latimes--2020-05-31--Looting hits Long Beach, Santa Monica as countywide curfew goes into effect

National Guard troops arrived in Santa Monica on Sunday evening and were headed to Long Beach after both cities were hit by extensive looting .
It was a surreal end to a surreal day in Southern California as demonstrators once again gathered en masse in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic to protest the death of George Floyd , a black man who died last week after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck .
National Guard troops and police officers guarded the barricaded steps of Los Angeles City Hall .
Emergency alerts on phones warned Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Santa Monica , looters spent hours in the city ’ s upscale business district stealing items and setting several fires .
In Long Beach , an outlet mall and some downtown shops were hit as protesters screamed at looters and begged them to stop .
Caltrans closed westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway at Bundy Drive to prevent people from coming into Santa Monica .
Hundreds were arrested .
Protests in downtown Los Angeles , Huntington Beach , Santa Ana and elsewhere were largely peaceful .
In Long Beach , hundreds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signs reading “ No Justice , No Peace ” and “ Black Lives Matter ” — walked at about 3 p.m. from the city ’ s downtown and through Alamitos Beach as residents stood on sidewalks and balconies , shouting words of support .
But less than two hours later , hundreds of people began looting stores at the Pike Outlets .
People 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ store .
Several minutes later , a mob rushed back and stormed into Forever 21 , slipping on clothes scattered on the floor .
At G By Guess , a man used a hammer to smash the store ’ s door before another man intervened and asked him to stop .
Suddenly , the would-be looters began punching the man .
Chandarley Lim , 28 , stood in the middle of the street that runs through the outdoor mall yelling “ Peaceful protest !
” “ This is sad , man , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is not a good look .
Don ’ t let the bad examples ruin it for the rest of us.
” Shortly after 6 p.m. , Long Beach police declared an unlawful assembly in the area , signaling that arrests would soon follow .
About an hour later , police and demonstrators were at a standoff on Broadway and Pine Avenue .
At least one protester threw a water bottle at the officers standing along Pine , prompting them to shoot rubber projectiles into the crowd .
Looting continued into the night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men ’ s clothing business in downtown Long Beach .
A similar scene unfolded in Santa Monica .
Hundreds of people walked from the Santa Monica Pier north along Ocean Avenue , carrying signs and chanting .
Some protesters were in a tense standoff with police , who were firing less-than-lethal weapons after some demonstrators threw objects toward them .
A little before 2 p.m. , dozens of looters stormed Santa Monica Place , smashing the windows of Louis Vuitton and several other stores .
They left before police arrived .
Paul Cain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Santa Monica , said he called police early in the afternoon to ask about safety in the area .
They told him the protesters were peaceful and that he had nothing to worry about .
But soon , he saw waves of crowds on the street outside of his business .
He ushered his customers sitting on the patio inside , and they watched looters storm the area .
“ The people were outside eating and drinking , and all of a sudden it arrived , ” he said .
Looters also ransacked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stealing shoes and skateboards .
People carried merchandise past the Promenade as police guarding 3rd Street watched them .
They ran to a nearby alley , found what looked to be the back entrance to a store , and swarmed inside .
Amid sirens blaring and shouts of “ police !
” the group ran back out of the alley , carrying shoe boxes .
Some of them were picked up by a waiting car .
They rushed to stuff the merchandise inside while police on motorcycles approached .
A few blocks away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people were seen breaking into a pharmacy , using a skateboard to shatter the window before climbing inside .
Next door , people smashed the window of a jewelry store .
At least one sheriff ’ s patrol car parked outside the civic center was set ablaze .
Police shut down all off-ramps into Santa Monica from the 10 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway and told people to avoid the downtown area .
In response to the protests across the region , Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced a countywide curfew beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 a.m. Monday .
But the looting throughout Santa Monica continued into the evening .
Protesters crashed store windows with hammers and ran in , taking what they could before police arrived .
Store alarms and police sirens sounded throughout the city .
Inside the Britannia Pub , Cain periodically shouted and pointed out the window toward people with their arms full of merchandise from the Gap and other stores .
“ Take a picture of that , ” he said .
“ He must be carrying his body weight in jeans.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ downtown Los Angeles , including a march from Pershing Square to City Hall .
National Guard troops established a perimeter around City Hall , joining officers from the Los Angeles Police Department .
“ This is the opportunity for our generation to decide who we want to be as Americans , ” Elevn St. James , who organized the protest , said into a megaphone from the steps of City Hall .
“ I can ’ t help but think , maybe this is the dream that Dr. King died for.
” At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wins ” and urged the crowd not to escalate the violence .
“ We can ’ t give them any more reason to shoot and kill us , ” he said .
“ No more names.
” Neissa Diabate , 27 , stood nearby holding a sign that read , “ America would not exist without the black community.
” “ It ’ s actually wild that we have to be out here in the middle of a pandemic , ” she said .
“ America has taught us that peace does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , nearly two hours after police warned them that they had violated curfew orders and faced arrests , a few hundred demonstrators departed City Hall and began streaming south on Hill Street .
They filed past an empty Grand Central Market , past boarded-up storefronts , past wary security guards who assured them that they , too , had no tolerance for police brutality , and past stone-faced National Guard troops .
When an LAPD helicopter circling overhead turned its beam onto the procession , marchers paused to extend middle fingers to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marcher flung an M-80 firecracker into a group of police officers stationed at Main and Ninth streets .
After it exploded , officers briefly fired rubble projectiles at the marchers , who took off running .
In Huntington Beach , police declared a protest with about 500 people near the pier to be an unlawful assembly at about 1 p.m .
The crowd shrunk considerably , but police fired pepper balls at some demonstrators who did not disperse , according to reports from the scene .
There were no reports of vandalism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angela Bennett , public information officer for the Huntington Beach Police Department .
Sunday ’ s demonstrations capped a weekend of violent protests in Southern California , with numerous buildings , including in the upscale Grove shopping center in the Fairfax District , being set on fire .
Los 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 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a brick in the Fairfax area and suffered a fractured skull , authorities said .
An officer also suffered a broken arm , and another ’ s leg was broken during clashes with protesters .
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the officer whose skull was fractured underwent surgery Saturday night .
“ I believe he will survive , ” he said at a Sunday news conference .
The unrest — which undercut a weekend meant to be focused on the the reopening of restaurants , barbershops and hair salons that had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spurred cities across the region to enact overnight curfews .
The cities of Beverly Hills , Santa Monica , West Hollywood , Culver City , El Segundo and Torrance announced curfews for Sunday into Monday , as did the city of Santa Ana in Orange County .
In West Hollywood and Torrance , the curfews will be in effect each night until they are lifted by city officials .
In Beverly Hills , the curfew took effect at 1 p.m. for the business district , which includes Rodeo Drive , and at 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Violence , looting , and vandalism will not be tolerated in our city , ” Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman said .
“ It ’ s unfortunate that the message of the peaceful protesters has been diminished by criminal behavior.
” On Sunday , National Guard troops in full combat gear stood outside shattered storefronts in downtown L.A. as the morning light revealed damage from the days before : broken windows , trash-strewn streets and graffiti-tagged buildings .
By 7 a.m. , scores of guardsmen toting M-4 rifles marched on patrol @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency in the city and county of Los Angeles shortly before midnight .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supplies , officials said .
It also provides for future state and federal reimbursement of costs the county incurs .
The decision to call in the National Guard was criticized by City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson , who represents a portion of South L.A. “ It ’ s clear that our fear is real that additional law enforcement will only further violence against people of color , ” Harris-Dawson said in a statement .
“ Anarchists are taking advantage of our pain with looting and violence — this is not Black Lives Matter or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from systematic racism and oppression — these are domestic terrorists.
” The last time the National Guard patrolled the streets of L.A. was during the 1992 riots , which erupted after the police officers who beat black motorist Rodney King were found not guilty in a jury trial .
Compared with those riots , the events in Los Angeles over the weekend were significantly less widespread and less dangerous .
Although officers were hurt when protesters threw objects at them , there have been no fatalities .
The 1992 riots swept across large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 60 people dead .
On Sunday , the Metropolitan Transportation Authority apologized to passengers who were left stranded across L.A. County when bus and rail service was suspended Saturday with little warning .
The unprecedented closure of the Metro system drew immediate criticism from advocates and elected officials who said essential workers were left stranded on sidewalks , at stations and in bus shelters in the hours after the 8 p.m. curfews imposed in Los Angeles and other cities .
Metro ’ s chief executive Phil Washington told KNX 1070 News Radio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service because he had seen “ a lot of damage , ” and was concerned for the safety of Metro employees .
Washington said Metro supervisors were driving around the city on Saturday night to look for people at bus stops , then calling nearby bus yards and asking them to dispatch vehicles to pick them up .
On Sunday morning , a Metro spokesperson said the agency would reimburse trips taken in a taxi , Uber or Lyft after the system shut down .
Anyone seeking a refund should call Metro customer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lindsay Pierce was operating on only about an hour of sleep when she headed to Melrose Avenue Sunday morning to survey the damage to her business .
What she had seen on her security cameras Saturday night had made her ill .
The Melrose Avenue business owner had been monitoring her shop , Wax , via security cameras as the protests moved through the Fairfax district .
At about 11 p.m. , she said , three young men darted inside her store after its windows were shattered .
They immediately moved to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , cutting off Pierce ’ s connection .
“ I started sweating , I got sick to my stomach , I was just thinking , ‘ Please don ’ t light it on fire , ’ ” Pierce said Sunday morning .
Her survey revealed that all the business ’ electronics were stolen , along with some small merchandise .
L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz , who represents many of the areas that incurred damage , said business districts along Fairfax Avenue and Melrose Avenue had been “ devastated ” by looting , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekend that the city had given permission for restaurants and retail to emerge from COVID , ” he said .
“ And instead , businesses that were already hanging by a thread are now destroyed.
” Rodney Beckwith , who goes by his artist name , Flewnt , is the manager of Resist 323 on Melrose , a store selling custom clothing and art that had one of its windows smashed .
He spent the night inside the store , where a garage door security gate was pulled down in front to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night when he heard people trying to break in through the back door .
He shoved a table saw against the security door .
“ All I could do was try to get to the rooftop , ” he said .
“ My survival mode , get high and get out the door .
I ’ m not going to sit down there , they ’ re breaking through a door , they ’ re not knocking.
” “ I know they ’ re black lives matter , I ’ m black but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
“ ...
I feel them , I ’ m with them , but at the same time I ’ m protecting a business.
” No one was able to breach the security door and get inside .
Eli Ventov has had his store , Reloaded L.A. , along Melrose for nearly 12 years .
The clothing and jewelry store had just reopened Wednesday after being closed because of the pandemic .
On Saturday , as they saw the protests start to grow , workers rushed to Home Depot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ windows so no one would break in .
No one did .
But in the same building , people broke into the Dr. Martens store .
Around 7 p.m. , someone threw a bottle with gasoline inside , Ventov said .
A fire erupted .
“ It went from this store , to this store , to this store , ” Ventov said , gesturing to shoe store Tony-K and then to his store .
Ventov stood across the street and watched his business burn .
On Sunday morning , he stood outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared on the verge of collapse and the sky was visible through patches .
He grew teary-eyed as a friend embraced him and told him it would be OK. “ I understand where they ’ re coming from , ” Ventov said of the protesters , “ but did you really need to come that way ?
” Ricky Flores swept inside the clothing store Flashback , where a sign out front read “ Now open !
Please wear a mask for entry.
” He and his friend had opened the store four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so well they moved from a smaller space next door to a larger one .
The store had just reopened Friday after being closed since March .
But they closed Saturday because of the protests .
They watched on the news as buildings across the street burned .
When Flores arrived Sunday morning , around 7 a.m. , people were still stealing items from the store , he said .
The alarm was blaring and people had broken the security gate the night before .
People stole three televisions off the wall , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ice cube trays from the freezer .
“ What kind of a sick person takes the ice cube trays out of the freezer ?
” Times staff writers Richard Winton , Kevin Rector , Monte Morin , Gustavo Arellano , Alex Wigglesworth , Andrew Campa , Hannah Fry , Kim Christensen , Dakota Smith , Laura J. Nelson , David Zahniser , Kevin Baxter , Leila Miller and Emily Baumgaertner contributed to this report .

