Thread: Late-breaking letters: Too quick to proclaim 'police brutali

Thursday, May 10, 2007
Late-breaking letters: Too quick to proclaim 'police brutality'

Online letters posted Thursday afternoon, May 10

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were quick to condemn the actions of the Los Angeles police during the immigration rally on May Day ["Police reaction after protest 'was wrong', L. A. mayor says," Region, May 5]. Since neither was at MacArthur Park to personally witness the so-called melee, as was the case with me, I have as much legitimacy to make a few observations as they have.

Nowhere in the Associated Press article was there mention that the majority of demonstrators were probably illegal aliens. The story was clearly biased against the police except for one sentence alleging the police "responded after being pelted by rocks and bottles." No mention was made of the contents of the bottles. No mention was made that Los Angeles is a politically proclaimed sanctuary city and, therefore, refuses to enforce federal immigration laws. If the leaders of a city side with illegal aliens, instead of supporting their own police force, before the occurrence has been properly investigated, it shows that sanctuary is more important to the politicians than law enforcement. It also supports the concept that these leaders have been so indoctrinated or de-sensitized by the propaganda of immigrant sympathizers that they panic at any perceived mistreatment by their own police.

There has been no published information of arrests of law breakers so I conclude there were none. So where is the crime? The police department is left holding the bag, but sanctuary is alive and well in Los Angeles.

Roger Rhoades

Orange

'The heads will roll'

It was interesting to listen to Mayor Villaraigosa on the TV news indicating that a inquiry regarding the McArthur Park confrontation between the L.A. police and the Immigration demonstrators on May 1 was being conducted. Apparently the mayor has pretty well made up his mind that the demonstrators were not at fault and that the police overreacted and used far too much force to control the situation that seemed to be getting out of hand. The mayor said that police commanders' "heads would roll" as he and staff researched the films of the incident.

The mayor was in South America when all this took place but yet he must have heard from the leaders of the protest that the police were at fault and that he better get his butt back to Los Angeles and condemn this group of "storm troopers." It's a sad commentary on the city of Los Angeles when the mayor condemns his police department before all the facts have been examined and the guilty have been identified.

In the United States you are innocent until proven guilty. Perhaps the mayor is not aware of this tradition. The L.A. police have had problems recruiting recently, and I'm sure this will add another brick wall to their recruiting program. Fabian Nunez added his outrage, so I guess next we will be getting a visit from Jesse Jackson.

Hugh A. McGlynn

Huntington Beach

Provocation was high

I watched in horror as police action unfolded during the MacArthur Park melee on May 1. It didn't seem real that the LAPD could lose control as it looked to be happening, but as a member of the Minuteman Project and one who has attended many rallies and protests, I can attest to the frustration the police were under.

The agitators who sparked the incident looked to be from the same groups that we have faced many times in Orange County. These types, which we commonly refer to as "goons," are most likely organized socialists, communists or anarchists. Their attempts to intimidate include wearing masks to hide their identity and using foul and threatening language. Their attempts to draw us into a confrontation are much like those of your pesky little brother's, when he would point his finger within an inch of your face and claim in a sing-song voice, "I'm not touching you," daring you to do something about it. This time the police called their bluff. Unfortunately, they went too far.

Keeping in mind that these "goons" are confrontational enough to provoke LAPD's highly trained elite police force, imagine the abuse the Minutemen and our supporters must endure from them in order to exercise our right to freedom of speech.

In no way would I condone the excessive use of force used by the police that day, but I understand how and why it happened. They were reacting to provocation and unfortunately the agitators were successful in creating the response they were seeking.

Eileen Garcia

Laguna Beach

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/op ... 690817.php

Not only was there provocation, see below for video which proves it:

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=N ... e&sid=2137


A lawful order to disperse was given and in the video, you can clearly see the people running TO the police. Tell the WHOLE TRUTH!