latimes--2020-06-01--L.A., wracked by looting and upheaval, turns yet again to the National Guard

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was asked the question around 4 p.m. Saturday , as television stations carried feeds of burning police cars : Would he bring in the California National Guard to restore order ?
Garcetti said he had spoken with Gov .
Gavin Newsom earlier that day and concluded there was no need .
“ We got this , Los Angeles , ” he said during his live briefing .
Hours later , with looters smashing windows in and around the Grove shopping mall , Garcetti got back on the phone and did what previous L.A. mayors have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : ask the governor to send in the Guard .
Garcetti asked for 1,000 troops , a mayoral aide said , with half going to assist the Sheriff ’ s Department and half helping the LAPD , which spent the weekend responding to massive protests , outbreaks of vandalism and various forms of upheaval .
By Sunday morning , scores of Guardsmen toting M-4 rifles could be seen patrolling streets between skid row and Bunker Hill .
In combat gear , they stood guard outside shattered storefronts and graffiti-tagged buildings , where windows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with trash .
Humvees and military trucks were present in the city in a way not seen since 1994 , in the days after the Northridge earthquake .
For some , the spectacle was unnerving .
On Sunday afternoon , scores of troops had formed a partial perimeter around City Hall , which faces the Los Angeles Police Department building and was itself guarded by many police officers .
“ I think it ’ s provoking fear in people ’ s hearts , ” said Diamond Evans , 23 , who sat on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel the same way about the curfew .
Psychologically , it feels like a war — a war against the people.
” The mayor ’ s decision to bring in the National Guard also drew criticism from Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson , who represents a portion of South Los Angeles .
“ Our fear is real that additional law enforcement will only further violence against people of color , ” he said on Twitter .
Harris-Dawson declined an interview request from The Times .
But Councilman Paul Koretz , who represents stretches of Beverly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas hard hit by looting , said the LAPD needed additional help in tackling the ongoing crisis .
Koretz said he contacted Garcetti late Saturday afternoon — an hour or two after the mayor ’ s briefing — and told him the city needed a more expansive curfew and help from the National Guard .
By midnight , looters were treating one computer store in the area like “ a McDonald ’ s drive-through , ” Koretz said .
“ We clearly were overrun , even with the LAPD deployment , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said the National Guard would not be sent to the LAPD ’ s South Bureau , which covers several neighborhoods in Harris-Dawson ’ s district .
And he insisted the deployment was not to instill fear in the public , but to provide security to businesses that already had been looted and were especially vulnerable .
The National Guard will “ secure places that aren ’ t secure because of the looting in downtown and other parts of L.A. , ” he said .
Brian Ferguson , spokesman for the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Guard had been sent to neighborhoods already secured by local police , freeing up LAPD officers to monitor ongoing demonstrations .
The Guard ’ s deployment would also focus on protecting critical infrastructure , such as electrical substations and water treatment plants , he said .
In Pershing Square , Guardsmen holding machine guns stood in clusters of two or three , smiling and waving .
Kathy Gomez , 20 , said she felt less safe after seeing the heavy weaponry carried by the Guard .
“ They could use those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
The arrival of armed troops evoked images from past emergencies in L.A .
In 1965 , California Highway Patrol officers pulled over a black motorist in South Los Angeles , igniting a confrontation that quickly spiraled out of control .
By the time the National Guard showed up two days later , Watts was burning , stores had been looted , and residents had been fighting police .
Peace was restored almost two weeks later , after 13,000 troops from across the state had converged on the city .
Almost 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the National Guard be deployed after a jury acquitted four Los Angeles police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King .
Within hours of that verdict , demonstrators had begun looting stores , torching buildings and taking to the streets with guns .
Gov .
Pete Wilson responded by sending 2,400 members of the National Guard .
Police Chief Daryl Gates admitted that year that the city ’ s police force had not been prepared .
The Guard returned in 1994 , after a 6.7 earthquake left more than 1,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Convoys rumbled through the San Fernando Valley , patrolling mini-malls and parks to deliver water , deter looters , direct traffic and raise tent cities for 6,000 displaced residents .
In recent weeks , the Guard had been sent to L.A. County nursing homes hard hit by coronavirus .
The latest deployment in L.A. drew objections from the ACLU of Southern California , which criticized Garcetti for inviting in those troops .
Peter Bibring , the group ’ s director of police practices , said demonstrations over the last week have been fueled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and often militarized policing , that “ dehumanizes black communities.
” “ Deploying the actual military to police the streets of L.A. in response to these concerns just doubles down on the problems that gave rise to the protests , ” he said .
Police Chief Michel Moore acknowledged that there is symbolism to having people in military uniforms patrolling the city .
But he argued that members of the Guard are regular citizens — bookkeepers , construction workers , accountants and Angelenos — called up in a crisis .
Within hours of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stopping suspects from “ victimizing businesses ” that had been damaged and looted , Moore said .
Joseph Merchain , who watched Guardsmen assemble outside City Hall on Sunday , also did not object to their arrival .
After all , he said , “ there ’ s all this chaos now.
” “ I think it ’ s necessary that they be here , ” the 22-year-old said .
“ Because we don ’ t want to see these buildings burning .
”