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Brittny Mejia, Joseph Serna, Ruben Vives, Melissa Etehad, Matthew Ormseth, Hailey Branson-Potts

National Guard troops arrived in Santa Monica on Sunday evening and were headed to Long Beach after both cities were hit by extensive looting.
It was a surreal end to a surreal day in Southern California as demonstrators once again gathered en masse in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak to protest the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died last week in police custody after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down by his neck for several minutes.
National Guard troops and police officers guarded the barricaded steps of Los Angeles City Hall. Emergency alerts on phones warned Los Angeles County residents of a mandatory overnight curfew.
In Santa Monica, looters spent hours in the city’s upscale business district stealing items and setting several fires. In Long Beach, an outlet mall and some downtown shops were hit as protesters screamed at looters and begged them to stop. Caltrans closed westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway at Bundy Drive to prevent people from coming into Santa Monica. Hundreds were arrested.
Protests in downtown Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana and elsewhere were largely peaceful.
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)
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In Long Beach, hundreds of protesters — many chanting and holding signs reading “No Justice, No Peace” and “Black Lives Matter” — walked at about 3 p.m. from the city’s downtown and through Alamitos Beach as residents stood on sidewalks and balconies, shouting words of support.
But less than two hours later, hundreds of people began looting stores at the Pike Outlets. People smashed windows with hammers and trash can lids. Some protesters yelled for the looters to leave the stores alone. Others shouted, “Let’s hit Nike!” before running toward the athletic store.
Several minutes later, a mob rushed back and stormed into Forever 21, slipping on clothes scattered on the floor. At G by Guess, a man used a hammer to smash the store’s door before another man intervened and asked him to stop. Suddenly, the would-be looters began punching the man.
Chandarley Lim, 28, stood in the middle of the street that runs through the outdoor mall yelling, “Peaceful protest!”
“This is sad, man,” she said of the looting. “This is not a good look. Don’t let the bad examples ruin it for the rest of us.”
Shortly after 6 p.m., Long Beach police declared an unlawful assembly in the area, signaling that arrests would soon follow. About an hour later, police and demonstrators were at a standoff on Broadway and Pine Avenue. At least one protester threw a water bottle at the officers standing along Pine, prompting them to shoot rubber projectiles into the crowd.
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Looting continued into the night, and someone set fire to a men’s clothing business in downtown Long Beach.
A similar scene unfolded in Santa Monica. Hundreds of people walked from the Santa Monica Pier north along Ocean Avenue, carrying signs and chanting. Some protesters were in a tense standoff with police, who were firing non-lethal weapons after some demonstrators threw objects toward them.
A little before 2 p.m., dozens of looters stormed Santa Monica Place, smashing the windows of Louis Vuitton and several other stores. They left before police arrived.
Paul Cain, who owns the Britannia Pub in Santa Monica, said he called police early in the afternoon to ask about safety in the area. They told him the protesters were peaceful and that he had nothing to worry about.
But soon, he saw waves of crowds on the street outside of his business. He ushered his customers sitting on the patio inside, and they watched looters storm the area.
“The people were outside eating and drinking, and all of a sudden it arrived,” he said.
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Looters also ransacked the Vans store at 400 Broadway, stealing shoes and skateboards. People carried merchandise past the Promenade as police guarding 3rd Street watched them. They ran to a nearby alley, found what looked to be the back entrance to a store, and swarmed inside.
Amid sirens blaring and shouts of “police!” the group ran back out of the alley, carrying shoe boxes. Some of them were picked up by a waiting car. They rushed to stuff the merchandise inside while police on motorcycles approached.
A few blocks away, at 7th Street and Broadway, people were seen breaking into a pharmacy, using a skateboard to shatter the window before climbing inside. Next door, people smashed the window of a jewelry store.
At least one sheriff’s patrol car parked outside the civic center was set ablaze. Police shut down all off-ramps into Santa Monica from the 10 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway and told people to avoid the downtown area.
In response to the protests across the region, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced a countywide curfew beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday and ending at 6 a.m. Monday.
But the looting throughout Santa Monica continued into the evening. Protesters crashed store windows with hammers and ran in, taking what they could before police arrived. Store alarms and police sirens sounded throughout the city.
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Inside the Britannia Pub, Cain periodically shouted and pointed out the window toward people with their arms full of merchandise from the Gap and other stores.
“Take a picture of that,” he said. “He must be carrying his body weight in jeans.”
Protests also took place Sunday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, including a march from Pershing Square to City Hall. National Guard troops established a perimeter around City Hall, joining officers from the Los Angeles Police Department.
“This is the opportunity for our generation to decide who we want to be as Americans,” Elevn St. James, who organized the protest, said into a megaphone from the steps of City Hall. “I can’t help but think, maybe this is the dream that Dr. King died for.”
At some point, he said, “Peace wins,” and urged the crowd not to escalate the violence.
“We can’t give them any more reason to shoot and kill us,” he said. “No more names.”
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The crowd shouted back: “No more names.”
Neissa Diabate, 27, stood nearby holding a sign that read, “America would not exist without the black community.”
“It’s actually wild that we have to be out here in the middle of a pandemic,” she said. “America has taught us that peace does not get us far.”
At 7:45 p.m., nearly two hours after police warned them that they had violated curfew orders and faced arrests, a few hundred demonstrators departed City Hall and began streaming south on Hill Street. They filed past an empty Grand Central Market, past boarded-up storefronts, past wary security guards who assured them that they, too, had no tolerance for police brutality, and past stone-faced National Guard troops.
When an LAPD helicopter circling overhead turned its beam onto the procession, marchers paused to extend middle fingers to the pilot.
At one point, a marcher flung an M-80 firecracker into a group of police officers stationed at Main and Ninth streets. After it exploded, officers briefly fired rubble projectiles at the marchers, who took off running.
In Huntington Beach, police declared a protest with about 500 people near the pier to be an unlawful assembly about 1 p.m. The crowd shrunk considerably, but police fired pepper balls at some demonstrators who did not disperse, according to reports from the scene.
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There were no reports of vandalism, but several people were arrested, said Angela Bennett, public information officer for the Huntington Beach Police Department.
Sunday’s demonstrations capped a weekend of violent protests in Southern California, with numerous buildings, including in the upscale Grove shopping center in the Fairfax District, being set on fire.
Los 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 in the Fairfax area and suffered a fractured skull, authorities said. An officer also suffered a broken arm, and another’s leg was broken during clashes with protesters.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the officer whose skull was fractured underwent surgery Saturday night. “I believe he will survive,” he said at a Sunday news conference.
