The Los Angeles Police Department has begun an investigation
into possible excessive use of force by officers in response to an
impromptu street party early Sunday morning on the 600 block of
Landfair Avenue.
The investigation began after Daily Bruin Assistant News Editor
Anthony Pesce called the LAPD to inquire about filing a complaint
stemming from events Sunday morning in which he and three other
Daily Bruin staff members encountered physical opposition and
little cooperation from the LAPD.
Responding to a couch fire during a celebration of the UCLA
football team’s upset victory over USC, officers in riot gear
fired rubber bullets and used batons on students in an effort to
clear the area around a burning couch.
After showing their press passes to officers and attempting to
report on the scene, Pesce was hit in the chest with a baton and
reporter Lindsey Morgan was pushed in the stomach. Managing Editor
Melinda Dudley was knocked atop the hood of a car, and reporter
Jennifer Mishory was ushered into a nearby apartment building,
Pesce said.
Later on Roebling Avenue, Dudley tried to speak to the officers
and show them her press pass, to which Pesce said he heard an
officer respond, “It doesn’t mean shit.”
Reporters often have access to situations or areas off-limits to
other people.
According to California Penal Code 409.5, officials can close
off any area that creates a “menace to public health”
to “any and all persons not authorized by the lifeguard or
officer to enter or remain within the enclosed area.”
Section D of the code maintains that “nothing in this
section shall prevent a duly authorized representative of any news
service, newspaper, radio or television station or network from
entering the areas closed pursuant to this section.”
Pesce called LAPD media relations Monday after the incident, and
two investigators were sent to campus to talk to the reporters.
Pesce said the investigators asked questions about his perspective
during the altercation, how the officers were holding their batons,
the lighting and descriptions of the officers.
Though Lt. Paul Vernon of the LAPD said he could not comment on
the status of the ongoing internal investigation, he explained that
during investigations officers will interview various witnesses and
try to find other evidence. The results of the investigation will
then be reviewed by commanding officers and, ultimately, the chief
of police.
According to Pesce, LAPD would not talk to writers or allow them
into the area to report, so they walked around the police line and
accessed the scene from Roebling Avenue, a nearby street which had
not yet been blocked.
Students began throwing bottles at police officers and refused
to leave.
At around 1:30 a.m., police formed a line and began firing
rubber bullets and pushing students out of the street, telling them
to get out of the area. Pesce said LAPD officers began advancing
toward him from about five feet away.
“They kept coming at me,” Pesce said.
He said that the officers kept advancing even after he shouted
that he was a member of the press, and then prodded him several
times with a baton.
Pesce said it would be hard to identify the officer, as he was
wearing a riot helmet, and was of average height and build. If
identified however, the investigators told Pesce that the officer
could potentially be charged with use of excessive force.