by Kimberly King
Monday, Mar. 24, 2003 at 7:49 PM
kking3@calstatela.edu
At the Anti-War Rally held on March 23 at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, a group of demonstrators who marched through a nearby neighborhood were shoved by LAPD officers with their batons as they crossed in the crosswalk at Highland and Hollywood. The police pushed the crowd lforcefully with their batons, leading to a small stamped and the injury of several people, including a woman with multiple scorosis.
At the Anti-War Rally held on Sunday, March 23, at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, a group of demonstrators who had marched through a nearby neighborhood were shoved by LAPD officers with their batons as they crossed in the crosswalk at Highland and Hollywood. The police became aggressive in their attempts to move the crowd, causing a small stampede that resulted in the injury of several people, including a woman with multiple scorosis.
The anti-war demonstration was not allowed outside of the the KodaK Theatre, the location of the Oscars Ceremony. Instead, demonstrators were given a permit for a rally at a location about two blocks away from the ceremony. A group of about 100 demonstrators participated in what seemed to be an impromptu march around the nearby neighbhorhood. When they arrived at the corner of Highland and Hollywood, the protestors stopped marching and began chanting (e.g., What do we want? Peace! When do we want it? Now!). Many police officers were on that corner in riot gear and with their batons drawn. After a few minutes, a police officer announced that if the crowd did not disperse, it would be considered an unlawful assembly. All but a few protestors responded to the police request by dispersing, walking across the street at the crosswalk back to the organized rally. Police formed a line behind the demonstrators and began shoving the crowd with their batons. Some demonstrators began running and some asked the police to stop pushing and notified them that there were disabled persons in front of them and that they could not walk any faster without trampling them. Police ignored requests and intensified their pushing. A small stamped ensued. Several demonstrators fell and were injured, inlcuding a disabled woman with multiple scorosis. Many other demonstrators were visibly shaken by this experience with police brutality as they attempted to exercise their rights as Americans to voice their dissent.