David Zahniser, Monte Morin, Thomas Curwen

The California National Guard is deployed at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was asked the question around 4 p.m. Saturday, as television stations carried feeds of burning police cars: Would he bring in the California National Guard to restore order?
Garcetti said he had spoken with Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier that day and concluded there was no need. “We got this, Los Angeles,” he said during his live briefing.
Hours later, with looters smashing windows in and around the Grove shopping mall, Garcetti got back on the phone and did what previous L.A. mayors have done when their city is in crisis: ask the governor to send in the Guard.
Advertisement
1 / 81 Protesters stand on top of a burned LAPD cruiser. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 81 Protesters stand on top of a bus stop at the Los Angeles Civic Center to demonstrate for justice Wednesday night. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 3 / 81 Protestors turn on their cell phone flashlights at Los Angeles City Hall at 9 pm on Wednesday as part of a silent protest against the death of George Floyd. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) 4 / 81 A protester confronts National Guardsmen as thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles to demonstrate for justice in the George Floyd murder by cop case Wednesday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 5 / 81 Protesters dance on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 6 / 81 Thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles Wednesday night to demonstrate for justice in the killing of George Floyd. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 7 / 81 LAPD Cmdr. Gerald Woodyard takes a knee with protesters and L.A. clergy during a march in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times) 8 / 81 Khalil Mitchell speaks to protesters kneeling near a police line, preaching calm and working to preserve a peaceful protest on Monday. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) 9 / 81 In Hollywood, hundreds of protesters march Monday against police brutality. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 81 AJ Lovelace, a director and writer, and others keep potential looters from entering a dry cleaning store as they attempt to march peacefully. “We need peace and we need someone to talk to each other,” he said after the looters fled the scene. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) 11 / 81 Demonstrators in Riverside retreat as county sheriff’s deputies fire nonlethal rounds on Monday after law enforcement announced an unlawful assembly. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 81 Protesters in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 81 An arrest in Hollywood during a protest Monday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 81 A demonstrator, injured while trying to flee the firing of nonlethal rounds, lies on the ground in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 81 An LAPD officer arrests a looting suspect in an alley behind a Hollywood Boulevard store. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 81 Riverside County deputies advance on demonstrators on Monday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 81 Fireworks thrown by a protester explode at the feet of Riverside police. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 81 Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco takes a knee with demonstrators. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 81 A watch and jewelry store is looted in Van Nuys on Monday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 81 A looting arrest in Van Nuys. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 81 AJ Lovelace, director and writer, tries to stop looters from breaking into a Walgreens in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 81 An LAPD officer arrests a suspected looter in an alley behind a Hollywood Boulevard store. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 81 Police advance on a line of protesters in Hollywood, firing rubber bullets. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 81 Arrests are made of those out after curfew in Hollywood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 81 Protesters in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 81 A store is looted in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 81 Protesters in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 81 People out after curfew are arrested Monday at Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 81 Arrests in Hollywood. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 81 Protests in Westwood. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 81 Volunteers help clean up the mess left by looters in Long Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 81 Protest in Hollywood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 81 National Guardsmen outside Santa Monica Place. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 81 Gilbert Haro and sons Richard, 8, and James, 6, help clean up in Santa Monica. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 81 Protesters face off with police in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 81 Santa Monica stores were the target of looting on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 81 Suspected looters in custody in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 81 L.A. County sheriff’s deputies in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 81 Sake House employee Jared Settles can’t bear to watch as the restaurant burns in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 81 An arrest in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 81 Broken glass from a looted store covers the sidewalk in Santa Monica. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 81 Cecelia Rosales, who said she was homeless, walks past a line of police officers in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 81 A man guards a convenience store in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 81 Looting erupted Sunday in Long Beach. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 81 Police and protesters face off in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 81 A police officer inspects the damage to a Santa Monica supermarket. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 81 A protester is treated after being struck by a rubber bullet. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 81 Looting in Long Beach on Sunday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 81 Looting in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 81 A suspected looter in Long Beach. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 81 Smashing windows in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 81 An arrest in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 81 People walk away with surfboards in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 81 People rush out of a looted store in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 81 Protesters in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 81 Cheers for protesters in downtown Los Angeles. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 81 City Hall on Sunday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 81 A shattered storefront on Melrose Avenue on Sunday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 81 Smashed windows on La Cienega Boulevard. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 81 Downtown L.A. on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 81 People carry merchandise from a looted store. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 62 / 81 A person carries items from a looted store in the Fairfax District on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 81 A couple of protesters embrace on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) 64 / 81 People protest Saturday at Pan Pacific Park. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times) 65 / 81 Protesters gather around a fire in the middle of a downtown L.A. street on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 81 Police fire percussion rounds to clear protesters from Grand Avenue in in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 81 A protester remains defiant after being pushed to the ground by police on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 68 / 81 Protesters are arrested by Los Angeles police in front of City Hall on Saturday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 81 Protesters block the 110 Freeway. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 81 Protesters take to the streets Friday in downtown L.A. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 81 Protesters are escorted off the northbound 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 81 A protester is escorted off the northbound 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 81 Protesters climb over a barrier during the May 29 protest in downtown L.A. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 81 Protesters block the 110 Freeway northbound and southbound in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 75 / 81 Police officers assume a defensive stance as a protester approaches them on the 110 Freeway on May 29. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 81 During a May 29 protest, Los Angeles police patrol the 110 after having moved protesters off the freeway. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 81 A protester rides a skateboard on the 110 Freeway. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 78 / 81 Protesters block the 110 Freeway northbound and southbound in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 79 / 81 A protester confronts LAPD officers on Friday in downtown L.A. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 80 / 81 A protester lies hurt on the 101 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles on May 27. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times) 81 / 81 An injured man gets up with the help of emergency workers during a protest May 27 in downtown L.A. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Garcetti asked for 1,000 troops, a mayoral aide said, with half going to assist the Sheriff’s Department and half helping the LAPD, which spent the weekend responding to massive protests, outbreaks of vandalism and various forms of upheaval.
By Sunday morning, scores of Guardsmen toting M-4 rifles could be seen patrolling streets between skid row and Bunker Hill. In combat gear, they stood guard outside shattered storefronts and graffiti-tagged buildings, where windows had been shattered and the street strewn with trash. Humvees and military trucks were present in the city in a way not seen since 1994, in the days after the Northridge earthquake.
For some, the spectacle was unnerving. On Sunday afternoon, scores of troops had formed a partial perimeter around City Hall, which faces the Los Angeles Police Department building and was itself guarded by many police officers.
“I think it’s provoking fear in people’s hearts,” said Diamond Evans, 23, who sat on a nearby bus bench. “I feel the same way about the curfew. Psychologically, it feels like a war — a war against the people.”
The mayor’s decision to bring in the National Guard also drew criticism from Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents a portion of South Los Angeles. “Our fear is real that additional law enforcement will only further violence against people of color,” he said on Twitter.
Advertisement
Harris-Dawson declined an interview request from The Times. But Councilman Paul Koretz, who represents stretches of Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax Avenue and other commercial areas hard hit by looting, said the LAPD needed additional help in tackling the ongoing crisis.
Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson criticized the move to welcome in the National Guard on Saturday, hours after sections of L.A. faced looting, vandalism and fires. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Koretz said he contacted Garcetti late Saturday afternoon — an hour or two after the mayor’s briefing — and told him the city needed a more expansive curfew and help from the National Guard. By midnight, looters were treating one computer store in the area like “a McDonald’s drive-through,” Koretz said.
“We clearly were overrun, even with the LAPD deployment,” he said.
Garcetti, for his part, said the National Guard would not be sent to the LAPD’s South Bureau, which covers several neighborhoods in Harris-Dawson’s district. And he insisted the deployment was not to instill fear in the public, but to provide security to businesses that already had been looted and were especially vulnerable.
The National Guard will “secure places that aren’t secure because of the looting in downtown and other parts of L.A.,” he said.
Brian Ferguson, spokesman for the state’s Office of Emergency Services, confirmed that the Guard had been sent to neighborhoods already secured by local police, freeing up LAPD officers to monitor ongoing demonstrations. The Guard’s deployment would also focus on protecting critical infrastructure, such as electrical substations and water treatment plants, he said.
In Pershing Square, Guardsmen holding machine guns stood in clusters of two or three, smiling and waving.
Kathy Gomez, 20, said she felt less safe after seeing the heavy weaponry carried by the Guard. “They could use those against the people here,” she said.
The arrival of armed troops evoked images from past emergencies in L.A.
In 1965, California Highway Patrol officers pulled over a black motorist in South Los Angeles, igniting a confrontation that quickly spiraled out of control. By the time the National Guard showed up two days later, Watts was burning, stores had been looted, and residents had been fighting police.
Peace was restored almost two weeks later, after 13,000 troops from across the state had converged on the city.
Almost 30 years later, Mayor Tom Bradley requested that the National Guard be deployed after a jury acquitted four Los Angeles police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King. Within hours of that verdict, demonstrators had begun looting stores, torching buildings and taking to the streets with guns.
Gov. Pete Wilson responded by sending 2,400 members of the National Guard. Police Chief Daryl Gates admitted that year that the city’s police force had not been prepared.
The Guard returned in 1994, after a 6.7 earthquake left more than 1,000 buildings destroyed and 20,000 residents homeless. Convoys rumbled through the San Fernando Valley, patrolling mini-malls and parks to deliver water, deter looters, direct traffic and raise tent cities for 6,000 displaced residents.
National Guard troops patrol downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. (Monte Morin / Los Angeles Times)
In recent weeks, the Guard had been sent to L.A. County nursing homes hard hit by coronavirus.
The latest deployment in L.A. drew objections from the ACLU of Southern California, which criticized Garcetti for inviting in those troops. Peter Bibring, the group’s director of police practices, said demonstrations over the last week have been fueled by a concern over aggressive policing, and often militarized policing, that “dehumanizes black communities.”
“Deploying the actual military to police the streets of L.A. in response to these concerns just doubles down on the problems that gave rise to the protests,” he said.
Police Chief Michel Moore acknowledged that there is symbolism to having people in military uniforms patrolling the city. But he argued that members of the Guard are regular citizens — bookkeepers, construction workers, accountants and Angelenos — called up in a crisis.
Within hours of their arrival, the troops succeeded in stopping suspects from “victimizing businesses” that had been damaged and looted, Moore said.
Joseph Merchain, who watched Guardsmen assemble outside City Hall on Sunday, also did not object to their arrival. After all, he said, “there’s all this chaos now.”
“I think it’s necessary that they be here,” the 22-year-old said. “Because we don’t want to see these buildings burning.”
Times staff writer Tania Ganguli contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-06-01--'Who approved this?' Riders, officials criticize Metro's systemwide shutdown

As protests swept Los Angeles County on Saturday night , and officials in multiple cities imposed curfews , an unprecedented shutdown of the region ’ s bus and rail network left essential workers stranded on sidewalks and in bus shelters .
Hours later , the Los Angeles Police Department was seen ushering lines of protesters , their hands restrained with zip ties , onto orange Metro buses .
The juxtaposition enraged riders and advocates , who said it was inappropriate for a transit agency that primarily serves black and Latino riders to cooperate with law enforcement while thousands of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ George Floyd and police brutality against black people .
“ You can ’ t tell me you ’ re cutting service to protect your drivers , and then turn around and put the drivers in the middle of all of it by transporting protesters , ” said Brian Bowens , 47 , a transit rider in Leimert Park and the chair of Metro ’ s citizen advisory council .
“ Where is the logic here ?
Who approved this ?
” He continued : “ This is going to have a lasting effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Metro suspended service in downtown Los Angeles earlier on Saturday and had announced expected delays in protest areas .
Shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew began in the city of Los Angeles , Metro expanded the shutdown to the whole system .
Chief Executive Phil Washington told KNX radio Saturday night that he had seen “ a lot of damage , ” and was concerned for the safety of Metro employees .
Protesters in the Fairfax area surrounded a Metro bus on 3rd Street on Saturday afternoon , covered it in anti-police graffiti @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety were legitimate , but shutting down the entire system and stranding essential workers was “ unconscionable , ” said Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin , a Metro director .
He said he would question Metro ’ s senior leadership at the next board meeting in June .
“ The whole reason people were in the street was because of injustice , and systemic problems , ” Bonin said .
“ There ’ s a hell of a lot of overlap between the people who are getting screwed by violence and racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transit system in Los Angeles .
It ’ s not lost on me that a lot of the essential workers who got stranded were black and Latino.
” Washington said Saturday that Metro supervisors drove around the region on Saturday night to look for people at bus stops , then called nearby bus yards and asked them to dispatch vehicles to pick them up .
On Sunday morning , Metro apologized to riders who were stranded .
Anyone who used Uber , Lyft or a taxi to get home after the shutdown can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ metro.net or calling ( 323 ) 466-3876 , officials said .
Metro officials and Inglewood Mayor James Butts , who chairs the Metro board , did not respond to requests for comment .
During the 1992 riots , Metro ’ s predecessor agency suspended service in areas affected by looting and fires , but continued to run buses in some outlying areas .
Advocates questioned why the agency could not have taken a similar approach Saturday , to keep serving riders in the San Gabriel Valley , the South Bay , the north @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not occurred .
“ Better to be safe than sorry , ” said county Supervisor and Metro director Mark Ridley-Thomas .
If Metro had not shut down , and buses or trains had been “ used as a vehicle through which more disruption took place , ” he said , the agency would have been criticized for that , too .
“ There was scathing criticism in 1992 that we delayed our response , and things got way out of control , ” Ridley-Thomas said .
“ Loss of life and loss of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we had more support to manage the crisis.
” But , Ridley-Thomas said , he was not sure it was appropriate for Metro buses to carry protesters who had been arrested : “ Law enforcement has vehicles to transport those who have been accused of violating the law.
” An official who was not authorized to speak publicly said each Metro bus carrying protesters had an escort from LAPD to reduce the risk of a conflict during the protest .
Carla , a 21-year-old student who works part-time as a security guard in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she planned to take the bus home to Inglewood after her shift ended at 9 p.m. Saturday .
After an hour of waiting , she checked Metro ’ s Twitter page and saw that service had been canceled .
She said she had expected some delays because of the protests , but not that Metro would cancel service entirely .
“ I was mad and a little nervous , ” said Carla , who declined to give her last name .
“ Being a young black woman , standing out on the street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — it ’ s not fun.
” At 2 a.m. Sunday , Todd Munson , 44 of Glassell Park , learned that a friend who had planned to take the bus back from Anaheim was stranded with no credit card .
He was “ really in the lurch , ” Munson said .
Munson began calling hotels in Anaheim but struggled to find one that was open during the pandemic and would accept payment by phone .
Though he eventually secured one , he said , the whole situation was “ really disheartening.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ George Floyd rippled across the country , bus drivers in Minneapolis and New York City refused to drive buses filled with people arrested at protests .
John Costa , the president of a union that represents thousands of American bus drivers , said it was a “ misuse of public transit ” to transport people who have been arrested .
Bus drivers , Costa said , have a right to “ refuse the dangerous duty ” of transporting people who have been arrested , “ away from these communities where many of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles do not have such a clause in their contract .
Officials from the union that represents Metro bus drivers did not return requests seeking comment .

