LA to prepare for the worst

Waitone

New member
If things really go bad, how much you wanna bet the police are not the only ones with firearms. There is a lot to be said for being permitted to protect one's self.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000726/aponline205616_000.htm

By Michelle DeArmond
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, July 26, 2000; 8:56 p.m. EDT

LOS ANGELES –– Using videotape of the violent protests during the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle to make their point, police are warning downtown businesses to prepare for the worst during the Democratic National Convention next month.

Business owners should consider boarding up glass walls and windows, hiring additional security and stocking up on emergency provisions like flashlights, food and water, police suggested during a presentation to downtown workers Wednesday.

"It's almost like a tornado," said Detective Darryl Butler, who has been giving up to four such talks a day with his partner. "You can see it coming, but you don't know where it's going to go."

At the request of businesses and property owners, police have been meeting with downtown workers to answer questions and give advice on how to prepare for the Aug. 14-17 event. Eight officers have been making the rounds over the past month, police said.

Although some estimates are that as many as 50,000 protesters will converge on Los Angeles, police say it's difficult to know how many will come or what they'll do once they arrive.

A coalition of activists has been trying to convince the public that nonviolent demonstrations, marches and acts of civil disobedience are planned and that fears about violence are overblown.

Police concede that some of the protesters will be nonviolent, but said they have just cause to expect destructive demonstrators, too.

Officials said they already have found signs that anarchists from a national organization based in Oregon are in Los Angeles. Within the past few weeks, police have arrested a handful of people for taking pictures of downtown buildings from rooftops and other unusual places, Butler said. The suspects' addresses all trace back to Oregon, he said.

At his monthly news conference Wednesday, Police Chief Bernard Parks said police were contacting businesses in an effort to "develop a close relationship" with private security guards and to warn multinational corporations and chains, such as Starbucks, that they may become targets.

Parks said his department will be prepared "for any eventuality" that develops, but wants protesters and others to not think of Los Angeles as an "armed encampment."

© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press




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Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Barry Goldwater--1964
 
Martial Law, anyone?

Not that it protects people from looters, of course... LA's Finest will be too busy running away, like they always do when it gets hot.

NOTE: Spare me the LEO-bashing crap. LAPD is the single most useless LE organization in the entire country, with the possible exception of ATF. Any evidence to the contrary will be duly considered.
 
Quote:
"police have arrested a handful of people for taking pictures of downtown buildings from rooftops and other unusual places, Butler said. The suspects' addresses all trace back to Oregon, he said."

When did taking pictures become a crime?


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"Lead, follow or get the HELL out of the way."
 
Conspiracy!

Don't you know, DorGunR!

Thought police!

:D

"You're thinking about it! Damnit!"
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John/az
"When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..." RKBA!
www.cphv.com

[This message has been edited by John/az2 (edited July 27, 2000).]
 
Good for LA. They deserve it. Look at who those *******s elected. I hope the city burns down. maybe will be lucky and Rosie will be there.
 
Why is there all this concern for violent protests in LA. According to the Colorado News who is trying to get Gore elected, the benevolent Socialist leaders are going to provide common sense leadership. Why is there this fear? This is a real question.
 
What a joke, I live (unfortunatley) in LA and I can tell you one thing regardless of the event the DNC, Lakers winning whatever people are just waiting for an excuse to riot (riot =looting) they had such much fun back in '92 they can't wait to do it again. The cops should be telling the store owners to store up on ammo. But I guess that's a little to un PC.
 
The people and political figures of LA need to get a clue: It's the LA RESIDENTS that cause riots (Rodney King, Lakers' Victory celbration), not outsiders planning peaceful protests against the Democrats for political reasons. The only exception are the radical environmentalists that have been in Seattle and elsewhere, but those people are not down on Democrats, they're just down on international trade agreements that don't protect the environment, which are supported heavily by both parties. I tend support those greenies - though I wouldn't want to catch one of those OC paintballs in the teeth...
 
re: "...Within the past few weeks, police have arrested a handful of people for taking pictures of downtown buildings from rooftops and other unusual places, Butler said..."

Interesting. I remember visiting East Germany in the 80's, before the Wall came down. Stasi secret police and informants everywhere. I was warned "Don't take any pictures of buildings." Same thing in Moscow. Are we now a totalitarian state?

Coinneach: re the LAPD.. I have worked with and around the LAPD line officers for 16 years as an LA journalist. They are a proud, well-trained organization (if sometimes maddeningly arrogant, thanks to Darryl Gates and others one of whom, Bernard Parks, is the current chief and a Gates protègé), with a lot of good cops. Scandals? The are MANY other departments that have been rife with scandal after scandal, and corruption, for decades... Philly, New Orleans, DC Metro, etc.Of course... the LA Rampart scandal is the rare but worst example, and it's largely a management problem, for ex. telling rookie cops that they are "in a war with gangs", implying that they should win by any means necessary, and then not supervising them properly. Lo and behold, they do stupid, dangerous, and even illegal stuff (Btw, I don't condone or excuse bad cops... I despise them). Compound this with consent decrees that forced the department to lower their hiring standards to raise the # of officers from "across the spectrum", and you have problems.

Did you know that for YEARS, Chief Gates and (ex-LAPD cop) Mayor Tom Bradley literally did not speak? What a great way to run a Dept and a City, no? Of course, Gates was widely loved by the rank and file for his "kick arse, take names later" methods. The city police commission punished the LAPD after the riot and Rodney King by giving them Chief Willie Williams, an incompetent boob who totally demoralized the Dept. All in all, the street cops and even Sgts and some Lt's (and one or two Capts) I've known well, were great guys and very very dedicated cops, who got stuck with bad policies and managers. It's a shame, especially for the citizens of LA, and for the good name of LE in SoCal, which is going to take a long time to get the tarnish rubbed off. As A cop friend of mine says, "The trouble with cops is you gotta get them from the human race."

End sermon!

[This message has been edited by Covert Mission (edited July 27, 2000).]
 
How much do you want to bet that the "store owners" will be ready this time?

For those in L.A., take a trip to a gun shop about a week before the DNC and ask about ammo sales.

CMOS

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NRA? Good. Now join the GOA!

The NRA is our shield, the GOA will be our sword.
 
Any bets that Kali wil be experiencing extreme problems with NICS for several weeks before the DNC?
Similar thread here of TFL on the very subject.
 
I ask again

Why are we not hearing the same story from the RNC in Philly?

Hyping the protest against the Democrats is pure anti Bush propoganda.

dZ
 
Covert, that's all fine and good, but I grew up in LA and saw first-hand the evilness permeating LAPD. The street cops were, quite frankly, thugs and bullies. The detectives were arrogant bastards who cared more for their own careers than for the lives of the victims of the crimes they investigated. That "We're gods, you suck" mentality is one of the reasons I left in '87 and will never go back.

And I seriously doubt it's gotten any better.
 
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