Hundreds Arrested in L.A Ferguson Protests

[bpeeps]

Great post to learn who to add to your ignore list. Thanks OP.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by jm1982

I've found that when you read the headline, these cases sound bad. "White officer killed unarmed teen" "Police shoot man with man holding water hose nozzle"

But if you look at it more closely , you'll see some facts that are not contained within the headlines.

Like this..this is from an LA Times article about the Long Beach shooting you mentioned.
To me it sounds like the officers gave Mr.Conoscenti many many chances to comply with orders. As with a wild animal , what do you do when someone is unwilling to comply or be rational or reasonable and becomes a threat to officers and society in general?..

This clearly wasn't just a guy playing with a water hose nozzle in his front yard..

What were the officers supposed to do? Just let him get away and continue to cause havoc ?
If you read the article this guy had previous trouble with the law too , of course his family will say he was just a GREAT guy. He sounds like a menace to society frankly. The job of the officer is to keep law and order, there are situations where they need to take action in order to do this.

Please read below and tell me if this is sounds like sometimes an average Joe would do if approached by police. Is this how you would react?


"Conoscenti’s death was the first officer-involved shooting this year.

The incident began in Compton, where L.A. County sheriff’s deputies confronted Conoscenti at a Target store over an alleged theft, according to a news release from the Compton station.

During the confrontation, deputies say he brandished a pair of scissors and then fled to a white SUV.

Sheriff’s deputies pursued him, and Long Beach police officers joined the chase around 3:15 p.m., deputies said.

Authorities say Conoscenti came to a stop in a cul-de-sac near the corner of East Ocean Boulevard and 14th Place, at the top of a set of stairs leading to the beach, and refused to comply with commands to exit the car.


Fifteen minutes later, Conoscenti allegedly exited the SUV holding a large wooden stick, again refusing to follow commands and continuing instead to the staircase.

Sheriff’s deputies said they deployed non-lethal stunbags to detain Conoscenti, but he continued to run."..

Family of man fatally shot by Long Beach police to file lawsuit - LA Times

You are confusing two separate cases. The Conoscenti case and the Douglas Zerby case which was the water nozzle incident. This LA Times story explains the water nozzle case: Man killed by Long Beach police was holding a water nozzle, not a gun, police say - Los Angeles Times

In Zerby's case, he was not warned or anything else before they shot him. Zerby didn't even know they were there. The family did sue and they won $6.5 million. Family of man killed by Long Beach officers awarded $6.5 million - Los Angeles Times

I don't know much about the Conoscenti case but I think this might be the one NBC4 has been doing stories on. Evidentally, video exists that contradicts what the officers claimed. Here's some video: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/v...alifornia-man/

[UB50]

A lot of people are turning up on the news programs that are saying they never should have been arrested. This article explains it: Ferguson demonstrations bystanders claim they were wrongfully arrested - MyNewsLA.com

I'm rather disappointed in our police. They never should have arrested journalists or bystanders.

[jm1982]

Keep in mind that these officers also saw what happened in Ferguson .

These officers are also aware of what happened during the L.A Riots and don't want a repeat..

There needs to be some way to control these crowds so that the situation doesn't get out of hand.

Just sitting back and letting people do whatever they want just doesn't work.

[UB50]

Did you read the article? They gave the order to disperse at 7th and Fig. They arrested people at 6th and Hope. They should have been arresting people back at 7th and Fig, not the people five blocks away.

People have a right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Just sitting back and letting people do whatever they want just doesn't work.

Yeah. That's what the protestors are saying about the state of contemporary police culture.

[jm1982]

Looks like the LAPD let them out on Turkey Day as a 'good will measure'

LAPD releases Ferguson protesters for Thanksgiving as goodwill gesture - MyNewsLA.com

This is why LAPD had to arrest some people ..

“If you’re here to disrupt the flow of traffic, to put people at risk, to get up on our freeways, to run in and out of traffic, to attack cars by kicking them or with skateboards, we’re not going to let you do that,” Beck said last night.

"It became very dangerous for the driving public and they were doing it on purpose," Oreb said of the demonstraters.

That isn't peaceful protest , that's being a troublemaker and a threat to the safety of others!

[UB50]

jm1982

But those weren't the people the police arrested! It would have been fine if they had -- but they arrested people who were on the sidewalk, just observing.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...127-story.html
"But within an hour, the most feverish of the protesters on the front lines had scattered, leaving behind a gathering of mostly college students, a few reporters and one man seeking an easy route back to his hotel."

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

The physical evidence backs up Wilson's story and contradicts every story that doesn't line up with his. People who kill in self defense don't have to face trial.

Not to mention Dorian Johnson, whose testimony was heard repeatedly by a fawning media that kept adding to the hysteria. In fact, Dorian Johnson was never called by the Grand Jury. And it is no surprise that they never called Mr. Johnson since he had already provided a very highly detailed account of what happened. That account just kept changing and changing and it was later contradicted by the other evidence.

\\
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQTHwK_iRqs

This case would never have led to a conviction. Why is that so complicated for people to understand?