Eighteen "knuckleheads" arrested in wake of mini riot following lakers win
Eighteen people whom LAPD Chief William Bratton described as "knuckleheads" found themselves under arrest Sunday night in the wake of the Lakers 99-86 win over the Orlando Magic.
The "knuckleheads" started fires, looted convenience stores and tried to overturn cars. I even watched a few climb up on the freeway to wave their Lakers flags in front of passing cars. For an hour or so, downtown LA might as well have been Detroit.
City News Service reports that LAPD arrested 18 people for various offenses including arson; failure to disperse; inciting a riot; and misdemeanor warrants, Eisenman said. The actual number of arrests was revised downward from an estimate of 25 that was reported last night by various media outlets.
City News Service also reports that 12 LAPD vehicles were damaged, one sheriff's vehicle was damaged, and six Metro buses were damaged. Some officers were injured when fans hurled bricks and bottles, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Andy Mathes of the Central Station.
Speaking to KTTV Fox11, Bratton said officers "used minimal levels of force, behaving very professionally," despite attempts to provoke them. Fans also gathered at Whittier and Atlantic boulevards and rocked vehicles and stopped at a traffic light, but no injuries were reported. Two people were arrested in that incident, officials said.
Similar outbursts also followed Lakers championship victories in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
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| Frank Girardot, Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, brings you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail Frank. |
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Brian Day is the crime reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. E-mail Brian. |
Are there TWO L.A.s??
#1) Great game Lakers, Congratulations!
#2) Watching the T.V. news Sunday night after the Laker Victory I watched a full blown Riot in L.A., fires, looting, attacking vehicles, women screaming for their lost children, thugs standing on MAJOR freeways waving rags on poles etc., that is a riot not a "Rowdy Celebration" as described by cute/bimbo models acting as T.V. News reporters, they should just stand there looking pretty and keep their mouth shut.No mention of the losses occurred to the hard working merchant victims.
Earlier Sunday I glimpsed (20 seconds) at huge parade of homosexual/transvestites dancing almost naked on the streets of L.A., what in the hell was that about?. Those hundreds of cops should have been at Staples Center a little early just to be seen by Rowdy Youths.
In today's L.A.Times the "Happy Parade" got a full page and the Riot (Rowdy Fans) got page 10, 2 paragraphs. Love L.A.!
Interesting Observation: It's obvious the 2 major Los Angeles newspapers have a very selective policy regarding posting readers 'Comments' from day to day, it's nearly impossible to find articles written on Monday in Tuesdays paper and selected printed comments critical of the City have been deleted.
Easy to confirm, just 'bookmark' Tues. article and compare on Wed.
Hope the SGVN papers never resort to this type of subtle censorship.