The unrest — which undercut a weekend meant to be focused on the the reopening of restaurants, barbershops and hair salons that had been shuttered due to the coronavirus outbreak — spurred cities across the region to enact overnight curfews.
The cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Culver City, El Segundo and Torrance announced curfews for Sunday into Monday, as did the city of Santa Ana in Orange County.
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In West Hollywood and Torrance, the curfews will be in effect each night until they are lifted by city officials. In Beverly Hills, the curfew took effect at 1 p.m. for the business district, which includes Rodeo Drive, and at 4 p.m. for the rest of the city.
“Violence, looting, and vandalism will not be tolerated in our city,” Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman said. “It’s unfortunate that the message of the peaceful protesters has been diminished by criminal behavior.”
On Sunday, National Guard troops in full combat gear stood outside shattered storefronts in downtown L.A. as the morning light revealed damage from the days before: broken windows, trash-strewn streets and graffiti-tagged buildings.
By 7 a.m., scores of Guardsmen toting M-4 rifles marched on patrol along Broadway between 7th and 8th streets.
National Guardsmen patrol downtown Los Angeles on Sunday morning. (Monte Morin / Los Angeles Times)
Gov. Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency in the city and county of Los Angeles shortly before midnight.
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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. It also provides for future state and federal reimbursement of costs the county incurs.
The decision to call in the National Guard was criticized by City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents a portion of South L.A.
“It’s clear that our fear is real that additional law enforcement will only further violence against people of color,” Harris-Dawson said in a statement. “Anarchists are taking advantage of our pain with looting and violence — this is not Black Lives Matter or members of our community who have suffered from systematic racism and oppression — these are domestic terrorists.”
The last time the National Guard patrolled the streets of L.A. was during the 1992 riots, which erupted after the police officers who beat black motorist Rodney King were found not guilty in a jury trial.
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Compared with those riots, the events in Los Angeles over the weekend were significantly less widespread and less dangerous.
Although officers were hurt when protesters threw objects at them, there have been no fatalities. The 1992 riots swept across large swaths of Southern California and left more than 60 people dead.
On Sunday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority apologized to passengers who were left stranded across L.A. County when bus and rail service was suspended Saturday with little warning.
The unprecedented closure of the Metro system drew immediate criticism from advocates and elected officials who said essential workers were left stranded on sidewalks, at stations and in bus shelters in the hours after the 8 p.m. curfews imposed in Los Angeles and other cities.
Metro’s chief executive Phil Washington told KNX 1070 News Radio that the agency chose to shut down service because he had seen “a lot of damage,” and was concerned for the safety of Metro employees.
Washington said Metro supervisors were driving around the city on Saturday night to look for people at bus stops, then calling nearby bus yards and asking them to dispatch vehicles to pick them up.
On Sunday morning, a Metro spokesperson said the agency would reimburse trips taken in a taxi, Uber or Lyft after the system shut down. Anyone seeking a refund should call Metro customer service at (323) 466-3876.
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Protesters are thrown out of a Whole Foods Market in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Lindsay Pierce was operating on only about an hour of sleep when she headed to Melrose Avenue on Sunday morning to survey the damage to her business. What she had seen on her security cameras Saturday night had made her ill.
The Melrose Avenue business owner had been monitoring her shop, Wax, via security cameras as the protests moved through the Fairfax district. At about 11 p.m., she said, three young men darted inside her store after its windows were shattered. They immediately moved to the business’ internet router and disconnected it, cutting off Pierce’s connection.
“I started sweating, I got sick to my stomach, I was just thinking, ‘Please don’t light it on fire,’” Pierce said Sunday morning.
Her survey revealed that all the business’ electronics were stolen, along with some small merchandise.
L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz, who represents many of the areas that incurred damage, said business districts along Fairfax Avenue and Melrose Avenue had been “devastated” by looting, vandalism and graffiti.
“This was the weekend that the city had given permission for restaurants and retail to emerge from COVID,” he said. “And instead, businesses that were already hanging by a thread are now destroyed.”
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Rodney Beckwith, who goes by his artist name, Flewnt, is the manager of Resist 323 on Melrose, a store selling custom clothing and art that had one of its windows smashed. He spent the night inside the store, where a garage door security gate was pulled down in front to protect it.
Beckwith was inside Saturday night when he heard people trying to break in through the back door. He shoved a table saw against the security door.
“All I could do was try to get to the rooftop,” he said. “My survival mode, get high and get out the door. I’m not going to sit down there, they’re breaking through a door, they’re not knocking.”
“I know they’re black lives matter, I’m black but ... they’re doing something crazy,” he said. “... I feel them, I’m with them, but at the same time I’m protecting a business.”
No one was able to breach the security door and get inside.
Eli Ventov has had his store, Reloaded L.A., along Melrose for nearly 12 years. The clothing and jewelry store had just reopened Wednesday after being closed because of the pandemic. On Saturday, as they saw the protests start to grow, workers rushed to Home Depot and got painters paper to cover the windows so no one would break in.
No one did. But in the same building, people broke into the Dr. Martens store. Around 7 p.m., someone threw a bottle with gasoline inside, Ventov said. A fire erupted.
“It went from this store, to this store, to this store,” Ventov said, gesturing to shoe store Tony-K and then to his store.
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Ventov stood across the street and watched his business burn.
On Sunday morning, he stood outside the blackened store, where the roof appeared on the verge of collapse and the sky was visible through patches. He grew teary-eyed as a friend embraced him and told him it would be OK.
“I understand where they’re coming from,” Ventov said of the protesters, “but did you really need to come that way?”
Ricky Flores swept inside the clothing store Flashback, where a sign out front read “Now open! Please wear a mask for entry.”
He and his friend had opened the store four years ago, and business was going so well they moved from a smaller space next door to a larger one.
The store had just reopened Friday after being closed since March. But they closed Saturday because of the protests. They watched on the news as buildings across the street burned.
When Flores arrived Sunday morning, around 7 a.m., people were still stealing items from the store, he said. The alarm was blaring and people had broken the security gate the night before. People stole three televisions off the wall, shoes and clothes. They even stole the ice cube trays from the freezer.
“What kind of a sick person takes the ice cube trays out of the freezer?”
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Times staff writers Richard Winton, Kevin Rector, Monte Morin, Gustavo Arellano, Alex Wigglesworth, Andrew Campa, Hannah Fry, Kim Christensen, Dakota Smith, Laura J. Nelson, David Zahniser, Kevin Baxter, Leila Miller and Emily Baumgaertner contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-06-01--First pregnant woman and first jail inmate die from coronavirus, L.A. County officials say

