LA Police completely drop ball tonight re traffic control due to Prop 8 protest nr Silver Lake neighborhood (Los Angeles: home, tax)

[ParkTwain]

Your tax dollars at work!

As of about 7.20pm tonight there was no way to drive from the west on major surface streets into the Silver Lake neighborhood of the city tonight due to the Police barricade of all major east-west streets to the west of Vermont St. But, even though the protest that was the cause of these barricades was known to police in advance (given the presence of the street barricades), there were NO POLICE posted at major intersections west of Vermont St., NO SIGNAGE placed at major intersections west of Vermont St. to guide motorists to alternate eastbound routes, and no way for motorists to get information about how far north on Vermont St. the road was closed. I guess that LAPD doesn't do traffic control on Saturday nights even on the MAJOR THOROUGHFARES in the city.

At about 7.20pm tonight I was forced to drive through there after hitting the roadblock in the eastbound lanes of Santa Monica Blvd, and it was CHAOS trying to accomplish travel on any street going north from that point.

I thought LA was a "world class" city! God forbid you had a fire call or medical emergency anywhere in the neighborhood just west of Vermont St. and north of Santa Monica Blvd. tonight. LAPD should not allow these street protests if they cannot accomplish continuity of traffic on the major thoroughfares by rational and well-marked alternate routes.

Here is LA Times newspaper coverage of tonight's march:
Anti-Prop. 8 protests spring up in California - Los Angeles Times
//
Police estimated that 12,500 boisterous marchers converged about 6 p.m. at Sunset and Santa Monica boulevards in Silver Lake near the site of the former Black Cat bar, which the city recently designated a historic-cultural monument for its '60s role as home of the local gay rights movement.

Police guided the demonstrators through the streets for more than three hours without major confrontations. No arrests were reported.
//

[alexanderaf]

Originally Posted by ParkTwain

Police estimated that 12,500 boisterous marchers converged about 6 p.m. at Sunset and Santa Monica boulevards in Silver Lake near the site of the former Black Cat bar...

How do you estimate something if you're not there?

[happ]

It was announced that the march would be in Hollywood & Silverlake. But LAPD routinely screw things up with traffic control. They frequently close Hollywood Blvd on wkend nights w/ massive traffic jam resulting.

LA Times reports upcoming marches. One downtown today & in Santa Monica & other areas.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Dont blame it on the police. Blame it on the protestors. Geez

[ParkTwain]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

Dont blame it on the police. Blame it on the protestors. Geez

I think that the LAPD has the training and technology to be at least as organized as 10,000 marchers. There were also at least 6 helicopters in the air over that area at the time I was driving through. Do you think at least one of them was LAPD? This shows that it is likely that the cops won't be able to handle real emergency of large scale in that part of the city, one would have to presume.

The cops should not have allowed the marchers to cause all the major east-west streets in that area to be shut down. Doing so precluded the possibility of emergency vehicles getting into that entire area. An arsonist would have a field day last night.

[hsw]

It's all relative...

LAPD is immensely superior to SFPD in protecting its taxpayers....and LAPD is inferior to BevHills PD, which understands how to protect its taxpayers from silly nonsense from largely trivial taxpayers...all about superior management who understands who pays bills and paychecks...

[AzianCalFullertonStudent]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

Dont blame it on the police. Blame it on the protestors. Geez

I wonder why the protesters don't protest in Compton or Watts where an over-whelming majority voted for Prop. 8.

[KnoxTown]

Originally Posted by AzianCalFullertonStudent

I wonder why the protesters don't protest in Compton or Watts where an over-whelming majority voted for Prop. 8.

Using that logic, they should really only be in primarily Hispanic areas.

[Alamedan]

Originally Posted by AzianCalFullertonStudent

I wonder why the protesters don't protest in Compton or Watts where an over-whelming majority voted for Prop. 8.

They should actually be protesting at the Mormon temple, since it was the Mormons who bankrolled the Yes on 8 propaganda.

[XodoX]

I do no see a problem there at all. They were protesting for their rights, which is totally understandable, and the LAPD needs to be there to watch it.
So?
You are very right about it. My tax dollars at work. Just the way I want them to handle this.

Better than police men going to a bar and drinking on their break which was on TV. yesterday. Total waste of my tax dollars. After that they probably went sleeping in the police car to sober up for the end of their shift.