Nearly every day Los Angles police file reports on someone for their simply being suspicious. Suspicious of what, however, is unclear. It is part of the Los Angeles Police Department’s suspicious activity reporting program, which is touted as a first line of defense against possible terrorist attacks. Though law enforcement praises the reporting system,...
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Transparency and accountability are lacking in California’s gang member database, according to a recent report written by the Youth Justice Coalition. The report, called “Tracked and Trapped,” outlines a system of secret surveillance that targets alleged gang members, many of whom have not been arrested or accused of a crime. Some in the database...
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The Bureau of Street Services and police tore down the barricade surrounding the Hernandez residence in Van Nuys today. The barrier was part of an Occupy protest against the foreclosure of the home, also known as Fort Hernandez, which has been ongoing for over two months. LAPD officers assisted in the action by setting...
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A month after the ArtWalk uprising, Occupy Los Angeles pulled off another act of civil disobedience on the night of Thursday, Aug. 9, to protest the arrests of several occupiers and non-occupiers for chalking sidewalks. This time around it was peaceful. Approximately 200 occupiers, along with a few from Occupy Oakland, gathered in Pershing...
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A candlelight vigil was held by a small group of occupiers on July 19 to express solidarity for those injured and arrested in a recent protest that ended in violence. While holding candles and maintaining silence, a little over a dozen occupiers walked two blocks from Pershing Square to Fifth and Spring streets, the...
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A protest over activists being arrested for chalking messages on sidewalks erupted into a near-riot on Thursday, July 12 in downtown Los Angeles. Members of Occupy Los Angeles held a planned act of civil disobedience over what they argue is their constitutionally-protected right to chalk politically sensitive messages on the sidewalk. The event was...
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Homeless people have historically gained the ire of city dwellers. In 1875, the editors of the New York magazine Appleton’s Journal took issue with the destitute who made themselves “an object of abhorrence to decent folk” in Central Park. They criticized the installment of park benches, saying that the “mendicancy of a free seat...
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Although the Los Angeles Police Department announced it would modify the way it stores its reports on suspicious activity that it deems related to terrorism, a coalition of community groups is skeptical of the reforms and is calling for the program to be ended. Due to concerns over privacy, the department said last month...
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The occupy movement’s recent May Day demonstrations have been somewhat overshadowed by media reports from Seattle and San Francisco where protesters, dressed in black, vandalized banks, retail outlets and cars. Called “Black Bloc,” these protesters wear masks, carry shields and do not shy away from confrontations with police. Because of their battle-ready uniform, they...
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Inmate advocates plan to formally petition the United Nations this week to investigate what they say are human rights violations occurring within the California prison system. The action, which was organized by the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, was initiated last year after the treatment of inmates held in long-term solitary confinement...
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