A Metro bus is vandalized in downtown Los Angeles Friday. The entire system went through an unprecedented shutdown Saturday night.
As protests swept Los Angeles County on Saturday night, and officials in multiple cities imposed curfews, an unprecedented shutdown of the region’s bus and rail network left essential workers stranded on sidewalks and in bus shelters.
Hours later, the Los Angeles Police Department was seen ushering lines of protesters, their hands restrained with zip ties, onto orange Metro buses.
The juxtaposition enraged riders and advocates, who said it was inappropriate for a transit agency that primarily serves black and Latino riders to cooperate with law enforcement while thousands of people were marching to protest the death of George Floyd and police brutality against black people.
Advertisement
“You can’t tell me you’re cutting service to protect your drivers, and then turn around and put the drivers in the middle of all of it by transporting protesters,” said Brian Bowens, 47, a transit rider in Leimert Park and the chair of Metro’s citizen advisory council. “Where is the logic here? Who approved this?”
He continued: “This is going to have a lasting effect. Riders are going to remember.”
Metro suspended service in downtown Los Angeles earlier on Saturday and had announced expected delays in protest areas. Shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew began in the city of Los Angeles, Metro expanded the shutdown to the whole system.
Chief Executive Phil Washington told KNX radio Saturday night that he had seen “a lot of damage,” and was concerned for the safety of Metro employees. Protesters in the Fairfax area surrounded a Metro bus on 3rd Street on Saturday afternoon, covered it in anti-police graffiti and clambered on top.
Concerns about safety were legitimate, but shutting down the entire system and stranding essential workers was “unconscionable,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, a Metro director. He said he would question Metro’s senior leadership at the next board meeting in June.
Advertisement
“The whole reason people were in the street was because of injustice, and systemic problems,” Bonin said. “There’s a hell of a lot of overlap between the people who are getting screwed by violence and racism, and the people who use the transit system in Los Angeles. It’s not lost on me that a lot of the essential workers who got stranded were black and Latino.”
Washington said Saturday that Metro supervisors drove around the region on Saturday night to look for people at bus stops, then called nearby bus yards and asked them to dispatch vehicles to pick them up.
On Sunday morning, Metro apologized to riders who were stranded. Anyone who used Uber, Lyft or a taxi to get home after the shutdown can seek a refund by emailing customerrelations@metro.net or calling (323) 466-3876, officials said.
Metro officials and Inglewood Mayor James Butts, who chairs the Metro board, did not respond to requests for comment.
During the 1992 riots, Metro’s predecessor agency suspended service in areas affected by looting and fires, but continued to run buses in some outlying areas.
Advocates questioned why the agency could not have taken a similar approach Saturday, to keep serving riders in the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay, the north county and other regions where protests had not occurred.
“Better to be safe than sorry,” said county Supervisor and Metro director Mark Ridley-Thomas. If Metro had not shut down, and buses or trains had been “used as a vehicle through which more disruption took place,” he said, the agency would have been criticized for that, too.
“There was scathing criticism in 1992 that we delayed our response, and things got way out of control,” Ridley-Thomas said. “Loss of life and loss of property that could have been prevented had we had more support to manage the crisis.”
But, Ridley-Thomas said, he was not sure it was appropriate for Metro buses to carry protesters who had been arrested: “Law enforcement has vehicles to transport those who have been accused of violating the law.”
An official who was not authorized to speak publicly said each Metro bus carrying protesters had an escort from LAPD to reduce the risk of a conflict during the protest.
Carla, a 21-year-old student who works part-time as a security guard in a Century City office building, said she planned to take the bus home to Inglewood after her shift ended at 9 p.m. Saturday. After an hour of waiting, she checked Metro’s Twitter page and saw that service had been canceled.
She said she had expected some delays because of the protests, but not that Metro would cancel service entirely.
“I was mad and a little nervous,” said Carla, who declined to give her last name. “Being a young black woman, standing out on the street by yourself on a night like that — it’s not fun.”
At 2 a.m. Sunday, Todd Munson, 44 of Glassell Park, learned that a friend who had planned to take the bus back from Anaheim was stranded with no credit card. He was “really in the lurch,” Munson said.
Munson began calling hotels in Anaheim but struggled to find one that was open during the pandemic and would accept payment by phone. Though he eventually secured one, he said, the whole situation was “really disheartening.”
As protests over the death of George Floyd rippled across the country, bus drivers in Minneapolis and New York City refused to drive buses filled with people arrested at protests.
John Costa, the president of a union that represents thousands of American bus drivers, said it was a “misuse of public transit” to transport people who have been arrested.
Bus drivers, Costa said, have a right to “refuse the dangerous duty” of transporting people who have been arrested, “away from these communities where many of these drivers live.”
Bus drivers in Los Angeles do not have such a clause in their contract. Officials from the union that represents Metro bus drivers did not return requests seeking comment.


latimes--2020-06-01--Protests, looting shift to Santa Monica as National Guard takes over L.A. streets

Looters shattered windows and emptied stores in downtown Santa Monica and Long Beach on Sunday , largely unimpeded by law enforcement , but at times clashing with peaceful protesters as officials issued a countywide 6 p.m. curfew and National Guard troops patrolled Los Angeles for the first time since the 1992 riots .
While the destruction erupted during mostly peaceful protests decrying the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis , two groups emerged more distinctly later in the day : one ransacking shops , the other rallying on message .
In Santa Monica , they were often blocks apart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4th Street appeared organized , smashing windows with crowbars and skateboards and loading the stolen goods into waiting cars .
Some ran or drove off as sirens approached , but mostly continued as they passed .
Dozens stole shoes and gear from a Vans shop , while bike after bike was pulled out a hole in the front door of an REI store .
Fires were lit , with at least two squad cars burned .
Several blocks away , police tried to break up demonstrators on Ocean Avenue with smoke grenades , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water bottles were hurled at them .
By early evening , a similar dynamic developed in downtown Long Beach , with police facing off with protesters as groups of people looted stores nearby .
At the Pike Outlets at Pine Avenue and Shoreline Drive , the crowd used hammers and threw the lids of trash cans to smash windows .
Some protesters yelled at them to leave the stores alone .
“ Let ’ s hit Nike !
” another said , and ran toward the popular athletic store .
Some threw punches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theft at a G by Guess store , as a woman yelled at them to stop .
Riot police moved in after 6 p.m. and the crowd fled .
Other tense standoffs between demonstrators and police flared around Southern California , but for the most part remained less destructive than Saturday .
Police dispersed crowds at the Huntington Beach Pier with pepper balls .
In San Diego , officers fired rubber bullets and deployed tear gas on demonstrators who refused to disperse .
The 500 National Guard troops remained in Los Angeles , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles police said 398 people were arrested Saturday on suspicion of crimes including burglary , looting , vandalism , failure to disperse , and firearms and curfew violations .
Five LAPD officers were injured , with two of them hospitalized , officials said .
The most seriously injured officer was struck by a brick while in the Fairfax area , authorities said , The brick fractured his skull .
Another officer suffered a broken arm , and another suffered a broken leg during the clashes with protesters .
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a news conference at City Hall on Sunday , said the officer whose skull was fractured underwent surgery Saturday night .
“ I believe he will survive , ” Moore said .
Garcetti said people who engaged in “ destruction and looting ” were only hurting others in the community .
“ They have not just caused chaos and damage , ” he said .
“ They are hijacking a moment and a movement.
” Gov .
Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the city and county of Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when he activated the National Guard .
Los Angeles County officials also proclaimed a countywide state of emergency to deal with the unrest .
“ This emergency comes as we are in the midst of battling another emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic , ” county Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Sunday in a statement .
“ This taxes our resources , but not our resolve.
” The proclamation will help authorities coordinate an emergency response and mutual aid , and speed up the procurement of supplies , officials said .
Throughout the afternoon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stood in small clusters of two or three around Pershing Square downtown , smiling and waving as people passed .
One wore a mask with a Lakers logo .
“ Yo , boy , you need to keep that [ stuff ] lower , ” one man said as he walked by , pointing at one soldier ’ s weapon .
Others had more amicable reactions .
“ I like the disposition of the Army versus the police , ” a man said to a friend as they rode past on their bicycles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said members of the guard were on the way to the coastal city .
“ We are making arrests as we speak , ” she said .
“ The 4 p.m. curfew is now in place.
” Mayor Pro Tempore Terry O ’ Day said the protests were by and large “ very peaceful ” and “ not part of the looting.
” He noted that Santa Monica had “ long stood up against intolerance and hate.
” “ We are deeply disturbed by what happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But some business owners were angry that the police had given the looters such leeway .
Russell Bowman , owner of “ Books , ” a spiritual bookstore , watched from inside the store as looters smashed his windows .
He couldn ’ t believe the police were not helping him .
“ The looters broke the window in my face .
There was nothing we could do , ” he said .
Other residents of the progressive city tried to empathize with the looters .
Sara Meeter , 28 , stood outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holding a cardboard sign that simply read “ Justice.
” The store ’ s windows had been shattered and smoke was pouring out .
A firefighter shouted at everyone to get out of the area as his team pulled hoses out of the firetruck .
They sawed into the front doors .
Across the street , people were still scavenging through an optometry office and jewelry store , the front of which was spray-painted : “ Save a life , kill a cop.
” Meeter said she saw a “ kid ” throwing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ store for others to pick up .
A Santa Monica resident , Meeter was following the chaos but staying out of the way .
“ It ’ s completely overwhelming , ” she said .
“ All my senses are on overload.
” She and her friend Danielle Fetzer , 32 , of Venice , both white , said it was important to be allies with the protesters and witness the history that was unfolding in their seaside city .
Fetzer said they needed to “ just show that we ’ re not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of black people.
” “ It ’ s a tale as old as time and I ’ m tired of it , ” she said .
“ I ’ m tired of the police using their power to hurt civilians .
I say burn the place down .
Sometimes things need to be burnt down so that we can rebuild .
“ Who are we to tell people of color how should they express that anger ?
” Jennifer Tatimatla was carrying her “ No Lives Matter Until Black Lives Matter ” sign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dodging firefighters , pedestrians and random looters .
She ’ d been at the protest since noon but was calling it a day with the 4 p.m. curfew closing in .
“ What upsets me is it takes away from the movement and the cause , ” the 34-year-old attorney said .
“ While I don ’ t condone looting , that ’ s not the focus here .
The focus is the cause.
” Tatimatla was upset with the unequal treatment of black people in the country long before George Floyd ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police officer , but it inspired her to join the demonstrations sweeping the country , she said .
She was at a loss on how to ensure the looting doesn ’ t undermine the protesters ’ message .
“ Most of us aren ’ t looting obliviously , most of us are trying to be peaceful , ” she said .
“ We have to continue to focus on the message , that ’ s why we have signs ” —then exaggerating : “ Even though most people are carrying tennis shoes.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , watched the looting like other bystanders .
“ This is America .
I can ’ t tell people how to feel , ” he told his friends .
“ Wait , you ’ re telling me you agree with this ?
” a white man chimed in .
“ This is my city .
I live here .
How is this helping the situation ?
.
.
.
When people see this , the divide is going to be greater.
” The pair debated amicably for several minutes whether the looting that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Listen , I don ’ t say I agree with what ’ s happening , ” Onwuka said .
“ But we are at a point where we don ’ t know what to do.
” Times staff writers Brittny Mejia , Leila Miller , Matthew Ormseth and Andrew Campa contributed to this report .

