LA On Citywide Tactical Alert After Protestors Descend On Downtown

Los Angeles CA

04 May, 2022

12:55 AM

Description

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Los Angeles Police Department Officer was injured while attempting to control a group of abortion rights protestors near Pershing Square Tuesday night, prompting authorities to issue a citywide tactical alert. The raucous gathering of about 250 demonstrators followed at least one other Downtown protest earlier Tuesday over a leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn abortion rights across a wide swath of the nation. According to ABC7, police responded to reports of the crowd surrounding patrol cars and trying to take over a Metro bus. According to LAPD Chief Michel Moore, the crowd threw bottles and rocks at police officers, injuring one person. An ambulance was called to assist an officer, but it wasn't immediately clear what injuries the officer suffered, ABC7 reported. Demonstrators confront police officers near Pershing Square after protesting outside the U.S. Courthouse in response to leaked draft of the Supreme Court's opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) KCAL9 reported that protestors shattered the window of a patrol car, broke the window of a Downtown gym and spray-painted an anarchy symbol on City Hall. Officers had been "facilitating a group of 250" who were walking from Broadway and First Street, near Los Angeles City Hall, to Pershing Square just after 8:15 p.m., according to Moore. The group of protesters "began to take the intersection" once they reached Pershing Square, leading officers to attempt "to communicate, clear and provide dispersal order to the group," Moore said just after 9:05 p.m. Officers were attempting to get the group to disperse from the area as of about 9:20 p.m. No further details were immediately available. The group was reportedly an offshoot of an earlier peaceful protest outside Los Angeles City Hall. City News Service contributed to this report.