Saturday May 5, 2007 - It's been barely a week since we posted on the 15th anniversary of the LA riots that were sparked when four LAPD officers were acquitted by a Simi Valley jury in the beating of motorist Rodney King.
This morning CNN.com reports that the Los Angeles Police Department is coming under fire yet again for their violent response against protesters rallying for immigrants rights last week.
Police used batons and rubber bullets against crowds that included women and children as young as ten. The FBI is one of the organizations opening inquiries into police conduct that resulted when members of the crowd allegedly threw bottles and rocks at police towards the end of the rally.
At least four people including a member of the press are filing suit against the LAPD for injuries they received from police.
This latest incident involving the LAPD continues to fuel the image of this police force as an urban authoritative body that uses excessive force against minorities as a matter of policy.
I don't view all police as enemies and I think it's absurd to suggest that African-American's cooperating with police are traitors to their race or communities; as has been suggested by many Hip-Hop artists - who are paid by white-owned record companies...
What does it say about America when members of the nation's largest police forces feel so threatened by peoples of color that the application of excessive force against them (whether warranted or not) is standard operating procedure?
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