The Los Angeles Police Department faces growing criticism over its handling of protests as new videos and images emerged Friday of violent, aggressive behavior by officers.
Mayor Eric Garcetti found himself walking a fine line, criticizing episodes of excessive force that have been captured on video while also defending positive contributions that individual officers and law enforcement investigations have made, such as breaking up human trafficking rings. He said some of the police tactics seen in the last week have “no place in the City of Angels.”
A coalition of criminal justice activists and homeless advocates filed a lawsuit against the city over how police have handled protests following the death of George Floyd, accusing officers of shooting a homeless man in the eye with rubber bullets and holding people for upward of 12 hours for simple curfew violations.
The suit — filed late Friday by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Black Lives Matter and Los Angeles Community Action Network — accused the LAPD of violating protesters’ right to assemble and using excessive force.
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