City attorney files charges against protesters who disrupted L.A. City Council meeting
Updated 5:40 p.m. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office will file civil misdemeanor charges against protesters who disrupted a Los Angeles City Council meeting by throwing objects at police with a bullhorn Thursday at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Slauson Street.
A dozen demonstrators had been arrested earlier Thursday during the council vote on L.A.’s first comprehensive budget. They were released within hours after a judge ruled that they should not be held in custody.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement that the action at the City Council meeting Thursday was an attempt to intimidate police from doing their jobs.
“We will treat violent acts with the same dignity and respect as anyone else, because we know in our city that those acts of civil disobedience — peaceful or otherwise — have the power to change our country’s direction. We will not relent in the pursuit of peace as the people demand an end to our broken police department and an end to a broken city budget that leaves many citizens struggling to afford the basic essentials of life,” he said.
Video shot by news helicopters showed police holding back about 40 protesters wearing red T-shirts.
“Why are you throwing things at me?” a woman shouted as Los Angeles Police Department officers attempted to remove one woman. She kept her arms up high and was seen to be saying, “Please, I’m not throwing things at you!”
The L.A. Times reported that police used stun guns on several protesters as they tried to throw objects toward the camera.
At one time, there was a “good deal” of violence and destruction of property in the area, Councilman Gil Cedillo said. Police “did very good job in containing the crowd and dispersing it,” he said.
Councilman Bernard Parks, who represents the area for more than 30 years, told his residents not to give up hope.
“We