Joe Mozingo, Melissa Etehad, Joseph Serna, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Ruben Vives

An injured man gets up with the help of emergency workers during a protest May 27 in downtown L.A. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
A protester lies hurt on the 101 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles on May 27. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
During a May 29 protest, Los Angeles police patrol the 110 after having moved protesters off the freeway. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Police officers assume a defensive stance as a protester approaches them on the 110 Freeway on May 29. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Protesters climb over a barrier during the May 29 protest in downtown L.A. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Protesters are arrested by Los Angeles police in front of City Hall on Saturday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
A protester remains defiant after being pushed to the ground by police on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Police fire percussion rounds to clear protesters from Grand Avenue in in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Protesters gather around a fire in the middle of a downtown L.A. street on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Cecelia Rosales, who said she was homeless, walks past a line of police officers in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Sake House employee Jared Settles can’t bear to watch as the restaurant burns in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Gilbert Haro and sons Richard, 8, and James, 6, help clean up in Santa Monica. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Volunteers help clean up the mess left by looters in Long Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
People out after curfew are arrested Monday at Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Arrests are made of those out after curfew in Hollywood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
AJ Lovelace, director and writer, tries to stop looters from breaking into a Walgreens in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
A demonstrator, injured while trying to flee the firing of nonlethal rounds, lies on the ground in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Demonstrators in Riverside retreat as county sheriff’s deputies fire nonlethal rounds on Monday after law enforcement announced an unlawful assembly. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
AJ Lovelace, a director and writer, and others keep potential looters from entering a dry cleaning store as they attempt to march peacefully. “We need peace and we need someone to talk to each other,” he said after the looters fled the scene. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Khalil Mitchell speaks to protesters kneeling near a police line, preaching calm and working to preserve a peaceful protest on Monday. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
LAPD Cmdr. Gerald Woodyard takes a knee with protesters and L.A. clergy during a march in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles Wednesday night to demonstrate for justice in the killing of George Floyd. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
A protester confronts National Guardsmen as thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles to demonstrate for justice in the George Floyd murder by cop case Wednesday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
Protestors turn on their cell phone flashlights at Los Angeles City Hall at 9 pm on Wednesday as part of a silent protest against the death of George Floyd. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
Protesters stand on top of a bus stop at the Los Angeles Civic Center to demonstrate for justice Wednesday night. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
As a 6 p.m. curfew took effect Monday in Los Angeles County, the number of police officers swelled in Hollywood near multiple protests and in Van Nuys, where looters were ransacking businesses along a major commercial corridor.
Looting began in Van Nuys about 4 p.m., blocks away from a peaceful protest started by college students that lasted much of the day. Los Angeles Police Department officers fired bean bags at the crowd after looters ransacked a shoe store, a pharmacy, a watch repair stand and other small businesses on Van Nuys Boulevard. Authorities were also responding to a fire at a strip mall.
Earlier Monday afternoon, three separate protests moved through Hollywood, including a group that marched down Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of the tourist district. Other protesters gathered in downtown Los Angeles and in Anaheim.
Advertisement
Demonstrators also briefly shut down the northbound 405 Freeway in Westwood by walking onto the Wilshire Boulevard on-ramp. Some drivers honked in solidarity, and others stopped their cars to join.
The third night of countywide curfews followed days of massive, mostly peaceful protests to decry George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis. Nearly 1,200 people were arrested Sunday after police officers clashed with demonstrators and looters shattered windows and emptied stores in Santa Monica and Long Beach.
County officials sparked confusion by sending an emergency alert at 3:30 p.m. announcing a 6 p.m. curfew. A second alert, sent minutes later, announced a 5 p.m. curfew. The second message was intended for Glendale residents and was sent in error, officials said.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Monday evening that people who looted and vandalized during largely peaceful protests across Southern California this weekend were “capitalizing” on the death of George Floyd.
Advertisement
About 700 people were arrested Sunday during mass protests over Floyd’s death and police brutality. Of those arrests, 10% were connected to burglary or looting, Moore said.
“We didn’t have protests last night — we had criminal acts,” Moore said during a news conference with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “We didn’t have people mourning the death of this man, George Floyd — we had people capitalizing. His death is on their hands as much as it is those officers.”
Moore apologized minutes later, saying he “misspoke when I said his blood is on their hands” and that he regretted “that characterization.”
“But I don’t regret, nor will I apologize, to those who are out there today committing violence, destroying lives and livelihoods and creating this destruction,” Moore said. “His memory deserves reform. His memory deserves a better Los Angeles, a better United States and a better world.”
In Van Nuys, protesters began to disperse just before 5 p.m., saying they had received the county’s erroneous 5 p.m. curfew alert and did not want to be outside. Others said they didn’t want to be near the looting that had started.
Several business owners stood outside their storefronts, drilling plywood over their windows. A few blocks away, looters were smashing store windows, including retailers that sold shoes, watches and cell phones.
https://twitter.com/jaclyncosgrove/status/1267620162196275201/photo/1
Eva Bandikian, the manager at Kovac’s Care Pharmacy, said looters broke the lock on the door and stole “everything,” including money, the cash register and medicine.
Bandikian watched a feed from the store’s surveillance camera on her phone as about 10 young people stormed in.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with us,” she said. “They’re angry with the police and with the government.”
One looter in Van Nuys, who wore a purple face mask and a gray hooded sweatshirt, said that calls for peaceful protest, including from Floyd’s brother, had not solved the systemic racism facing black residents.
“We’re just trying to find peace and justice,” said the man, who declined to give his name. “All the stuff they did didn’t bring peace to us. So we’re just trying to survive.”
In Hollywood, meanwhile, a growing group of protesters gathered next to Greenblatt’s Deli and the Laugh Factory at Sunset Boulevard and Laurel Avenue.
Late Monday afternoon, LAPD Cmdr. Cory Palka took the megaphone from demonstrators, urging them to protest in peace, abide by the county’s 6 p.m. curfew and leave nearby businesses untouched.
“If I take a knee with you guys, will you give me your verbal acknowledgement that this is a peaceful matter?” Palka yelled. The crowd screamed in approval. Someone yelled: “Lead by example!”
Palka knelt on Sunset Boulevard. After resting his left elbow on his folded knee, he moved to stand up. “We stand together,” he told the crowd. They all stood.
Protester Nathaniel Johnson, 30 of Hollywood, said the police department’s commitment to kneeling with demonstrators would have to be borne out with change. He wondered: “They took a knee now, but are they kneeling on us later?”
Sean Welch, who attended the West Hollywood protest, had scrawled “dying breed” on his white T-shirt with black and red Sharpie. As a black man in America, he said, that’s what he was.
“Cops have been killing us for years,” Welch said. “What makes them believe it’s OK?”
Behind him, a crew of men worked to board up the exterior and doors of a CB2 furniture store. They had been busy this weekend, boarding up parts of the Beverly Center, a Trader Joe’s and a MedMen marijuana dispensary.
On Saturday, nearly 400 people were arrested when looters targeted the Fairfax shopping district, including on Melrose Avenue. The city “lost 88 buildings on Melrose,” Moore said.
On Friday, 500 people were arrested when protesters shut down several freeways in downtown L.A., Moore said.
California’s new policy that eliminates bail for most misdemeanor arrests — an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19 in jails — does not apply to looters, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey said. She urged victims to preserve video clips of crimes.
“If you are a victim of a crime, if your business was in fact looted, vandalized, please do not erase any video tapes,” she said. “We need that. In court, we’ll be able to use that of course to get justice for you.”
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia blamed looting and nearly 100 small fires in his city on organized criminals who were unaffiliated with peaceful protests. The groups have been “hitting cities across the state,” he said, pointing to a similar pattern of peaceful marches, then mayhem, in Santa Monica.
California LAPD focused on peaceful protesters while ignoring looting, business owners say Despite efforts by the mayor and police chief to strike the right tone in their response to the protests over the death of George Floyd, many in Los Angeles say they missed the mark.
“It’s pretty clear given the type of activity and how organized the activity was, there is a strategy going city to city and doing this criminal work,” Garcia said. The damage to small business owners, he said, was “unacceptable.”
Luna said he agreed with the spirit of the protests, and was “offended and appalled” by Floyd’s death. Floyd died in handcuffs after police officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, while Floyd yelled that he could not breathe.
All Long Beach police officers have been called back from vacation, Luna said. He said the idea that officers were “just standing around” and allowed unimpeded looting is “complete BS.”
“If you were looting and we have your license plate number and your face, we’re gonna come after you,” Luna said.
“Sunday was one of the most distressing days in Santa Monica history,” Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown said on Monday.
More than 400 people were arrested on suspicion of crimes that included looting, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a police officer and curfew violations, Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said. She estimated that 95% of those arrested did not live in the city.
Demonstrators and looters were often just a few blocks apart. Looters in the 4th Street shopping district appeared organized, smashing windows with crowbars and skateboards and loading stolen goods into waiting cars. At least two police cars burned.
Several blocks away, police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators on Ocean Avenue after protesters threw eggs and water bottles.
A similar dynamic developed in downtown Long Beach. At the Pike Outlets on Shoreline Drive, the crowd used hammers and threw trash can lids to smash windows. Some protesters yelled at them to leave the stores alone. Riot police moved in after 6 p.m. and the crowd fled.
On Monday, more than 100 masked volunteers flocked to Long Beach’s Harvey Milk Plaza with brooms, buckets and dustpans to clean up broken glass and scrub graffiti from walls.
Times staff writers Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Melissa Etehad, Faith Pinho, Joe Mozingo, Richard Winton, Joseph Serna, Ruben Vives, Brittny Mejia, Leila Miller, Matthew Ormseth and Andrew Campa contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-06-01--To solve California's coronavirus-fueled budget woes, Newsom should gamble on sports betting