Los Angeles County officials Monday reported an additional 22 coronavirus-linked deaths , including a pregnant woman who had tested positive for the virus and had underlying health issues and a person who was incarcerated in a jail facility .
Both deaths are the first of their kind in the county related to COVID-19 , health officials said .
At least 228 pregnant women in L.A. County have tested positive for the virus and 79 % of them were symptomatic .
The woman who died had significant underlying health issues , Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said .
There have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women who have contracted the virus .
To date , 40 infants who have been checked for the virus have tested negative .
There have been 843 confirmed cases of the virus in the county ’ s jail facilities , Ferrer said .
Of those , 622 cases have been among people who were incarcerated .
The jail inmate whose death was announced Monday received care at a hospital where they died , Ferrer said .
“ To the loved ones of the persons who passed away , we offer our condolences.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all inmates in county jails by next week .
Officials Monday also reported the death of a prison guard who had contracted the virus .
The California state prison correctional officer died Saturday after testing positive for the coronavirus .
Although the Riverside County coroner will need to determine the precise cause of death for Danny Mendoza , 53 , he could be the first staff member of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to fall victim to COVID-19 .

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, pictured in April, announced the death of an incarcerated individual and the death of a pregnant woman Monday.
Los Angeles County officials Monday reported an additional 22 coronavirus-linked deaths, including a pregnant woman who had tested positive for the virus and had underlying health issues and a person who was incarcerated in a jail facility.
Both deaths are the first of their kind in the county related to COVID-19, health officials said.
At least 228 pregnant women in L.A. County have tested positive for the virus and 79% of them were symptomatic. The woman who died had significant underlying health issues, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.
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There have been 52 births and four stillbirths among the women who have contracted the virus. To date, 40 infants who have been checked for the virus have tested negative.
There have been 843 confirmed cases of the virus in the county’s jail facilities, Ferrer said. Of those, 622 cases have been among people who were incarcerated.
The jail inmate whose death was announced Monday received care at a hospital where they died, Ferrer said.
“To the loved ones of the persons who passed away, we offer our condolences.”
Correctional health officials plan to finish testing all inmates in county jails by next week.
Officials Monday also reported the death of a prison guard who had contracted the virus. The California state prison correctional officer died Saturday after testing positive for the coronavirus.
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Although the Riverside County coroner will need to determine the precise cause of death for Danny Mendoza, 53, he could be the first staff member of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to fall victim to COVID-19.


latimes--2020-06-01--An LAPD officer takes a knee, to cheers of Hollywood protesters

Sean Welch was a 12-year-old kid living in South Central the last time National Guard Humvees were rolling through the streets of Los Angeles .
“ It ’ s almost a similar feeling , ” he said of the 1992 riots .
“ They expect you to live in fear , but you show defiance because you know what ’ s wrong is wrong.
” “ How are you going to keep finessing that it ’ s OK ?
” Welch asked , standing at the intersection of Laurel Avenue and Sunset Boulevard , where a growing group of peaceful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Greenblatt ’ s Deli and the Laugh Factory .
He wore a homemade white T-shirt with the words “ DYING BREED ” scrawled across it in black and red Sharpie , just above George Floyd ’ s name , because he said that as a black man in America , that ’ s what he was .
“ We a dying breed out here , ” he said .
“ Cops have been killing us for years .
What makes them believe it ’ s OK ?
People don ’ t even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effect like this , ” he continued .
Hundreds of marchers converged both in Hollywood and West Hollywood , among the numerous protests on Monday .
One group marched west down Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of the tourist district .
Another group was at a corner of Sunset Boulevard .
At the West Hollywood event , an LAPD officer was seen on video taking a knee in support of the demonstrators .
The officer took a megaphone and asked the crowd that if he took the knee , would they agree to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screams of support , then got to his knee to more applause .
He then asked everyone to stay safe and leave by the curfew time .
Behind him , a crew of men from a disaster recovery and property restoration company had set up a staging area along the edge of Laurel , as they worked to board up the exterior and doors of the furniture store on the corner .
The crew had been busy this weekend — at this CB2 since 7 a.m. , and boarding up parts of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s and a MedMen marijuana dispensary in the days prior .
Douglas , who declined to give his last name and was leading the small crew , said they were using 50 sheets of wood , and 100 two-by-fours to board up the home decor retailer , and that he had “ no comment ” on the protests .
“ This is a moment in history , ” Welch said .
He didn ’ t think Floyd ’ s death was a tipping point , but rather a reminder of all the names @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ How long does the list have to go ?
” he asked , as the crowd around him chanted three words that anguished protesters have chanted for nearly six years , since the July 2014 death of Eric Garner : “ I can ’ t breathe .
”

LAPD Cmdr. Cory Palka asked protesters Monday in West Hollywood that if he took a knee, would they agree to make the protest peaceful. He heard screams of support, then dropped to his knee to more applause.
Sean Welch was a 12-year-old kid living in South Central the last time National Guard Humvees were rolling through the streets of Los Angeles.
“It’s almost a similar feeling,” he said of the 1992 riots. “They expect you to live in fear, but you show defiance because you know what’s wrong is wrong.”
“How are you going to keep finessing that it’s OK?” Welch asked, standing at the intersection of Laurel Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, where a growing group of peaceful protesters overflowed off the sidewalk in front of Greenblatt’s Deli and the Laugh Factory.
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He wore a homemade white T-shirt with the words “DYING BREED” scrawled across it in black and red Sharpie, just above George Floyd’s name, because he said that as a black man in America, that’s what he was.
“We a dying breed out here,” he said. “Cops have been killing us for years. What makes them believe it’s OK? People don’t even realize it until it has some massive effect like this,” he continued.
Hundreds of marchers converged both in Hollywood and West Hollywood, among the numerous protests on Monday.
One group marched west down Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of the tourist district. Another group was at a corner of Sunset Boulevard.
At the West Hollywood event, an LAPD officer was seen on video taking a knee in support of the demonstrators.
The officer took a megaphone and asked the crowd that if he took the knee, would they agree to make the protest peaceful. He heard screams of support, then got to his knee to more applause. He then asked everyone to stay safe and leave by the curfew time.
West Hollywood. Police took a knee with protestors to show solidarity. 💙 https://t.co/JXkIPlfWnL — gold (@ohgoldy) June 1, 2020
Behind him, a crew of men from a disaster recovery and property restoration company had set up a staging area along the edge of Laurel, as they worked to board up the exterior and doors of the furniture store on the corner.
The crew had been busy this weekend — at this CB2 since 7 a.m., and boarding up parts of the Beverly Center, a Trader Joe’s and a MedMen marijuana dispensary in the days prior. Douglas, who declined to give his last name and was leading the small crew, said they were using 50 sheets of wood, and 100 two-by-fours to board up the home decor retailer, and that he had “no comment” on the protests.
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“This is a moment in history,” Welch said. He didn’t think Floyd’s death was a tipping point, but rather a reminder of all the names that had been chanted before his.
“How long does the list have to go?” he asked, as the crowd around him chanted three words that anguished protesters have chanted for nearly six years, since the July 2014 death of Eric Garner: “I can’t breathe.”


latimes--2020-06-01--Meet the immigrant shop owner who had his business trashed in Santa Monica

