Israeli Consulate Protests

So we're going on the fourth or fifth organized protest of Hamas vs. Israel since the conflict began late last month. Since then, the LAPD has really gotten their shit together after stumbling very badly the first time the Israeli and Palestinian supporters started yelling at each other from across the 6300 block of Wilshire Boulevard.

The first night of protests in late December saw the LAPD way behind the eight ball. They desperately requested backup from on-duty patrol units in Wilshire, West L.A. and Hollywood divisions as the crowd grew and they couldn't get their shit together fast enough to shut down Wilshire at rush hour. Reinforcements were sent in from the BHPD and the entire day watch shift of the BHPD was held over for a few hours while the LAPD tried to sort things out and keep protesters from getting run over on Wilshire. Also, they didn't want the two sides killing each other.

So, in the weeks since, they've really put their full effort into preventing a repeat of the organizational mishaps they suffered. What's amusing about the LAPD's subsequents shows of force is that they are disproportionate to the size of the protesters and to anything that actually occurred during the first--and biggest--protest. That is, they're clearly trying to save face and impress the other agencies more than they are actually worried about a full-blown riot erupting.

Anyways, that brings us to today's activities. On my jaunt back from Brentwood around 0900 I saw the LAPD airship circling low over Wilshire and San Vicente and figured something was up. I parked my car and mosey'd over to the general area, where the DOT had just shut down Wilshire going eastbound. The protesters numbered about 15. The LAPD numbered about 10. Within 20 minutes, the LAPD numbers swelled while the protesters remained about the same.

The crappy camera phone pic above shows the first arriving units from Wilshire, West L.A., Olympic and West Traffic divisions lining up along the street. A captain in a tricked-out black, Dodge Charger then showed up followed by a Sgt. from West Traffic. Then, the news trucks, helos and LAFD's Battalion 18's sedan rolled in. Apparently, some protesters had chained themselves to each other or the building or some other such nonsense.

As an aside, members of the State Department's diplomatic security force have basically been stationed in front of and in the consulate for the past week or so. I noticed a bunch of them taking a lunch break in front of the building yesterday.


By 1000 hours, when I returned to my place of work, which is down the street from the Israeli consulate, all of Wilshire had been shut from San Vicente to at least Crescent Heights and more than a dozen unmarked cars from Metro division were parked in the middle of the street, with officers suiting up in riot gear and removing bundles of flex-cuffs from their car trunks. The most interesting aspect of this is what's clearly a by-product of 2007's disastrous May-Day protests when the LAPD went wildin' through the crowd and beat up everyone in sight, including journalists. So now, on the back of their tactical vests, in huge WHITE BLOCK LETTERS are embroidered the officers names. At least I assume it's their names, what with "Martinez," "Rodriguez," "JACKSON," on full display. Funny, too, since when the LAPD is giving you a beatdown and you're covering your head, might be tough to spot the officer's last name ON THE BACK OF HIS UNIFORM as he's hitting you from the front. But the devil is always in the details.

At full strength, the LAPD response included units from Rampart and as Pacific divisions, as well. The LAFD had Light Force and Rescue 61 standing by, though I didn't see the full complement of mounted patrols that have been here on previous occasions.

By 1115 hours, the incident was Code 4, the Metro cops and the LAFD had departed and the airship cleared the scene.

Wilshire Boulevard Shenanigans

Maybe it's the goofy weather, but Wilshire has been a freakshow all morning from the Miracle Mile west into Brentwood (admittedly, the only portion I've actually traveled today).

Items:

-- I was rushing to an early morning appointment at 0715 this morning and was weaving in and out of worker-bee traffic going westbound Wilshire through the Westwood hi-rise corridor. Doing about 45 mph when some jerkoff pulled out from a side street and into my lane forcing me to slow down to about 35 or 40. As I was mentally swearing at this guy, I noticed out of the corner of my right eye and green and tan-clad motorcycle cop with a radar gun. We made eye contact and there was that split-second moment where he was deciding whether or not I was his guy and I was waiting to see if he'd pull into traffic. The moment passed and he kept searching for other quarry.

So, thanks to you, Black VW Jetta guy, for slowing me down and sparing me from an almost certain speeding ticket. However, I couldn't quite understand what an LASD motor cop was doing speed-trapping on Wilshire, which is the thick of LAPD jurisdiction.

An hour later, heading eastbound on Wilshire, saw the same guy about a mile from his original location writing a ticket to the driver of a black car service Town Car, which made me smile, since Limo/Town Car drivers rank only slightly lower on the aggressive-asshole driving scale than the average taxi driver.

The other Shenanigan deserves--and will get--a separate post (see above).

New LAPD Stations Activated*

So I've been hearing the newly christened Olympic Area units being dispatched on the scanner in the past few days but haven't heard any calls go out for the new Topanga division way out in the west Valley (at the site of a former sex toy manufacturer!). But both divisions appear to be operational, Olympic being an important addition to the Mid-City area relieving some of the pressure in both the Wilshire and Rampart divisions. Olympic Area cars have the "20" prefix and the Topanga cars will have the "21" prefix.

There was a little murmur of debate a few weeks ago when the LAPD said they'd be shifting some officers from the ritzy (and relatively quiet) West LA Area to help staff up at Olympic.

*Check that. Just heard a Topanga unit get sent out on a HOTSHOT at 2252 hours. So all the new guys are now playing in the sandbox.

Overheard...

Couple a' interesting calls on a muggy (for L.A., at least) Sunday night:

-- LAPD Wilshire units sent for a man-with-a-gun call at the 99 Cents Only store on Wilshire just west of Fairfax. I work about a hop, skip and a jump from there and was just telling the wife that we should check it out for the brand-name items under a buck--after reading a profile of the company in the Southwest Airlines magazine earlier this week. Turns out, that store is the chain's most profitable, but not such a great PR move when some old guy in an Aloha shirt and a gray beard is waving a gun around and chasing customers.

First unit on scene was an LAPD "William" detective unit, which effectively cased the joint while 7Adam21 was responding Code 3 from Wilshire station. A few more units were requested and they took the guy down just up the street on Wilshire. Never actually found out what he was doing in the store, but the primary unit told another that there were two "victims" in the parking lot. No RA's requested though so it wasn't a shooting.

-- Few minutes later heard the "ambulance shooting" call go out down in Harbor Division, which brought at least six black & whites screaming down to Gaffey Street and Paseo del Mar where they amazingly and quickly apprehended the suspect; quite improbably--for that neighborhood--a white female in a yellow sun dress who had apparently just shot a white male of 45 years square in the chest.

That one might actually make the 11 o'clock news.