What we know about the tactics used in the Los Angeles protests

RNZ News

2 days ago

By Josh Campbell, CNN
LAPD officers on horseback clash with protesters during protests after a series of immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Photo:
AFP / SPENCER PLATT
A relative state of calm in Los Angeles began to crumble early Sunday afternoon as demonstrators confronted federal authorities guarding a downtown detention facility where chaos erupted as National Guard soldiers deployed tear gas on an increasingly agitated crowd.
An already tense situation began to escalate as a line of troops sent in by President Donald Trump the previous night - against the will of state officials -started forming what's called a "skirmish line" around 1pm.
The troops used riot shields to push the crowd back to make way for a convoy of approaching law enforcement vehicles.
The soldiers were heavily armed, carrying standard-use M4 military rifles affixed with magazines, suggesting they were loaded with ammunition.
Such weaponry in the hands of military personnel on the streets of an American city is rare, as is the use of the armed forces to conduct crowd control.
In an apparent response to a member of the crowd lobbing an object at authorities, the National Guard and US Homeland Security agents fired less lethal projectiles and deployed tear gas on the group.
LAPD officers shoot rubber bullets at protesters in front of the City Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Photo:
AFP / APU GOMES
A large number of Los Angeles Police Department officers in riot gear arrived as the crowd continued to build and began dispersing people, moving them away from the federal jail.
Unlike much of the US military, LAPD officers receive extensive training in crowd control techniques - tactics officers were called upon to use during social unrest in the city following George Floyd's death in 2020.
The effort, however, became a new flashpoint as certain hostile demonstrators threw bottles and other items at officers, who responded by swinging their batons and striking some members of the crowd.
The protests had begun Friday night in response to federal immigration raids in the Los Angeles area, which come amid Trump's larger crackdown involving raids and deportations across the country.
The LAPD announced dispersal orders and issued a citywide "tactical alert," putting the entire police department on standby for possible deployment.
During a tactical alert, officers currently on duty must remain on shift until relieved by their commanders, and certain calls for service from the public may not be addressed until the alert is lifted.
In one shocking moment, a motorcyclist plowed into a line of LAPD officers, injuring at least two of them, authorities said. The rider was quickly swarmed by a half dozen cops and arrested.
It ranked among the most extreme incidents of violence witnessed Sunday.
A demonstrator holding flowers walks past police officers as protesters clash with law enforcement in the streets surrounding the federal building during a protest following federal immigration operations in Los Angeles.
Photo:
AFP / RINGO CHIU
While teams of officers continued to push back crowds around the downtown area, there were additional clashes - including some violent agitators firing what the city's police chief described as "commercial-grade fireworks" at authorities.
As a group of mounted patrol officers surrounded a protester on the ground, a barrage of fireworks appeared to suddenly startle one of the horses, seen on video trampling the man. Another horse-mounted officer then struck the man with a stick.
The video appears to show officers in a chaotic situation employing contradictory police tactics on the same person, which can often lead to confusion or dangerous outcomes.
While one officer appeared to order the man to stand up and leave, the man was quickly tackled by another officer after standing.
It is unclear from the video what happened before the incident, the reason officers initially surrounded him and whether he was ultimately arrested.
Experts say the use of horses to patrol protests does come with numerous benefits to officers. The height of the animal provides a mounted officer with a vantage point to look over and into large crowds. The imposing size of a horse can also have a psychological effect in dissuading potential violence.
Photo:
AFP / SPENCER PLATT
Beyond the demonstrators protesting the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, vandals struck the downtown area as the afternoon continued.
Building and vehicle windows were shattered and graffiti was sprayed. Multiple self-driving Waymo cars were also vandalized and set ablaze.
Around 4 pm, groups of demonstrators moved from the city streets to the lanes of the busy 101 Freeway, bringing traffic to a halt.
Several dozen officers from the California Highway Patrol responded to clear people from the freeway, while some violent demonstrators on an overpass hurled objects such as scooters and rocks at CHP officers, smashing the windows and damaging several police cruisers.
At one point, a man on an overpass dropped a lit object onto the hood of one of the CHP vehicles, attempting to set it on fire.
Officers taking refuge under the bridge responded with fire extinguishers to douse the flames.
Los Angeles mounted police advance on a makeshift barricade in a cloud of tear gas as clashes erupt with demonstrators next to City Hall.
Photo:
AFP / ETIENNE LAURENT
The 101 Freeway incident showed instances of law enforcement trying to deescalate a chaotic situation rather than ratcheting up tensions with overwhelming force.
For example, rather than bringing in teams of officers to surround and confront the demonstrators destroying property from atop the bridge, authorities appeared to wait them out.
Officials have warned police will continue to review video taken at the scene in order to bring charges against those allegedly responsible for assault and damage.
Additionally, officers clearing the freeway of demonstrators appeared to try to slow down the situation and remove people in groups, even as some isolated skirmishes occurred.
A tactic known as an "L-formation," in which officers align themselves in the shape of the letter, created a natural path of movement for the demonstrators police were trying to direct off the highway.
Shortly after 9 pm, LAPD declared the entirety of downtown Los Angeles an unlawful assembly, and worked for several hours to disperse crowds ignoring the order.
Authorities said dozens of people were arrested in Los Angeles as part of Sunday's unrest.
- CNN