The reality programming got all too real Sunday afternoon for the owner of a Santa Monica smoke shop known around the neighborhood as Moe ’ s .
The small-businessman had retreated to his home 10 minutes from the 4th Street shop when his in-store security cameras began to transmit sickening images .
Intruders in masks and bandanas had pried open a security gate and smashed through his front door .
Now they were rummaging through Santa Monica Tobacco as though they owned the place .
They took cigarettes , cigars , lighters and tobacco .
One man grabbed piles of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
One crew came with a sledgehammer and pounded away until they broke open an ATM machine , emptying its cash .
On the way out , many stopped to grab a snack and a drink .
“ All I could do was watch .
I couldn ’ t do anything , ” said Moe , the owner , who declined to give his last name .
“ It felt like everything that I had worked to build for 18 years they could just wipe out in a matter of minutes.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Street , a block from the landmark Third Street Promenade , who complained that police did nothing to prevent the looting .
Moe , an immigrant from Iran , wished the police had cut off the looters before they even got to downtown Santa Monica .
His neighbors , on the block between Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway , said officers who stood close to the mayhem told at least one bystander that the looters had them outnumbered and that there was nothing they could do to end the trouble .
Santa Monica @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request for comment .
The smoke shop owner and several other neighbors said that , with the police out of the action , it was two owners and an employee of the venerable local music club Harvelle ’ s who became the heroes of the moment .
Harvelle ’ s co-owners Jason Gochin and Cevin Clark had been monitoring the trouble along with bartender Jose Rojas .
When they smelled smoke , the grabbed the club ’ s fire extinguishers and made their way under the damaged security gate of the tobacco shop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire that had been set at the back of the shop .
Several tenants of the 4th Street building said the fast action prevented much wider damage , given that the 1920s-vintage building is not outfitted with a sprinkler system , they said .
But , as downtown Santa Monica teemed with volunteer cleanup crews Monday , the merchants still wondered why the police had not done more .
“ They protected the protesters , but they did not protect the businesses , ” said Kia Saleki , whose family has run a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 40 years .
“ If you want to protect the protesters , fine .
I am with them .
I feel their pain .
But what about us , the mom and pop owners ?
We have already not been able to work for three months because of COVID .
And now this.
” Saleki said he stood guard inside his shop Sunday , protected by a steel gate that looters tried , but failed , to pry open .
He saw a stream of people enter the REI store across the street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other merchandise .
Some cars circled the block and came back for more than one load , he said .
“ A good Samaritan went to one of the police and said , ‘ Stop them !
’ and he said back , ‘ What am I going to do ?
There are too many of them.
’ “ Saleki said his family had immigrated to America from Iran and built the jewelry business painstakingly .
“ As a small business , when you get hit , it ’ s hard to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For now , he planned to board up his storefront and wait for calmer days .
But he had no intention of closing his business , which had been on the verge of reopening from a coronavirus shutdown , before Sunday ’ s onslaught .
“ I am here to stay , of course , ” Saleki said .
“ What else am I going to do ?
” Down the block , the smoke shop owner felt the same .
Moe said he thought it would take at least a month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fire damage .
With business already down 70 % during the coronavirus crisis , he said , he needs to get things up and running again .
“ I have to .
I don ’ t have any other choice , ” said the married father of two elementary school children .
“ This is life .
This is what happens .
You fall down and you have to get up and walk again .
”

Moe, owner of Santa Monica Tobacco, walks through his business, which was looted and burned Sunday in Santa Monica on May 31, 2020.
The reality programming got all too real Sunday afternoon for the owner of a Santa Monica smoke shop known around the neighborhood as Moe’s.
The small-businessman had retreated to his home 10 minutes from the 4th Street shop when his in-store security cameras began to transmit sickening images. Intruders in masks and bandanas had pried open a security gate and smashed through his front door.
Now they were rummaging through Santa Monica Tobacco as though they owned the place. They took cigarettes, cigars, lighters and tobacco. One man grabbed piles of lottery tickets. Others smashed display cases. One crew came with a sledgehammer and pounded away until they broke open an ATM machine, emptying its cash. On the way out, many stopped to grab a snack and a drink.
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“All I could do was watch. I couldn’t do anything,” said Moe, the owner, who declined to give his last name. “It felt like everything that I had worked to build for 18 years they could just wipe out in a matter of minutes.”
Jason Gochin, left, Damian Anastasio and Cevin Clark, owners of Harvelle’s, stand in front of their place, which has been boarded up against protesters along 4th Street after a night of protest and looting in Santa Monica on June 1, 2020. Gochin and Clark helped put out a fire started by looters at Santa Monica Tobacco, their neighbor’s business. They were able to save the building. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
The shopkeeper was one of several along 4th Street, a block from the landmark Third Street Promenade, who complained that police did nothing to prevent the looting. Moe, an immigrant from Iran, wished the police had cut off the looters before they even got to downtown Santa Monica.
His neighbors, on the block between Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway, said officers who stood close to the mayhem told at least one bystander that the looters had them outnumbered and that there was nothing they could do to end the trouble.
Santa Monica police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The smoke shop owner and several other neighbors said that, with the police out of the action, it was two owners and an employee of the venerable local music club Harvelle’s who became the heroes of the moment.
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Harvelle’s co-owners Jason Gochin and Cevin Clark had been monitoring the trouble along with bartender Jose Rojas. When they smelled smoke, the grabbed the club’s fire extinguishers and made their way under the damaged security gate of the tobacco shop.
Once inside, they doused a fire that had been set at the back of the shop. Several tenants of the 4th Street building said the fast action prevented much wider damage, given that the 1920s-vintage building is not outfitted with a sprinkler system, they said.
1 / 11 Gilbert Haro and sons Richard, 8, and James, 6, walk 4th Street in Santa Monica on Monday morning looking to help clean up after looters destroyed stores on Sunday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 11 Jack Sapar, owner of Fabric Planet in Venice, walks out of his business with a customer. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 11 A National Guard soldier at the Santa Monica Pier. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 11 A woman walks along Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 11 People clean up on 4th Street in Santa Monica on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 11 Kristian Vales, owner of a restaurant, spray-paints a message to protesters along Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 11 The National Guard in Santa Monica. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 11 Volunteers help clean up graffiti in Santa Monica. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 11 Cleaning up in Santa Monica. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 11 Members of the California National Guard make their presence known along 4th Street in Santa Monica. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 11 Jesus Torres, 28, and his sister Nayla, 24, clean broken glass on 4th Street in Santa Monica on Monday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
But, as downtown Santa Monica teemed with volunteer cleanup crews Monday, the merchants still wondered why the police had not done more.
“They protected the protesters, but they did not protect the businesses,” said Kia Saleki, whose family has run a jewelry shop on 4th Street for nearly 40 years. “If you want to protect the protesters, fine. I am with them. I feel their pain. But what about us, the mom and pop owners? We have already not been able to work for three months because of COVID. And now this.”
Saleki said he stood guard inside his shop Sunday, protected by a steel gate that looters tried, but failed, to pry open. He saw a stream of people enter the REI store across the street, emerging with arms full of clothes and other merchandise. Some cars circled the block and came back for more than one load, he said.
“A good Samaritan went to one of the police and said, ‘Stop them!’ and he said back, ‘What am I going to do? There are too many of them.’ “
Saleki said his family had immigrated to America from Iran and built the jewelry business painstakingly.
“As a small business, when you get hit, it’s hard to get back up,” he said. For now, he planned to board up his storefront and wait for calmer days. But he had no intention of closing his business, which had been on the verge of reopening from a coronavirus shutdown, before Sunday’s onslaught.
“I am here to stay, of course,” Saleki said. “What else am I going to do?”
Down the block, the smoke shop owner felt the same. Moe said he thought it would take at least a month to clean up the mess and repair the fire damage.
With business already down 70% during the coronavirus crisis, he said, he needs to get things up and running again.
“I have to. I don’t have any other choice,” said the married father of two elementary school children. “This is life. This is what happens. You fall down and you have to get up and walk again.”


latimes--2020-06-01--Looting reported in Van Nuys as protests over George Floyd's death continue

Dozens of Los Angeles police officers lined Van Nuys Boulevard near Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys late Monday afternoon after @ @ @ @ @ area .
Several business owners stood outside their storefronts , with some putting up plywood @ @ @ @ @ businesses hung signs reading “ BLM.
” At Trust Bail Bonds on Van Nuys Boulevard @ @ @ @ @ “ Justice for George Floyd .
# BLM ” Multiple police officers said there was @ @ @ @ @ they were trying to get a handle on where it was occurring .
Media reports @ @ @ @ @ into a cellphone store and a pharmacy .
Meanwhile , several peaceful protesters remained the @ @ @ @ @ into the afternoon , a large group of protesters peacefully demonstrated at Van Nuys Boulevard @ @ @ @ @ George Floyd ’ s name and asking for justice .
The majority of the protesters @ @ @ @ @ .
Dozens of California Highway Patrol and LAPD officers stood side by side along Van @ @ @ @ @ various types of nonlethal force , including beanbag launchers .