If we legalize sports betting in California , schoolkids will be the winners .
Maybe also the aged poor .
And working single moms looking for child care while schools are shuttered .
Practically every state legislator — Democrat and Republican — is attacking Gov .
Gavin Newsom ’ s proposed draconian cuts in funding for K-12 schools , impoverished seniors , healthcare for the poor and a long list of safety net programs .
But very few are suggesting serious ways to blunt the governor ’ s chopping ax by raising new revenue — the dirty T-word for tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dodd of Napa and Assemblyman Adam Gray of Merced .
They ’ re proposing that California finally legalize sports betting — as 23 other states have done — and reap several hundred million dollars annually in “ sin ” taxes .
Nothing wrong with sin taxes .
If people are sinning anyway — such as gambling on professional sports — the state might as well make money off it .
Anyway , in many cases , there ’ s no public consensus on what constitutes a so-called sin .
We long have taxed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we fully legalized marijuana and now are taxing the drug .
In 1984 , Californians voted overwhelmingly to create a state lottery , which is providing $ 1.3 billion for K-12 schools — 1.3 % of their total spending .
I don ’ t bet on sports because I like to enjoy the games for their own sake and not get hung up on whether the point spread is going to affect my wallet .
I want Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout ; bleep the betting line .
But not everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make sports gamblers pigeons for the tax collector ?
Dodd and Gray figure their proposed state constitutional amendment , SCA 6 , would generate at least $ 200 million in taxes the first year and between $ 500 million and $ 700 million annually once the legal wagering market is developed .
That ’ s only a small piece of the state revenue puzzle , but as Dodd says : “ Our state budget is being hammered .
There are lots of victims .
We have to find as many sources of revenue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one with real money .
“ There ’ s already billions of dollars of illegal sports gambling going on in the state .
There ’ s no regulatory framework .
There ’ s no taxation.
” Last week , the Assembly held a very rare “ committee of the whole ” — the last time was 25 years ago — to hear and question experts about the state ’ s budget plight .
The governor projects a $ 54-billion deficit because the economy was essentially shut down when people were confined to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
The four-hour session quickly turned into a bipartisan platform for dumping on Newsom .
Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCarty of Sacramento called the budget cuts a “ death knell ” for early-childhood education .
Newsom has promised to rescind $ 14 billion in proposed cuts if Congress and President Trump send the states a bailout package .
Many legislators feel that ’ s an unrealistic pipe dream , especially given Trump ’ s past antagonism toward California .
That “ feels like an over-dependence on the federal government with an unpredictable administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wood , a dentist .
“ If you are aged , poor or disabled , this budget is devastating.
” Gray was about the only Assembly member who stood up with some partial solutions .
He suggested sports betting and some other revenue-raisers .
Lottery winnings aren ’ t currently taxed by the state , although they are by the feds .
Gray would tax winnings exceeding $ 1 million and earn the state between $ 40 million and $ 400 million a year , depending on the players ’ luck .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you shouldn ’ t complain about paying state taxes , ” Gray says .
He ’ d stop allowing gamblers to write off losses against winnings in calculating their state income taxes .
That could bring in between $ 300 million and $ 500 million .
Gray also would tax e-cigarettes at a higher rate than Newsom proposes , netting an additional $ 70 million .
“ Before we start cutting schools and healthcare , we should take stock of our revenue options , ” Gray told me .
“ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a mistake to sit back and wait for Congress to solve our problems.
” Two Republican assemblymen , Kevin Kiley of Rocklin and Vince Fong of Bakersfield , proposed grabbing roughly $ 3 billion in bullet-train project money and giving it to schools .
Legally that ’ s possible .
Politically it ’ s improbable .
The sports betting measure would allow wagering only on pro games .
A bettor would need to be at least 21 .
The authors say major sports leagues support the proposal .
But the measure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passing the Legislature and getting on the November ballot .
For starters , it requires a two-thirds majority vote of each house .
Big Indian gaming tribes don ’ t like its main feature : online betting from the convenience of the bettor ’ s home .
They want people betting inside their casinos .
The tribes were sponsoring their own ballot initiative , but collection of voter signatures collapsed because of the coronavirus .
Now they won ’ t be able to qualify a measure until the 2022 ballot .
The Dodd-Gray @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tribal casinos , horse racetracks and card rooms .
Casinos and racetracks could operate sports betting — in-house and online .
Card rooms would be excluded , but they ’ d also benefit .
Their current card games would be cemented into law , safe from the constant assaults of tribes and the state attorney general .
The measure is unlikely to pass unless the three gambling interests agree to play .
They ’ d win and so would California budget victims .

