October 22 Coalition—National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality
Los Angeles, October 22, about 300 people showed up at the march and the rally organized by the October 22 Coalition--National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality. Most of them wore black in support of the families who lost a love one at the hands of the police.
There were two arrests, and it is still not clear of the reasons for the arrests, but one lawyer from the Lawyer Guild said that one of the arrestee allegedly spat on a police officer and then resisted arrest. Others told very different stories.
During the arrests, the angry crowd of protesters seemed eager to pass the police line in order to rescue the arrestees who were forcefully put to the ground by the police then handcuffed and rapidly taken away. Fortunately members of the October 22nd Coalition immediately intervened to appease the crowd and avoid a confrontation with the police which could have degenerated into a mass arrest.
It seems that there were a little bit less police officers surrounding us this year, but still the pigs numbers were high.
As usual, this was a high-spirited march lead mostly by young people from Olympic and Broadway to the Police Department Station near the DA office in Downtown Los Angeles.
At the rally, distraught people took turn at the microphone to tell the crowd their heart breaking stories about police abuses. Some told us about how they were brutalized. Others told us how the police murdered their daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, mothers, and fathers.
In between speeches, excellent artists entertained the crowd. An African American poet activist recited his amazing poem, “…Don’t worry about the thief, worry about the police chief…”
Toward the end of the rally people pledged to fight the widespread police brutality here in LA, but also in the US and around the world. Members of the coalition urged the public to join them and help in any ways they can.
october22_la@yahoo.com http://october22-ny.org/national/ 