El Alcalde del Pueblo de Los Angeles Returns For a Brief Visit....

....During his self-directed, taxpayer-paid world tour. Seems, while he was gone, his paramilitary police agency roughed up some demonstrators and a few news reporters and camera operators. Story here.

Seems that Senor Antonio Vinaigrette was interrupted during his visit with El Presidente de Mexico, to come back to LA and be alcalde for a couple of days. What a pain. El Alcalde is not happy.

Seems what had all day been a peaceful demonstration at LA's MacArthur Park (according to news reports), turned into a melee when a few dozen leftist professional agitators began attacking the police with rocks and frozen water bottles. The police called for assistance, then decided to end the event.

I, of course, wasn't there. My tastes don't run toward purposeless protests. I'm having to go by msm news reports and talk radio/tv; tenuous at best. My first though was that, since these agitators were wearing ski masks and the police were aware of their purpose, why didn't they flank them and direct them away from the main demonstration? Isolated, the agitators would be powerless.

Instead, the agitators were allowed to melt into the main demonstration. The police reinforcements, many of whom were cementheads from the LA SWAT detail, joined in to move the demonstrators out of MacArthur Park.

Somewhere in the melee, the police forgot that most of the demonstrators were peacefully advocating immigration reform. Most of them were Latin American immigrants, some illegal, and some were sympathetic Americans. The police started forcefully pushing everyone along, in front of their skirmish line.

According to video recordings of the events, the police used beanbag guns and rubber bullets liberally, and attacked stragglers with nightsticks. Many peaceful demonstrators were injured simply because they didn't move fast enough. Some news reporters and cameramen were attacked, not having moved out thinking they were within their job description to record the proceedings. Several witnesses indicated that they had not heard the police orders to disburse, and were simply caught up in the violence by surprise.

In the end, the professional agitators got what they wanted: a lot of footage of swinging truncheons and police in riot gear firing (beanbag) shotguns into the crowd. The LA police made enemies of the local news people, and generally made themselves look really bad. There will be lawsuits and settlements.

LAPD Chief Bratton, the hired gun from NYC and Philly who was brought in to reform the department, then limited by el Alcalde in a host of politically correct ways, said the police tactics appeared troubling. Among other things, Chief Bratton has been ordered not to ask an arrestee's citizenship--even if he's suspected of a felony. One wonders how a handcuffed police chief might be able to effect any meaningful reform. It's to be expected, though, under an alcalde who is a member of M.E.Ch.A. , an organization dedicated to returning the entire American Southwest to Mexico. Los Angeles law enforcement will be skewed to favor criminals and criminal gangs for as long as this is the case.

In the end, only a few were injured in the altercation, none severely. There was only one arrest.

But, el Alcalde's world tour was interrupted. Heads will roll.

There'll be investigations and inquiries.

They've killed Freedom! Those bastards!

Warm regards,

Col. Hogan
Stalag California

Addendum: May 7, 2007

According to the LA Times, Alcalde Antonio Vinaigrette visited MacArthur Park yesterday and addressed those present, saying that MacArthur Park is a safe place to play or march in safety. He visited with those present while cameras were clicking.

One might have even thought El Alcalde wer sincere, had he not remained surrounded by his posse, which included armed police officers, through the entire photo op.