Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell defended his department’s handling of recent protests, saying officers took appropriate action to calm the unrest – opposing criticism of the active mass control tactics used in President Trump’s immigration crackdown on protests.
McDonnell said in a statement released on Monday that the department will conduct a “full assessment of each use of mandatory incident.” The chief said LAPD would not evade scrutiny and would take action against any officers who “had not lowered” the department’s standards.
The statement cites a Times article published over the weekend, which included the accounts of injured protesters who fired hard foam projectiles and other so-called less deadly ammunition. During the protests, police forces’ actions were also under scrutiny as videos showed people trampled and hit by batons.
McDonnell, who has repeatedly declined an interview request, said the story “contains serious charges that I will not accept easily.”
What is missing from the public narrative is “the danger, flow and ultimately violent situations encountered by our officers.” He said that while the protests were “most often marked by expressions of peace,” sometimes they were “hijacked by violence, vandalism and criminal aggression.”
“When protesters began throwing objects after repeated legal orders, setting up fires and refusing to spread, officials had reason to take swift and measurable actions to prevent further harm and restore public safety,” McDonald said.
The chief’s statement cites a number of “record” cases in which officers were “hardly attacked” by bottles, bricks, Molotov cocktails and commercial-grade fireworks. He said 52 officers were injured and needed medical treatment.
He said critics in the department are using “edited video clips or anecdotal accounts as clear evidence of misconduct.”
McDonnell filed the charge that the officer failed to issue a dispersal order before firing a hard foam projectile or tear gas, saying the protesters notified English and Spanish – “using ground amplification systems, or if necessary, used by helicopters.”
He also denied officers abused force, saying the lawsuits against protesters were “targeted, proportionate, and directly responded to immediate, credible threats.”
But the accounts of many witnesses of the protesters and several video clips circulating online in recent weeks raise questions about whether LAPD officials use force against people who do not pose a threat.
The department may face civil lawsuits that plaintiffs alleged excessive force after paying millions of dollars in the past decade for protest-related lawsuits.
The coalition organized by the press release filed a lawsuit earlier this month, describing journalists who were subjected to a deadly police tour in tears and detention by LAPD officials during protests.
John Burton, a lawyer representing three injured protesters, including one whose testicles were burst with foam projectiles, said videotapes at the demonstrations showed officials often violated national regulations on crowd control strategies.
“Did these people learn nothing?” Burton said. “We went through this with George Floyd and how many times have been before.”