Amado Nanalang watches basketball games while making bets at a sports book in Las Vegas. Some legislators hope to legalize sports betting in California.
If we legalize sports betting in California, schoolkids will be the winners.
Maybe also the aged poor. And working single moms looking for child care while schools are shuttered.
Practically every state legislator — Democrat and Republican — is attacking Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed draconian cuts in funding for K-12 schools, impoverished seniors, healthcare for the poor and a long list of safety net programs.
Advertisement
But very few are suggesting serious ways to blunt the governor’s chopping ax by raising new revenue — the dirty T-word for tax.
Two exceptions are Democratic Sen. Bill Dodd of Napa and Assemblyman Adam Gray of Merced. They’re proposing that California finally legalize sports betting — as 23 other states have done — and reap several hundred million dollars annually in “sin” taxes.
Nothing wrong with sin taxes. If people are sinning anyway — such as gambling on professional sports — the state might as well make money off it. Anyway, in many cases, there’s no public consensus on what constitutes a so-called sin.
We long have taxed liquor and tobacco. Four years ago, we fully legalized marijuana and now are taxing the drug. In 1984, Californians voted overwhelmingly to create a state lottery, which is providing $1.3 billion for K-12 schools — 1.3% of their total spending.
I don’t bet on sports because I like to enjoy the games for their own sake and not get hung up on whether the point spread is going to affect my wallet. I want Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout; bleep the betting line.
But not everyone shares that view, so why not make sports gamblers pigeons for the tax collector?
Dodd and Gray figure their proposed state constitutional amendment, SCA 6, would generate at least $200 million in taxes the first year and between $500 million and $700 million annually once the legal wagering market is developed.
That’s only a small piece of the state revenue puzzle, but as Dodd says: “Our state budget is being hammered. There are lots of victims. We have to find as many sources of revenue as possible. And here’s one with real money.
Advertisement
“There’s already billions of dollars of illegal sports gambling going on in the state. There’s no regulatory framework. There’s no taxation.”
Last week, the Assembly held a very rare “committee of the whole” — the last time was 25 years ago — to hear and question experts about the state’s budget plight. The governor projects a $54-billion deficit because the economy was essentially shut down when people were confined to their homes to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The four-hour session quickly turned into a bipartisan platform for dumping on Newsom.
Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCarty of Sacramento called the budget cuts a “death knell” for early-childhood education.
Newsom has promised to rescind $14 billion in proposed cuts if Congress and President Trump send the states a bailout package. Many legislators feel that’s an unrealistic pipe dream, especially given Trump’s past antagonism toward California.
That “feels like an over-dependence on the federal government with an unpredictable administration,” said Healdsburg Democratic Assemblyman Jim Wood, a dentist. “If you are aged, poor or disabled, this budget is devastating.”
Gray was about the only Assembly member who stood up with some partial solutions. He suggested sports betting and some other revenue-raisers.
Lottery winnings aren’t currently taxed by the state, although they are by the feds. Gray would tax winnings exceeding $1 million and earn the state between $40 million and $400 million a year, depending on the players’ luck.
“If you won $100 million, you shouldn’t complain about paying state taxes,” Gray says.
He’d stop allowing gamblers to write off losses against winnings in calculating their state income taxes. That could bring in between $300 million and $500 million.
Gray also would tax e-cigarettes at a higher rate than Newsom proposes, netting an additional $70 million.
“Before we start cutting schools and healthcare, we should take stock of our revenue options,” Gray told me. “It’s the responsible thing to do. It’s a mistake to sit back and wait for Congress to solve our problems.”
Two Republican assemblymen, Kevin Kiley of Rocklin and Vince Fong of Bakersfield, proposed grabbing roughly $3 billion in bullet-train project money and giving it to schools. Legally that’s possible. Politically it’s improbable.
The sports betting measure would allow wagering only on pro games. A bettor would need to be at least 21. The authors say major sports leagues support the proposal.
But the measure doesn’t have high odds of passing the Legislature and getting on the November ballot. For starters, it requires a two-thirds majority vote of each house.
Big Indian gaming tribes don’t like its main feature: online betting from the convenience of the bettor’s home. They want people betting inside their casinos.
The tribes were sponsoring their own ballot initiative, but collection of voter signatures collapsed because of the coronavirus. Now they won’t be able to qualify a measure until the 2022 ballot.
The Dodd-Gray proposal seeks a compromise among the long-warring tribal casinos, horse racetracks and card rooms. Casinos and racetracks could operate sports betting — in-house and online.
Card rooms would be excluded, but they’d also benefit. Their current card games would be cemented into law, safe from the constant assaults of tribes and the state attorney general.
The measure is unlikely to pass unless the three gambling interests agree to play. They’d win and so would California budget victims.


latimes--2020-06-01--Man shot to death in downtown Los Angeles amid protests Sunday

A man was shot to death Sunday evening , according to the Los Angeles Police Department , a killing committed @ @ @ @ @ Los Angeles that was flooded with protesters decrying police brutality .
At 7:20 p.m. , @ @ @ @ @ twenties was fatally shot on Olympic Boulevard between Hill Street and Broadway , Officer Mike @ @ @ @ @ fled in a white vehicle .
The man wasn ’ t publicly identified Sunday night @ @ @ @ @ immediately clear if he was affiliated with the protests in downtown Los Angeles , but @ @ @ @ @ shooting , demonstrators had flooded out of Grand Park and marched down Hill Street , @ @ @ @ @ shooting .
Apart from an M-80 firework hurled at police , the Sunday night march @ @ @ @ @ marked by the ransacking that occurred Friday , when looters smashed up a Starbucks , @ @ @ @ @ vandalized many more businesses .

Police officers stand outside a looted store on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. About 200 people marched through downtown streets, protesting the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
A man was shot to death Sunday evening, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, a killing committed in an area of downtown Los Angeles that was flooded with protesters decrying police brutality.
At 7:20 p.m., a Latino man in his twenties was fatally shot on Olympic Boulevard between Hill Street and Broadway, Officer Mike Lopez said. The gunman fled in a white vehicle.
The man wasn’t publicly identified Sunday night. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was affiliated with the protests in downtown Los Angeles, but by the time of the shooting, demonstrators had flooded out of Grand Park and marched down Hill Street, past the area of the shooting.
Advertisement
Apart from an M-80 firework hurled at police, the Sunday night march wasn’t violent or marked by the ransacking that occurred Friday, when looters smashed up a Starbucks, stole fistfuls of jewelry and vandalized many more businesses.


latimes--2020-06-01--Thousands of cars protest in caravan through Oakland

Protesters in the Bay Area demanded justice for the killing of George Floyd for the third day on Sunday , when a caravan of thousands of vehicles drove through downtown Oakland for more than three hours .
The procession was organized by the Anti Police-Terror Project , a group co-founded by former Oakland mayoral candidate Cat Brooks , as a safe means to demonstrate against the deaths of Floyd and other victims of police brutality without violating social distancing guidelines .
“ We ’ re in the middle of a pandemic that is inequitably and disproportionately impacting black and brown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for us to have different ways to protest , ” Brooks said .
“ Not everybody wants to get out there and get tear-gassed or get out there and risk getting [ COVID-19 ] .
But that doesn ’ t mean that they ’ re not just as enraged as everybody else .
They just need a way to protect themselves.
” To organize the thousands of vehicles driving slowly from the port through downtown Oakland and around Lake Merritt , the group broadcasted commentary and directions on its Facebook page and over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the lines of vehicles and asked drivers to tune their radios to 88.1 FM .
Between songs by artists including Gary Clark Jr. , Childish Gambino and A Tribe Called Quest , protest organizers delivered speeches , updated participants on the procession ’ s progress and told drivers where to turn because there were reports of people losing the caravan .
“ We ’ ve got to fight back with love .
We have to protect our own .
We have to protect what ’ s right , ” a speaker identified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ For those of you brothers and sisters that are not black , thank you , ” Michael said .
“ Revolution requires everybody.
” More than 90 minutes after the protest began , many vehicles still hadn ’ t passed the point from which the first cars in the caravan had departed .
KQED estimated that more than 5,000 vehicles were present .
Remnants of Friday evening ’ s protests in Oakland — during which violence broke out as cops clashed with protesters , and some stores were damaged and looted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caravan .
Floyd ’ s name was spray-painted across many boarded-up businesses along with calls to “ end police violence.
” Graffiti on one side of the 12th Street BART station read simply : “ Was it worth it ?
” The signs on vehicles in Sunday ’ s procession invoked Floyd ’ s name , as well as those of Breonna Taylor , a 26-year-old emergency room technician who was shot by police at least eight times in her Louisville , Ky. , home on March 13 , and Steven Taylor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police in a San Leandro Walmart during what his attorney says was a health crisis in April .
Other signs covering the thousands of cars read “ Black Lives Matter , ” “ Filipinos for Black power , ” “ A badge is not a license to kill ” and “ Justice now.
” Chants of “ Black lives matter ” filled the airwaves and the city as people blasted their radios from their cars and honked their horns along with the chants .
Several protesters said they saw this demonstration as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amid the pandemic .
Tracey Corder has lived in Oakland for six years and said that , although she has friends who participated in Friday ’ s protests , she is immunocompromised and felt more comfortable having her voice heard from a car .
“ People are making the best decision for themselves , but trying their best to stay safe and support each other , ” she said .
Despite the risks of being exposed to the coronavirus and being arrested or targeted by police , she said it was important for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the killing of Floyd and others , because “ we can ’ t normalize it.
” “ I ’ ve been to so many protests [ over police brutality ] in Oakland , ” said Corder , who wore a shirt she got in 2014 that read “ Don ’ t shoot.
” “ This is not the first .
It continues to happen .
And so anytime it happens , we have to show up , because this isn ’ t normal.
” Other protesters said this is one among many demonstrations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lincoln Daw , who drove together , attended Friday ’ s protests , and they plan to attend a march organized by Oakland Technical High School on Monday .
“ I ’ m really hopeful that the privileged can ... keep the pressure on politicians and lead to substantive change so that police brutality against black people and other people of color stops , ” said Daw , who moved to the Bay Area from Australia two years ago and works in tech .
As the procession made its way around Lake Merritt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gathering in San Francisco .
Thousands marched down Market Street in the afternoon and wrapped up around 6:30 p.m. , before an 8 p.m. curfew that was set by Mayor London Breed in response to looting that took place after a peaceful march on Saturday .
Like Friday ’ s protest in Oakland , it ’ s unclear who organized the San Francisco march .
Brooks said people had turned to her group for guidance on whether to attend Friday ’ s march .
The Anti Police-Terror Project did not endorse the protest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who wanted to attend .
Her group offered social distancing guidelines and organized a bail fund for those who might have needed it on Friday .
“ It ’ s never our job to tell people what and what not to do , ” she said .
“ But people do look to us to provide guidance and strategic thinking about how we hope people should engage.
” Brooks emphasized to the thousands of vehicles in the caravan broadcasting the program that tactics might vary , but it is important to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the country .
“ How are we going to leverage all this attention and noise and rage and pain ?
” Brooks said over the sound of cars honking .
“ How are we going to leverage this and build something that actually moves the needle for change ?
” “ We can ’ t let this moment pass , ” she said .
“ I love you , Oakland .
”