Dozens of Los Angeles police officers lined Van Nuys Boulevard near Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys late Monday afternoon after reports of looting in the area.
Several business owners stood outside their storefronts, with some putting up plywood over their windows. Multiple businesses hung signs reading “BLM.” At Trust Bail Bonds on Van Nuys Boulevard, a sign read: “Justice for George Floyd. #BLM”
Multiple police officers said there was looting in the area and they were trying to get a handle on where it was occurring. Media reports said the looters had broken into a cellphone store and a pharmacy.
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Eva Bandikian, the manager at Kovac’s Care Pharmacy, said looters broke the lock on the business’ door and stole “everything,” including cash, the register, medicine and vitamins.
Bandikian watched the store’s surveillance feed on her phone as about 10 people stormed into the pharmacy.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with us,” she said of the looting. “They’re angry with the police and with the government.”
About two hours after the break-in, Bandikian said, one of the looters who appeared on the surveillance video walked back by the pharmacy, turned around and laughed, carrying a bag of stolen goods.
Meanwhile, several peaceful protesters remained the area. From 7:30 a.m. into the afternoon, a large group of protesters peacefully demonstrated at Van Nuys Boulevard and Sylvan Street, chanting George Floyd’s name and asking for justice.
Dozens of California Highway Patrol and LAPD officers stood side by side along Van Nuys Boulevard, some holding various types of nonlethal force, including beanbag launchers.


latimes--2020-06-01--Protesters march in Cerritos — and invite sheriff's deputies to join them

Scores of protesters peacefully marched to Cerritos City Hall on Monday , accompanied by sheriff ’ s deputies who had been invited along by the young organizers .
“ This is not about us , this it is not about politics , nor is it about our opinions .
This is about morality and humanity and our efforts to stand together in unity for Black Lives Matter , ” co-organizer Cerys Rotoneo , 19 , told about 100 people gathered in Gridley Park before they marched .
It was one of many demonstrations to express outrage over the killing by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Guadalupe Juarez , 18 , had originally planned to protest with friends and raise money for a nonprofit group near Los Cerritos Center .
But the event went viral and they learned outsiders planned to attend , and they worried that their nonviolent message could be lost .
“ So we were like , we should probably change the location , just to make sure that looting doesn ’ t happen and so forth , ” said Rotoneo , a political science student at Cerritos College .
Dozens of sheriff ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s parking lots and blocked off entry points , fearful of looting .
But other officers traveled with the protesters , on foot and in squad car , as they walked to City Hall and chanted .
“ These young people have been fantastic and very accepting and supportive of me being here , ” said David Moeller , a captain in the California Highway Patrol ’ s Santa Fe Springs office .
“ This is really what we need , right ?
It ’ s that communication that needs to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t always have to agree on everything but we have to be willing to sit down and discuss things .
”

Scores of protesters peacefully marched to Cerritos City Hall on Monday, accompanied by sheriff’s deputies who had been invited along by the young organizers.
“This is not about us, this it is not about politics, nor is it about our opinions. This is about morality and humanity and our efforts to stand together in unity for Black Lives Matter,” co-organizer Cerys Rotoneo, 19, told about 100 people gathered in Gridley Park before they marched. It was one of many demonstrations to express outrage over the killing by by police of George Floyd.
Rptoneo and Guadalupe Juarez, 18, had originally planned to protest with friends and raise money for a nonprofit group near Los Cerritos Center. But the event went viral and they learned outsiders planned to attend, and they worried that their nonviolent message could be lost.
Michael O’Quinn, 45, of Compton, prays during a peaceful protest where demonstrators laid down for the amount of time that George Floyd was on the ground, outside the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station in Cerritos on Monday. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
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“So we were like, we should probably change the location, just to make sure that looting doesn’t happen and so forth,” said Rotoneo, a political science student at Cerritos College.
Dozens of sheriff’s deputies still were staged in the mall’s parking lots and blocked off entry points, fearful of looting.
But other officers traveled with the protesters, on foot and in squad car, as they walked to City Hall and chanted.
“These young people have been fantastic and very accepting and supportive of me being here,” said David Moeller, a captain in the California Highway Patrol’s Santa Fe Springs office. “This is really what we need, right? It’s that communication that needs to go on. So, we don’t always have to agree on everything but we have to be willing to sit down and discuss things.”


latimes--2020-06-01--'It is heartening' Long Beach overwhelmed by volunteers helping clean up after looting

People wearing masks flocked to Long Beach ’ s Harvey Milk Promenade Park on Monday with brooms , buckets and dustpans in hand , to clean up after looting in dowtown Long Beach during an otherwise peaceful protest against the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
More than a hundred volunteers gathered beneath a Milk mural with the quote , “ Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard .
Hope will never be silent.
” “ Everybody feel good ?
Let ’ s get out there !
” said Broc Coward , COO of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and dispersed to nearby parking garages , storefronts and sidewalks .
Downtown Long Beach Alliance , a group representing property owners and businesses downtown , manned a table surrounded by cases of water and paint cans .
Long Beach public works crews handed out brooms , rakes , gloves , buckets and masks .
Two workers blasted a graffitied wall .
Kraig Kojian , president and CEO of Downtown Long Beach Alliance , said he didn ’ t sleep last night .
After leaving downtown at about 2 a.m. , he stayed up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commiserate.
” He returned at 5:30 a.m. , to join at least 20 people who had already gathered to clean up .
“ This is what Long Beach is all about .
This is really the spirit and the heart of our community , ” Kojian said .
“ While it was tough to see and tough to understand the destruction , this is our first step into recovery and I think it ’ s doing a good thing for a lot of people .
It is heartening .
It ’ s also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joaquin and Jennifer Perez brought their two children to participate in the downtown Long Beach protest Sunday because they wanted to show the children that they can have a voice in the face of injustice , Jennifer Perez said .
Her family returned Monday morning to help with the clean-up efforts .
“ I want them to know that the flip side is they have to come out and help when the bad happens too , ” Jennifer Perez said .
“ Community ’ s important.
” But by noon , most stores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too .
“ We ’ ve had an overwhelming number of volunteers , ” said one organizer .
Many Long Beach businesses had just removed wooden boards , weathered from weeks of coronavirus quarantine , to reopen .
On Monday morning , new wood was erected in its place , with some some boards containing graffiti such as , “ Black lives matter ” or “ ACAB , ” for “ all cops are bastards.
” Others were plastered with signs from the business owners .
“ Minority family owned ” read a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a bar and restaurant .
“ We stand with you !
No justice , no peace !
” read another sign posted above a haphazardly nailed wooden board on the front door of Lil Devils children ’ s clothing store .

People wearing masks flocked to Long Beach’s Harvey Milk Promenade Park on Monday with brooms, buckets and dustpans in hand, to clean up after looting in downtown Long Beach during an otherwise peaceful protest against the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
More than a hundred volunteers gathered beneath a Milk mural with the quote, “Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard. Hope will never be silent.”
“Everybody feel good? Let’s get out there!” said Broc Coward, COO of Downtown Long Beach Alliance. Volunteers cheered and dispersed to nearby parking garages, storefronts and sidewalks. Downtown Long Beach Alliance, a group representing property owners and businesses downtown, manned a table surrounded by cases of water and paint cans.
Long Beach public works crews handed out brooms, rakes, gloves, buckets and masks. Two workers blasted a graffitied wall. Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of Downtown Long Beach Alliance, said he didn’t sleep last night. After leaving downtown at about 2 a.m., he stayed up messaging business owners and “helping people commiserate.”
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He returned at 5:30 a.m., to join at least 20 people who had already gathered to clean up. “This is what Long Beach is all about. This is really the spirit and the heart of our community,” Kojian said. “While it was tough to see and tough to understand the destruction, this is our first step into recovery and I think it’s doing a good thing for a lot of people. It is heartening. It’s also therapeutic for a lot of people.”
Joaquin and Jennifer Perez brought their two children to participate in the downtown Long Beach protest Sunday because they wanted to show the children that they can have a voice in the face of injustice, Jennifer Perez said. Her family returned Monday morning to help with the clean-up efforts.
“I want them to know that the flip side is they have to come out and help when the bad happens too,” Jennifer Perez said. “Community’s important.”
But by noon, most stores there had already been cleaned up, too.
“We’ve had an overwhelming number of volunteers,” said one organizer.
Many Long Beach businesses had just removed wooden boards, weathered from weeks of coronavirus quarantine, to reopen. On Monday morning, new wood was erected in its place, with some some boards containing graffiti such as, “Black lives matter” or “ACAB,” for “all cops are bastards.”
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Others were plastered with signs from the business owners. “Minority family owned” read a sign on door of The Social List, a bar and restaurant. “We stand with you! No justice, no peace!” read another sign posted above a haphazardly nailed wooden board on the front door of Lil Devils children’s clothing store.


