Greens condemn brazen brutality of LAPD

News Advisory
THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
www.cagreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Contact: Susan King, spokesperson, 415.823-5524
funking at mindspring.com
Dr. Bob Vizzard, spokesperson, 916.206
8953, thevizz at aol.com
Sara Amir, spokesperson, 310.270-7106
saraamir at earthlink.net
Cres Vellucci, press secretary,
916.996-9170 civillib at cwnet.com


Greens condemn ‘brazen brutality' by police
at Los Angeles immigration rights march, charge
police targeting ‘marginalized and disenfranchised'

LOS ANGELES, Ca. (May 3, 2007) – The Green Party of
California today
condemned the "brazen brutality" of the Los Angeles
Police Department
Tuesday at a peaceful immigration rights march here
where dozens of
demonstrators – and members of the news media – were
clubbed and
shot by
so-called "non-lethal" projectiles.

At least three investigations – including one by the
FBI – are now
underway
to determine the extent of the unnecessary violence
used by police to
disperse a peaceful crowd at a park, although the
organizers of the May
Day
march had an approved permit. Police apparently fired
at least 240
rounds
at demonstrators and reporters, sending many to the
hospital.

"The brazen police brutality of the LAPD is yet
another example of the
erosion of our civil liberties as we slide more and
more into a police
state, with the poor, immigrants, people of color, the
marginalized and
disenfranchised the targets of institutionalized
violence and
repression,"
said Los Angeles Green spokesperson Linda Piera-Avila.

"The LAPD's mission of ‘to protect and serve' seems to
only apply to
those
who are part of the corporate interests, while
immigrants are being
used as
target practice. For justice to be served, NAFTA and
similar disastrous
foreign policy agreements must be ended abroad while
here at home
immigrants must be recognized and accorded human
rights," she added.

Greens in Southern California are mobilizing to
provide any assistance
needed by those attacked by the LAPD on May Day.

"The LAPD action was outrageous," said Peter Thottam,
a Los Angeles
attorney and former Green Party candidate for Assembly
in the 53rd
District, who has offered his help to those involved
in the attacks by
police.