Protesters in the Bay Area demanded justice for the killing of George Floyd for the third day on Sunday, when a caravan of thousands of vehicles drove through downtown Oakland for more than three hours.
The procession was organized by the Anti Police-Terror Project, a group co-founded by former Oakland mayoral candidate Cat Brooks, as a safe means to demonstrate against the deaths of Floyd and other victims of police brutality without violating social distancing guidelines.
“We’re in the middle of a pandemic that is inequitably and disproportionately impacting black and brown bodies, so it’s important for us to have different ways to protest,” Brooks said. “Not everybody wants to get out there and get tear-gassed or get out there and risk getting [COVID-19]. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not just as enraged as everybody else. They just need a way to protect themselves.”
Advertisement
To organize the thousands of vehicles driving slowly from the port through downtown Oakland and around Lake Merritt, the group broadcasted commentary and directions on its Facebook page and over the radio. People on bikes rode through the lines of vehicles and asked drivers to tune their radios to 88.1 FM.
A cyclist directs protesters to tune to 88.1 FM during Sunday’s caravan through Oakland. (Johana Bhuiyan / Los Angeles Times)
Between songs by artists including Gary Clark Jr., Childish Gambino and A Tribe Called Quest, protest organizers delivered speeches, updated participants on the procession’s progress and told drivers where to turn because there were reports of people losing the caravan.
“We’ve got to fight back with love. We have to protect our own. We have to protect what’s right,” a speaker identified as Michael said during the radio broadcast.
“For those of you brothers and sisters that are not black, thank you,” Michael said. “Revolution requires everybody.”
More than 90 minutes after the protest began, many vehicles still hadn’t passed the point from which the first cars in the caravan had departed. KQED estimated that more than 5,000 vehicles were present.
Remnants of Friday evening’s protests in Oakland — during which violence broke out as cops clashed with protesters, and some stores were damaged and looted — could be seen downtown during the caravan. Floyd’s name was spray-painted across many boarded-up businesses along with calls to “end police violence.” Graffiti on one side of the 12th Street BART station read simply: “Was it worth it?”
Cars in the caravan drove past graffiti in Oakland. (Johana Bhuiyan / Los Angeles Times)
The signs on vehicles in Sunday’s procession invoked Floyd’s name, as well as those of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician who was shot by police at least eight times in her Louisville, Ky., home on March 13, and Steven Taylor, a 33-year-old man who was shot by police in a San Leandro Walmart during what his attorney says was a health crisis in April.
Advertisement
Other signs covering the thousands of cars read “Black Lives Matter,” “Filipinos for Black power,” “A badge is not a license to kill” and “Justice now.”
Chants of “Black lives matter” filled the airwaves and the city as people blasted their radios from their cars and honked their horns along with the chants.
Several protesters said they saw this demonstration as the first opportunity to have their voice heard amid the pandemic.
Oakland resident Tracey Corder said she took part in the caravan because she is immunocompromised and felt safer protesting in her car. (Johana Bhuiyan / Los Angeles times)
Tracey Corder has lived in Oakland for six years and said that, although she has friends who participated in Friday’s protests, she is immunocompromised and felt more comfortable having her voice heard from a car. “People are making the best decision for themselves, but trying their best to stay safe and support each other,” she said.
Despite the risks of being exposed to the coronavirus and being arrested or targeted by police, she said it was important for her to show up in protest of the killing of Floyd and others, because “we can’t normalize it.”
“I’ve been to so many protests [over police brutality] in Oakland,” said Corder, who wore a shirt she got in 2014 that read “Don’t shoot.” “This is not the first. It continues to happen. And so anytime it happens, we have to show up, because this isn’t normal.”
Other protesters said this is one among many demonstrations on their calendars. Reyhaneh Rajabzadeh and Lincoln Daw, who drove together, attended Friday’s protests, and they plan to attend a march organized by Oakland Technical High School on Monday.
“I’m really hopeful that the privileged can ... keep the pressure on politicians and lead to substantive change so that police brutality against black people and other people of color stops,” said Daw, who moved to the Bay Area from Australia two years ago and works in tech.
As the procession made its way around Lake Merritt, a separate group of protesters began gathering in San Francisco. Thousands marched down Market Street in the afternoon and wrapped up around 6:30 p.m., before an 8 p.m. curfew that was set by Mayor London Breed in response to looting that took place after a peaceful march on Saturday. Like Friday’s protest in Oakland, it’s unclear who organized the San Francisco march.
A woman holds a sign as protesters caravan through Oakland on Sunday. (Johana Bhuiyan / Los Angeles Times)
Brooks said people had turned to her group for guidance on whether to attend Friday’s march. The Anti Police-Terror Project did not endorse the protest, but it didn’t discourage those who wanted to attend. Her group offered social distancing guidelines and organized a bail fund for those who might have needed it on Friday.
“It’s never our job to tell people what and what not to do,” she said. “But people do look to us to provide guidance and strategic thinking about how we hope people should engage.”
Brooks emphasized to the thousands of vehicles in the caravan broadcasting the program that tactics might vary, but it is important to take advantage of the movement that is happening across the country.
“How are we going to leverage all this attention and noise and rage and pain?” Brooks said over the sound of cars honking. “How are we going to leverage this and build something that actually moves the needle for change?”
“We can’t let this moment pass,” she said. “I love you, Oakland.”


latimes--2020-06-01--L.A. County courts are ordered closed Monday due to protests

All Los Angeles County Superior Court proceedings will be suspended through at least Monday in response to ongoing protests , @ @ @ @ @ Sunday by Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile .
“ Out of an abundance of caution , @ @ @ @ @ step of closing our courthouses tomorrow to protect the safety of the public , judicial @ @ @ @ @ Brazile said .
“ This is not a decision I make lightly .
But public @ @ @ @ @ concern.
” Brazile did not say when the courts , which handle both criminal and @ @ @ @ @ .
The decision to temporarily shutter the nation ’ s largest trial court comes after @ @ @ @ @ triggered by the death of George Floyd , a black man who died after a @ @ @ @ @ on his neck .
Around 80 % of the courtrooms in the county ’ s @ @ @ @ @ due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Some clerk ’ s office services are expected to @ @ @ @ @

The Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles and 37 other county courthouses will be closed through at least Monday.
All Los Angeles County Superior Court proceedings will be suspended through at least Monday in response to ongoing protests, according to a statement issued Sunday by Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile.
“Out of an abundance of caution, I am taking the extraordinary step of closing our courthouses tomorrow to protect the safety of the public, judicial officers and employees,” Brazile said. “This is not a decision I make lightly. But public safety is always our paramount concern.”
Brazile did not say when the courts, which handle both criminal and civil cases, would reopen.
Advertisement
The decision to temporarily shutter the nation’s largest trial court comes after a raucous weekend of protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
Around 80% of the courtrooms in the county’s 38 courthouses were already closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some clerk’s office services are expected to resume on June 15.


latimes--2020-06-01--13 arrested in attempt to loot Lakewood mall, sheriff says

The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department arrested 13 people who attempted to loot the Lakewood mall Sunday .
Sheriff ’ s deputies were out in force at the shopping center , and Sheriff Alex Villanueva said they were able to quickly control the situation .
Three buildings suffered damage , but more details were not available , he added .
The incident came amid widespread looting to the south in downtown Long Beach .
In Long Beach , hundreds of protesters — many chanting and holding signs reading “ no justice , no peace ” and “ black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city ’ s downtown area through Alamitos Beach along Broadway before circling back to downtown along Ocean Boulevard around 3 p.m .
Residents stood on sidewalks or on their balconies , often shouting words of support .
However , less than two hours later , hundreds of protesters began looting stores at the Pike Outlets .
People in the crowd smashed windows with hammers and trash cans lids .
Some protesters yelled for the looters to leave the stores alone .
Others shouted , “ Let ’ s hit Nike ” before running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next few hours , numerous stores were hit .

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrested 13 people who attempted to loot the Lakewood mall Sunday.
Sheriff’s deputies were out in force at the shopping center, and Sheriff Alex Villanueva said they were able to quickly control the situation.
Three buildings suffered damage, but more details were not available, he added.
Advertisement
The incident came amid widespread looting to the south in downtown Long Beach.
In Long Beach, hundreds of protesters — many chanting and holding signs reading “no justice, no peace” and “black lives matter” — walked from the city’s downtown area through Alamitos Beach along Broadway before circling back to downtown along Ocean Boulevard around 3 p.m. Residents stood on sidewalks or on their balconies, often shouting words of support.
However, less than two hours later, hundreds of protesters began looting stores at the Pike Outlets. People in the crowd smashed windows with hammers and trash cans lids.
Some protesters yelled for the looters to leave the stores alone. Others shouted, “Let’s hit Nike” before running toward the popular athletic store.
Over the next few hours, numerous stores were hit.


latimes--2020-06-01--Melrose Avenue, one of L.A.'s hippest streets, hit hard by looters