latimes--2020-06-01--Cities are being destroyed. California clearly isn't as enlightened about race as we think

When I opened the windows of my Westside L.A. apartment on Sunday afternoon , the last thing I expected was to get socked by the smell of whatever chemical agent had been deployed and drifted over from Santa Monica .
It seems as if all of California — long ago scarred by race riots and populated by people who pride themselves on having an evolved attitude toward race and justice — is raging or protesting .
Only a few blocks from the beach , people were busy shattering windows and looting stores in the idyllic downtown , lined with palm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a few blocks away on Ocean Avenue , the angry protesters who arrived after the peaceful protesters left were challenging police , throwing eggs and water bottles at them in the name of George Floyd , prompting the firing of rubber bullets and smoke grenades .
In Visalia , a man driving in a blue Jeep Wrangler sporting a “ Keep America Great ” flag drove through a crowd of protesters , hitting two women — a chilling reminder of what happened in Charlottesville , Va. Thankfully , the protesters suffered only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been out of control even for Oakland .
Hundreds of protesters set fires , and many threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police .
They broke into banks and office buildings , along with small shops and restaurants , including several owned by black proprietors .
Mayor Libby Schaaf lamented that at a news conference Saturday : “ This horror was visited on this same community that we are trying to lift up.
” In La Mesa , anger over the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis mixed with anger over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who police say assaulted an officer at the Grossmont Transit Center .
A video of the man ’ s encounter with the white officer went viral last week and now activists want the officer to be held accountable .
“ I ’ m so tired of seeing young black men ’ s lives not meaning a thing in this country , ” Desmond Collins of La Mesa told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday .
In Sacramento , a standoff that started at the Capitol shifted to the Main Jail , as protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each other in brief but tense dust-ups .
One protester , according to the Sacramento Bee , brought along a banner calling out local District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert , who has repeatedly declined to charge officers involved in shootings of black men , including Stephon Clark .
Even in Chico , clear up there in the State of Jefferson , nearly 100 people were outside holding up signs on Saturday .
California likes to think of itself as enlightened about race .
We ’ re a majority minority state .
A nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our diversity in all of its forms .
Sure , we ’ ve had riots over race and police brutality .
The last one , in 1992 , tore a chunk of Los Angeles apart , but we ’ ve learned from them .
We ’ ve grown .
Or so the story goes .
Today , we have police chiefs and district attorneys who are black , and sheriffs who are Latino .
We have a U.S. senator who is in the mix to become the first black vice president .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lesbian .
The leader of the state Assembly is Latino .
“ Auntie ” Maxine Waters , the unapologetically black congresswoman and original pain in Donald Trump ’ s you know what , is from here .
We have city councils and county boards of supervisors that overwhelmingly reflect the diversity of constituents .
Politicians deliver speeches in multiple languages .
Government documents are issued that way too .
We stand up for immigrants in California , a policy position adopted after the unmitigated racist disaster that was Proposition 187 .
We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times , often to ensure that people don ’ t have to live in the shadows because of their immigration status .
We have an enormous social safety net that has widespread support from taxpayers because we see it as our responsibility to care for the least among us , who , like everywhere else in the U.S. , tend to be disproportionately black and brown .
I moved to California five years ago — first to Sacramento and then to Los Angeles — seeing these things and only these things .
Since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reality of this state , while far , far better than the Midwestern one that I left , is complicated — especially for black people who make up a mere 6 % of the state ’ s population .
That these violent uprisings and peaceful protests are happening in cities large and small , up and down the state speaks to something black people know well and many others , especially self-absorbed white liberals , often choose to ignore : California is not as enlightened about race as we would like to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a second that what you see in our streets is only about what happened to Floyd in Minneapolis .
These Californians are enraged about life in California , just like residents of Minnesota , Kentucky and every other state that has been blindsided by mass protests in recent days are enraged about their lives there .
And their lives in this country as a whole .
It ’ s about police brutality , yes .
It was only a few weeks ago that an LAPD officer was caught on video repeatedly punching a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boyle Heights .
But that ’ s only part of it .
What ’ s really manifesting itself on the streets from San Francisco to Santa Monica is the absolute , incalculable rage about the race-based inequities that have been ignored for too long by officials at all levels of California government .
The coronavirus outbreak has made this plain .
A recent Times data analysis found that Californians who are younger than 50 are dying of COVID-19 in significantly greater numbers than white people .
In Los Angeles County alone , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that of white residents .
For Latinos , it ’ s 70 % higher .
It isn ’ t much better in San Francisco , where researchers tested 4,160 people for the coronavirus and found that though Latinos only made up 44 % of those tested , they accounted for more than 99 % of the positive cases .
One reason for the disparities has to do with unequal access to healthcare .
But perhaps a bigger reason is that we have an economy that has long been stacked in favor of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us had the privilege of being able to work from home and complain about having to be on Zoom all day , many black and brown Californians had no choice but to put themselves at higher risk of COVID-19 by ringing up groceries , driving buses and delivering Grubhub orders as “ essential ” workers .
Or , people like Maria Teresa Figueroa , who had little choice but to keep working in the fields of McFarland , a small city surrounded by grapevines just north of Bakersfield .
She thought she had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take time off , losing wages as a result .
“ We are working from sun up to sun down to put food on people ’ s tables , ” she said .
Now Figueroa is on the verge of losing her housing because she can ’ t afford rent .
People of color are particularly vulnerable to the whims of the economy .
Nationally , blacks and Latinos have lost jobs at higher percentages than white people because of the coronavirus .
And even before the pandemic , both groups were overrepresented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the result of many factors , but namely systemic racism and abject poverty .
So as the economy tanks and the unemployment rate climbs to levels not seen since the Great Depression , we all know who will bear the brunt of it .
Again .
Think about that the next time you grouse about why looters descended on downtown Santa Monica and the Grove — symbols of extreme wealth in a state overrun with poverty .
At last count , there were 165 billionaires in California .
There are also more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many of whom have been living in filthy encampments for years .
And now , with housing costs that have risen unchecked for years and the added economic disruption of the coronavirus , many more , mostly black and brown Californians are on the verge of suffering the same fate .
So is it really all that surprising that some people , angry and possibly in dire economic straits themselves , don ’ t care about causing damage and stealing from wealthy neighborhoods ?
In these dark times , what gives me hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to California in the first place : A willingness to recognize and figure out how to do the right thing .
That is certainly more than I can say for the red state that I left .
At the time , Vice President Mike Pence was the governor of Indiana , and he had just ignited a national fervor by signing a law that allowed businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community on religious grounds .
It was about par for the course for him .
He spent his entire time in office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — or at least more traumatic — for women to get an abortion , how to tie health insurance and food stamps to work requirements , how to let more people have guns without background checks and , of course , how to prevent same-sex couples from getting married .
I had built a life for myself in the blue island of Indianapolis .
Being a woman who is black , gay and liberal , I knew I had to leave .
So it meant something to me that , as news was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to L.A. , Gov .
Gavin Newsom tweeted : “ The racial inequities that exist in our society are evident all around us .
Just look at # COVID19 .
Communities of color are overwhelmingly impacted .
We must continue to work toward a more just , equitable future.
” On Monday , Newsom , visibly shaken and humbled after the tumultuous weekend , said black people have lost patience because we have heard promise after promise for decades , but haven ’ t seen progress .
And he ’ s right .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to enough , I know .
We need action .
As Newsom acknowledged , government institutions have a responsibility to prove that “ we ’ re capable of being more as a society.
” And in the weeks and months ahead , as I travel the state to tell people ’ s stories , I plan to hold him and other elected officials accountable to that very thing .
For it isn ’ t enough to meet this moment , as Newsom is so fond of saying .
We have to do something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this revolt , this presidential election — so we don ’ t return to a normal that , while aspirational , left so many Californians behind .

