurling objects at officers in riot gear as they sought to control crowds of as many of 300 people who were yelling and waving fists. The Rampart police station was pelted with rocks, bottles and eggs, officials said.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, Richard French, said there were 18 arrests: 4 on Monday on charges of inciting to riot and 14 on Tuesday for failure to disperse. Mr. French said one officer was slightly injured Tuesday by a thrown object.

The construction worker, Manuel Jaminez, 37, was shot by Officer Frank Hernandez on Sunday afternoon in a confrontation that involved three police officers on bicycles at Sixth Street and Union Avenue, the authorities said.

According to the police, Mr. Jaminez was intoxicated and had threatened a woman with a knife. He refused to drop his knife when ordered by Officer Hernandez, the authorities said.

Charlie Beck, the Los Angeles police chief, said on Tuesday that there would be a thorough investigation of the shooting.

The reputation of the police department has improved markedly across this city, and particularly in minority neighborhoods, since the days of Rodney G. King, whose beating by the police in 1991 was videotaped. Acquittal of the officers at trial in 1992 set of days of rioting.

Officer Hernandez, a 13-year veteran, is Latino and reportedly spoke in Spanish to Mr. Jaminez as he tried to defuse the situation.

On Wednesday afternoon, residents and police officers congregated around the shooting site, where votive candles and a donation box with Mr. Jaminez’s photograph had been placed.

Police officials scheduled a community meeting for Wednesday night to hear grievances.

Still, tensions were high in a neighborhood heavily populated with immigrants from Guatemala, many of whom speak their own dialect and little English or Spanish.

“Some were people who live here and are angry at the way police treat Hispanics,â€

QUOTE..........Los Angeles police were checking bags and purses as people filed into the room. Inside, the standing-room-only crowd included mothers pushing children in strollers and representatives from local community organizations.

Out in full force to keep those benefits ya?

That Wetbacklake area is absolutely as backwards as it gets.

Getting CITIZENS OFF welfare was the main objective in the 1990's.

Welcome to the LaRaza takeover.

LAPD Chief Beck heckled by angry crowd at Westlake community meeting

[Updated]
September 8, 2010 | 7:42 pm

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck was heckled Wednesday night as he addressed an angry crowd that had gathered at a Westlake school for a community meeting in the aftermath of a deadly police shooting.

The crowd shouted: "Boo!" "Killers!" and "Assassins!" as Beck took the microphone at John H. Liechty Middle School.

"I hope we came here to have a discussion," Beck said. "Please, let's respect each other."

Beck had to step away from the microphone as the heckling continued.

[Updated 7:49 p.m.: Beck returned to the microphone after a few minutes and promised that the LAPD would conduct a "fair investigation" of the shooting.]


The meeting was conducted in Spanish and English in the heavily immigrant neighborhood, where officials were hoping to ease tensions after two days of violent protest following the shooting Sunday afternoon of Manuel Jamines, 37.

The LAPD said Jamines, a Guatemalan immigrant who worked as a day laborer, threatened passersby and three police officers with a knife and refused repeated commands in Spanish and English to drop the weapon. He was fatally shot by one of the officers near 6th Street and Union Avenue.

Councilman Ed Reyes, whose district includes Westlake, also addressed the crowd.

"We're here trying to air our concerns in a peaceful manner," he said.

-- Esmeralda Bermudez in Westlake

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/09/west.html

LAPD officers skirmish with protesters in Westlake

September 8, 2010 | 8:50 pm

Los Angeles police in riot gear were skirmishing with protesters Wednesday night in Westlake even as Chief Charlie Beck and other city officials were urging calm at a nearby community meeting in the wake of a deadly officer-involved shooting.

Near Union Avenue and 6th Street, protesters hurled trash and other objects at officers. The street was strewn with trash from overturned bins.

Police were trying to push the crowd west on 6th, just a short walk from the middle school where Beck and other officials were addressing the meeting.


Outside, a few hundred people were lined up on the sidewalk. A police helicopter circled low overhead, shining a powerful light. And dozens of squad cars snake along 6th in a caravan.

The area has been hit by two days of violent protests after the shooting Sunday of Manuel Jamines, 37, who allegedly threatened officers with a knife and refused to drop the weapon.


-- Joel Rubin in Westlake
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... oting.html

LAPD squad cars chase after protesters on 6th Street in Westlake
September 8, 2010 | 9:10 pm

Riot-clad Los Angeles police officers in patrol cars Wednesday night were playing a cat-and-mouse game with throngs of protesters along 6th Street in the third straight day of violent clashes following the deadly shooting of a Guatemalan immigrant who allegedly threatened officers and passersby by with a knife.

A few hundred people had gathered at Burlington Avenue and 6th in Westlake, where some hurled bottles at squad cars. Others shouted "Pig!" and profanities at officers as they got out of their vehicles, rifles in their hands.

At least one fire was lighted, but it was quickly extinguished.

Dozens of police cars, lights flashing and sirens wailing, chased after groups of protesters who were running along 6th, near the scene where Manuel Jamines, 37, was shot Sunday afternoon by an LAPD officer.

The LAPD earlier declared a modified tactical alert, holding over extra patrol officers.

-- Joel Rubin and Esmeralda Bermudez at 6th Street and Burlington Avenue

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... tlake.html

Several hundred protesters gather at site where LAPD officer shot man

September 8, 2010 | 9:56 pm

Several hundred protesters were gathered Wednesday night at 6th Street and Union Avenue in Westlake, near a series of makeshift memorials set up where a man was shot and killed by a Los Angeles police officer.

The Los Angeles Police Department said at least two people had been arrested after officers briefly skirmished with demonstrators, some of whom threw trash and bottles at officers.

As police squad cars cruised nearby, Juan Pacheco quietly crossed 6th with his wife, son and daughter.

"We just want everything to go back to normal," said Pacheco, who has lived in Westlake for 12 years. "All this does not let us sleep."

The protesters were at the site, chanting to the beat of a drummer near the sidewalk where Manuel Jamines, 37, allegedly threatened officers and women with a knife and refused commands to drop the weapon.

"What do we want?" an activist named Jose Felix shouted.

"Justice," others responded.

-- Esmeralda Bermudez at 6th Street and Union Avenue

Photos: Protesters clash with LAPD officers in Westlake

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... ing-1.html

L.A. TV News says beanbag rounds have been fired, teargas used and many people hit with nightsticks. Many arrest.

L.A. police chief booed at community meeting
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/201 ... ting_N.htm
http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1112873.html#1112873

Pictures from L.A. TIMES

http://framework.latimes.com/2010/09/08 ... -westlake/

Added to homepage with Amended Title

LA: Police and Protesters Clash as Chief Defends Shooting

http://www.alipac.us/article-5638--0-0.html

Beck said the protests were the culmination of a variety of frustrations, including a terrible economy and a feeling of victimization among immigrants who say the U.S. population likes to blame them for many of society's shortcomings.

I think WE'RE the victims here - paying for every benefit the invaders could possibly collect, all the while watching our country descend into the third world.