Eli Ventov stood outside his blackened store on Melrose Avenue on Sunday morning .
The roof appeared on the verge of collapse , and patches of overcast sky were visible through the ceiling .
The night before , Ventov had stood across the street and watched Reloaded L.A. , his business of nearly 12 years , go up in flames .
A protester threw a gasoline-filled bottle into the Dr. Martens store a few doors down , and before he knew it , his jewelry and apparel shop had caught fire as well .
Ventov grew teary-eyed Sunday as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be OK. “ I can ’ t believe it , ” he said .
Ventov and other business owners on Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District were forced to take stock Sunday after a night of civil unrest gave way to mayhem .
Thousands of protesters converged on the iconic shopping district Saturday to protest the killing of George Floyd , a black Minneapolis man killed when a white police officer used his knee to pin him to the ground by the neck .
Though most protesters assembled peaceably throughout the day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not seen in Los Angeles since the 1992 riots sparked after the police officers ’ acquittal in the beating of Rodney King .
Some unleashed long-simmering anger over police brutality by shattering windows and stealing merchandise .
Others scrawled graffiti with messages decrying systemic racism .
Storefronts along Melrose were torched .
The most violent actions might have been committed by fringe groups , police said .
The morning after , store owners and employees swept glass and paced the sidewalks while discussing next steps with contractors and landlords over the phone .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ their eyes .
Small and minority-owned businesses , already devastated by the pandemic-induced closures , were particularly affected by the theft and destruction .
Many had just reopened after months of being shuttered .
When Ricky Flores arrived at his clothing store at 7 a.m. Sunday , people were still inside , stealing whatever was left .
The alarm was blaring and the security gate was broken .
Three televisions had been taken from the wall , clothes and shoes from the shelves .
The store had just reopened on Friday after being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Flores and his co-owner , a friend , had been optimistic about reopening .
As Flores swept up glass from the broken windows , onlookers took video and photos of him and the store .
He felt like an animal in a zoo he said .
“ We ’ re barely getting over the virus , ” Flores said .
“ It hurts so bad .
And then to deal with this ?
” Outside Pearls Nail Salon , a fire alarm sounded continuously as LAPD officers and firefighters in masks stood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Antonio ’ s Restaurant .
In the window were several signs that read “ Black Lives Matter.
” Another said , “ Caution , maintain social distancing.
” Guillermo Rodriguez , the son-in-law of the owner , stood at the door .
Antonio ’ s opened for the first time in three months on Saturday .
Unable to make much of a profit through takeout orders , the restaurant nearly closed after 50 years in operation .
Later that night , Rodriguez and his 27-year-old son guarded the restaurant ’ s wooden doors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told my son yesterday , if they break in , that ’ s it — we close the restaurant forever , ” Rodriguez said .
Rodriguez pleaded with demonstrators wielding baseball bats and hammers .
“ Please don ’ t hurt the business , ” he said .
They kept walking .
Rodney Beckwith , manager of Resist 323 on Melrose , had a similarly close call with protesters on Saturday .
Beckwith , who goes by his artist name , Flewnt , was inside the pop-modern store when he heard people trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ table saw against the security door and climbed a ladder to the rooftop .
“ It ’ s a black-dude store , leave it alone , ” protesters said as they spotted him .
Beckwith stayed up all night .
“ I feel them , I ’ m with them , ” Beckwith said the next morning .
“ But at the same time , I ’ m protecting a business.
” Lindsay Pierce , owner of the luxury salon and boutique WAX , wasn ’ t as fortunate .
As she monitored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computer , she saw three young men dart inside the shop ’ s shattered windows .
The demonstrators immediately disconnected the business ’ internet router , cutting off Pierce ’ s only means to safely monitor her salon .
All the electronics were stolen , along with some small merchandise .
“ I was just thinking , ‘ Please don ’ t light it on fire , ’ ” Pierce said Sunday morning as friends and workers cleared broken glass .
“ We have been pouring a lot of money into it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks later .
So it was just one blow after another.
” For the first time since the civil unrest in 1992 , Sandy Chase , 68 , was planning to stay overnight in his record store on Sunday .
His business , the Record Collector , was briefly attacked on Saturday .
Windows were scuffed and his brick facade was vandalized .
Chase said he empathizes with the demonstrators .
He ’ d hoped that posting a Black Lives Matter sign in his window would help , but it didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owner of his neighboring business , who persuaded the group of protesters to abandon their effort , some 500,000 classical and jazz LPs would have been up for grabs , he said .
With his wife in London , the former violinist said he might just lie back in his office recliner just inside the storefront and wait to confront any groups that try to break in through the night .
He plans to use words , he said , not weapons .
“ Positive confrontation ... like your parents .
‘ No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , this is why.
’ Just reason with them , ” he said .
“ You just have to put yourself on the line .
”

Brittny Mejia, Joseph Serna, Laura Newberry

People gather in front of a shattered storefront on Melrose Avenue in Fairfax on Sunday.
Eli Ventov stood outside his blackened store on Melrose Avenue on Sunday morning. The roof appeared on the verge of collapse, and patches of overcast sky were visible through the ceiling.
The night before, Ventov had stood across the street and watched Reloaded L.A., his business of nearly 12 years, go up in flames. A protester threw a gasoline-filled bottle into the Dr. Martens store a few doors down, and before he knew it, his jewelry and apparel shop had caught fire as well.
Ventov grew teary-eyed Sunday as a friend embraced him and told him he would be OK.
Advertisement
“I can’t believe it,” he said.
Ventov and other business owners on Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District were forced to take stock Sunday after a night of civil unrest gave way to mayhem.
Thousands of protesters converged on the iconic shopping district Saturday to protest the killing of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man killed when a white police officer used his knee to pin him to the ground by the neck.
Though most protesters assembled peaceably throughout the day, nighttime brought a level of destruction not seen in Los Angeles since the 1992 riots sparked after the police officers’ acquittal in the beating of Rodney King. Some unleashed long-simmering anger over police brutality by shattering windows and stealing merchandise. Others scrawled graffiti with messages decrying systemic racism. Storefronts along Melrose were torched.
The most violent actions might have been committed by fringe groups, police said.
The morning after, store owners and employees swept glass and paced the sidewalks while discussing next steps with contractors and landlords over the phone. Others stood in exasperation, tears in their eyes.
Small and minority-owned businesses, already devastated by the pandemic-induced closures, were particularly affected by the theft and destruction. Many had just reopened after months of being shuttered.
Advertisement
Shattered glass is piled up in a storefront on Melrose Avenue Sunday as passersby assess the damage. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
When Ricky Flores arrived at his clothing store at 7 a.m. Sunday, people were still inside, stealing whatever was left. The alarm was blaring and the security gate was broken. Three televisions had been taken from the wall, clothes and shoes from the shelves.
The store had just reopened on Friday after being closed since March because of the pandemic. Flores and his co-owner, a friend, had been optimistic about reopening.
As Flores swept up glass from the broken windows, onlookers took video and photos of him and the store. He felt like an animal in a zoo he said.
“We’re barely getting over the virus,” Flores said. “It hurts so bad. And then to deal with this?”
Outside Pearls Nail Salon, a fire alarm sounded continuously as LAPD officers and firefighters in masks stood guard.
A Mexican flag hung outside Antonio’s Restaurant. In the window were several signs that read “Black Lives Matter.” Another said, “Caution, maintain social distancing.”
Guillermo Rodriguez, the son-in-law of the owner, stood at the door.
Antonio’s opened for the first time in three months on Saturday. Unable to make much of a profit through takeout orders, the restaurant nearly closed after 50 years in operation.
Later that night, Rodriguez and his 27-year-old son guarded the restaurant’s wooden doors until the sun rose.
“I told my son yesterday, if they break in, that’s it — we close the restaurant forever,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez pleaded with demonstrators wielding baseball bats and hammers. “Please don’t hurt the business,” he said. They kept walking.
Paige Esquivel paints over graffiti at the Paper Bag Princess, a shop on Melrose where she works. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Rodney Beckwith, manager of Resist 323 on Melrose, had a similarly close call with protesters on Saturday.
Beckwith, who goes by his artist name, Flewnt, was inside the pop-modern store when he heard people trying to break in. He shoved his table saw against the security door and climbed a ladder to the rooftop.
“It’s a black-dude store, leave it alone,” protesters said as they spotted him. Beckwith stayed up all night.
“I feel them, I’m with them,” Beckwith said the next morning. “But at the same time, I’m protecting a business.”
Lindsay Pierce, owner of the luxury salon and boutique WAX, wasn’t as fortunate. As she monitored her business through security footage on her computer, she saw three young men dart inside the shop’s shattered windows.
The demonstrators immediately disconnected the business’ internet router, cutting off Pierce’s only means to safely monitor her salon. All the electronics were stolen, along with some small merchandise.
Lindsay Pierce’s business, WAX, was vandalized Saturday night on Melrose Avenue.
(Joseph Serna / Los Angeles Times)
“I was just thinking, ‘Please don’t light it on fire,’” Pierce said Sunday morning as friends and workers cleared broken glass. “We have been pouring a lot of money into it, and then we got shut down eight weeks later. So it was just one blow after another.”
For the first time since the civil unrest in 1992, Sandy Chase, 68, was planning to stay overnight in his record store on Sunday.
His business, the Record Collector, was briefly attacked on Saturday. Windows were scuffed and his brick facade was vandalized.
Chase said he empathizes with the demonstrators. He’d hoped that posting a Black Lives Matter sign in his window would help, but it didn’t.
Had it not been for the owner of his neighboring business, who persuaded the group of protesters to abandon their effort, some 500,000 classical and jazz LPs would have been up for grabs, he said.
With his wife in London, the former violinist said he might just lie back in his office recliner just inside the storefront and wait to confront any groups that try to break in through the night.
He plans to use words, he said, not weapons.
“Positive confrontation ... like your parents. ‘No son, you can’t do that, this is why.’ Just reason with them,” he said. “You just have to put yourself on the line.”


latimes--2020-05-31--LAPD officer is shot in the leg at Whole Foods parking lot in Venice

An LAPD officer suffered a non life-threatening gunshot wound Sunday near the Venice Santa Monica border , an official said @ @ @ @ @ 4:30 p.m. in the area of the Whole Foods parking lot near Lincoln Boulevard and @ @ @ @ @ Chief Horace Frank said the officer suffered a graze wound to her leg .
He @ @ @ @ @ being investigated by Los Angeles Police Department ’ s Robbery Homicide Division .
Frank said @ @ @ @ @ shot came from are unknown .

An LAPD officer suffered a graze wound to her leg Sunday afternoon in Venice.
An LAPD officer suffered a non life-threatening gunshot wound Sunday near the Venice Santa Monica border, an official said.
The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. in the area of the Whole Foods parking lot near Lincoln Boulevard and Rose Avenue.
LAPD Assistant Chief Horace Frank said the officer suffered a graze wound to her leg. He added that the incident is being investigated by Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division.
Frank said the motive and where the shot came from are unknown.