Protesters face off with police in downtown Santa Monica as unrest continues in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
When I opened the windows of my Westside L.A. apartment on Sunday afternoon, the last thing I expected was to get socked by the smell of whatever chemical agent had been deployed and drifted over from Santa Monica.
It seems as if all of California — long ago scarred by race riots and populated by people who pride themselves on having an evolved attitude toward race and justice — is raging or protesting.
Only a few blocks from the beach, people were busy shattering windows and looting stores in the idyllic downtown, lined with palm trees and green bike lanes. Meanwhile, a few blocks away on Ocean Avenue, the angry protesters who arrived after the peaceful protesters left were challenging police, throwing eggs and water bottles at them in the name of George Floyd, prompting the firing of rubber bullets and smoke grenades.
In Visalia, a man in a blue Jeep Wrangler sporting a “Keep America Great” flag drove through a crowd of protesters, hitting two women — a chilling reminder of what happened in Charlottesville, Va. Thankfully, the protesters suffered only minor injuries.
In Oakland, things have been out of control even for Oakland. Hundreds of protesters set fires, and many threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police. They broke into banks and office buildings, along with small shops and restaurants, including several owned by black proprietors.
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Mayor Libby Schaaf lamented that at a news conference Saturday: “This horror was visited on this same community that we are trying to lift up.”
In La Mesa, anger over the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis mixed with anger over the arrest of a local black man, who police say assaulted an officer at the Grossmont Transit Center. A video of the man’s encounter with the white officer went viral last week and now activists want the officer to be held accountable.
“I’m so tired of seeing young black men’s lives not meaning a thing in this country,” Desmond Collins of La Mesa told the San Diego Union-Tribune on Saturday.
In Sacramento, a standoff that started at the Capitol shifted to the Main Jail, as protesters and sheriff’s deputies went at each other in brief but tense dust-ups. One protester, according to the Sacramento Bee, brought along a banner calling out local District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who has repeatedly declined to charge officers involved in shootings of black men, including Stephon Clark.
“D.A. Schubert, your hands are bloody too.”
Even in Chico, clear up there in the State of Jefferson, nearly 100 people were outside holding up signs on Saturday.
::
A Patagonia store in Santa Monica is vandalized Sunday amid a day of unrest in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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California likes to think of itself as enlightened about race.
We’re a majority minority state. A nation state. We’re proud of our diversity in all of its forms.
Sure, we’ve had riots over race and police brutality. The last one, in 1992, tore a chunk of Los Angeles apart, but we’ve learned from them. We’ve grown. Or so the story goes.
Today, we have police chiefs and district attorneys who are black, and sheriffs who are Latino.
We have a U.S. senator who is in the mix to become the first black vice president. The leader of our state Senate is a lesbian. The leader of the state Assembly is Latino. “Auntie” Maxine Waters, the unapologetically black congresswoman and original pain in Donald Trump’s you know what, is from here.
We have city councils and county boards of supervisors that overwhelmingly reflect the diversity of constituents. Politicians deliver speeches in multiple languages. Government documents are issued that way too.
We stand up for immigrants in California, a policy position adopted after the unmitigated racist disaster that was Proposition 187. We’ve sued the Trump administration dozens of times, often to ensure that people don’t have to live in the shadows because of their immigration status.
We have an enormous social safety net that has widespread support from taxpayers because we see it as our responsibility to care for the least among us, who, like everywhere else in the U.S., tend to be disproportionately black and brown.
I moved to California five years ago — first to Sacramento and then to Los Angeles — seeing these things and only these things.
Since then, I’ve learned that the reality of this state, while far, far better than the Midwestern one that I left, is complicated — especially for black people who make up a mere 6% of the population.
That these violent uprisings and peaceful protests are happening in cities large and small, up and down the state speaks to something black people know well and many others, especially self-absorbed white liberals, often choose to ignore: California is not as enlightened about race as we would like to believe.
::
Don’t think for a second that what you see in our streets is only about what happened to Floyd in Minneapolis.
These Californians are enraged about life in California, just like residents of Minnesota, Kentucky and every other state that has been blindsided by mass protests in recent days are enraged about their lives there. And their lives in this country as a whole.
It’s about police brutality, yes. It was only a few weeks ago that an LAPD officer was caught on video repeatedly punching a person of color in the head in Boyle Heights.
But that’s only part of it. What’s really manifesting itself on the streets from San Francisco to Santa Monica is the absolute, incalculable rage about the race-based inequities that have been ignored for too long by officials at all levels of California government.
A protester is treated for a wound after being struck by a rubber bullet and before being arrested for unlawful assembly Sunday in Santa Monica. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The coronavirus outbreak has made this plain.
A recent Times data analysis found that black and Latino Californians who are younger than 50 are dying of COVID-19 in significantly greater numbers than white people.
In Los Angeles County alone, the death rate for black residents is double that of white residents. For Latinos, it’s 70% higher. It isn’t much better in San Francisco, where researchers tested 4,160 people for the coronavirus and found that though Latinos only made up 44% of those tested, they accounted for 95% of the positive cases.
One reason for the disparities has to do with unequal access to healthcare. But perhaps a bigger reason is that we have an economy that has long been stacked in favor of the white and wealthy.
While some of us had the privilege of being able to work from home and complain about having to be on Zoom all day, many black and brown Californians had no choice but to put themselves at higher risk of COVID-19 by ringing up groceries, driving buses and delivering Grubhub orders as “essential” workers.
Or, people like Maria Teresa Figueroa, who had little choice but to keep working in the fields of McFarland, a small city surrounded by grapevines just north of Bakersfield. She thought she had COVID-19 in January and was forced to take time off, losing wages as a result.
“We are working from sunup to sun down to put food on people’s tables,” she said.
Now Figueroa is on the verge of losing her housing because she can’t afford rent.
People of color are particularly vulnerable to the whims of the economy. Nationally, blacks and Latinos have lost jobs at higher percentages than white people because of the coronavirus. And even before the pandemic, both groups were overrepresented among California’s homeless population — the result of many factors, but namely systemic racism and abject poverty.
So as the economy tanks and the unemployment rate climbs to levels not seen since the Great Depression, we all know who will bear the brunt of it. Again. Think about that the next time you grouse about why looters descended on downtown Santa Monica and the Grove — symbols of extreme wealth in a state overrun with poverty.
At last count, there were 165 billionaires in California. There are also more than 150,000 homeless people in this state, many of whom have been living in filthy encampments for years. And now, with housing costs that have been allowed to rise largely unchecked and the added economic disruption of the coronavirus, many more, mostly black and brown Californians are on the verge of suffering the same fate.
So is it really all that surprising that some people, angry and possibly in dire economic straits themselves, don’t care about causing damage and stealing from wealthy neighborhoods?
A mannequin lies on a sidewalk after businesses were vandalized Sunday near the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
In these dark times, what gives me hope is the same thing that pulled me to California in the first place: A willingness to recognize and figure out how to do the right thing.
That is certainly more than I can say for the red state that I left. At the time, Vice President Mike Pence was the governor of Indiana, and he had just ignited a national fervor by signing a law that allowed businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community on religious grounds.
It was about par for the course for him. He spent his entire time in office figuring out how to make it harder — or at least more traumatic — for women to get an abortion, how to tie health insurance and food stamps to work requirements, how to let more people have guns without background checks and, of course, how to prevent same-sex couples from getting married.
I had built a life for myself in the blue island of Indianapolis. Being a woman who is black, gay and liberal, I knew I had to leave.
So it meant something to me that, as news was breaking about the National Guard being deployed to L.A., Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted: “The racial inequities that exist in our society are evident all around us. Just look at #COVID19. Communities of color are overwhelmingly impacted. We must continue to work toward a more just, equitable future.”
On Monday, Newsom, visibly shaken and humbled after the tumultuous weekend, said black people have lost patience because we have heard promise after promise for decades, but haven’t seen progress. And he’s right.
“We prune,” Newsom admitted. “We don’t tear out the institutional racism.”
His words aren’t even close to enough, I know. We need action. As Newsom acknowledged, government institutions have a responsibility to prove that “we’re capable of being more as a society.” And in the weeks and months ahead, as I travel the state to tell people’s stories, I plan to hold him and other elected officials accountable to that very thing.
For it isn’t enough to meet this moment, as Newsom is so fond of saying. We have to do something with this moment — this pandemic, this revolt, this presidential election — so we don’t return to a normal that, while aspirational, left so many Californians behind.
No justice. No peace.