Campaign to explore alleged police abuse
External vice president’s office to gather complaints
By Nancy Hsu
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The undergraduate external vice president’s office kicks off a
campaign today asking student government, city council members and
Westwood merchants to force an investigation into alleged acts of
police abuse incurred on the night of the men’s basketball
championship game.
"What we want to do is take an active stance against these
excessive, unfair attacks against students," said York Chang,
external vice president. "We’ve gotten calls from students who were
shot in their house, in the back, from people who were hit with
billy clubs while they were obeying what police wanted them to do.
We have to start asking at what point do we put our foot down."
In conjunction with the Student Coalition Against Police Abuse,
the office will ask the Undergraduate Student Association Council
to adopt a resolution denouncing the Los Angeles Police Department
(LAPD) and local news media for alleged biased coverage of the
celebration, Chang said.
A letter-writing campaign to city council members and Westwood
merchants demanding that they file complaints against the LAPD and
investigate alleged acts of abuse will also begin today, Chang
said.
Some local business people said they support the LAPD’s efforts
to control the crowd, but do not condone any alleged acts of police
abuse.
"The LAPD was put in an awkward situation," said "Sol" Salzer,
owner of City Bean Coffee on the corner of Westood Boulevard and
Lindbrook Drive. "They could have let the event go and risk what
would happen, or take control of the situation.
"As a merchant, I’d rather there be a large police presence to
control the situation rather than a small one, (that would leave)
the village vulnerable to potential activities," said Salzer, who
is also vice president of the Westwood Village Merchants’
Association.
Chang said he hopes students who were alleged victims of
excessive police force or witnesses to abuse, could come forward
and help the campaign.
On Bruin Walk, students can also get phone numbers and addresses
of council members, so students can encourage them to look into the
alleged acts of abuse.
"Police presence was necessary with so many people," Chang said.
"(But) we just want to see an independent investigation look into
it and see if some of these things weren’t supposed to happen."
About 250 officers in riot gear, and an additional 100 other
officers attempted to clear an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 revelers
off Westwood streets after UCLA’s basketball victory on April
4.
LAPD officials said 15 people were arrested on charges including
drunken behavior and assault on police officers. More than 20
people were treated at the UCLA Medical Center Emergency Room for
minor injuries. Seven LAPD officers were also injured.
"The biggest complaint that I received after Monday night was
that (students) were just standing there and the officers came and
forced them to move," said Capt. Robert Kurth. "Once the
disbursement order is given, everyone in that area is subject to
arrest. It’s time to move."
Kurth said they were responding to calls complaining of noisy
parties. Once they responded, they were forced to take action.
"Once we’re there, we can’t just turn around and go home," Kurth
said. "If only I could just get the students to understand we don’t
want to fight them. We just want them to obey the laws of the state
of California and to respect the officers like (students) want to
be respected."