Zimmerman protesters raid LA store, stop freeway

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Protesters ran through Los Angeles streets Monday night, breaking windows, attacking people on sidewalks and at one point raiding a Wal-Mart store, while others blocked a major freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area in the third night of demonstrations in California over George Zimmerman's Florida acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Thirteen people were arrested after multiple acts of vandalism and several assaults in Los Angeles' Crenshaw District, Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference.

Garcetti and Beck didn't elaborate on the assaults or any injuries, but at least one man could be seen in the street with a head injury.

More than 300 officers were called to the scene and were at first slow to directly engage protesters in an attempt to allow a peaceful end to the demonstration, Beck said. But the chief said police would take a much stricter posture in the coming nights.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130716/DA7IGLM83.html

---

A protester confronts a Los Angles police officer during a demonstration in reaction to the acquittal of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on Monday, July 15, 2013, in Los Angeles. Anger over the acquittal of a U.S. neighborhood watch volunteer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager continued Monday, with civil rights leaders saying mostly peaceful protests will continue this weekend with vigils in dozens of cities. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

[Duval]

1. Sad. Peaceful

protests have more impact. Plus, this is just what the far right predicted. I do not like them to be "right" on anything!

[7962]

2. You're absolutely right.

Storming a Wal Mart gets justice how? All it does help the naysayers

[warrant46]

13. Walmart deserves it they exploit people

And half of their employees are on welfare

[HardTimes99]

4. There was a much larger peaceful demonstration earlier last night at Leimert Park. These

youth were only loosely affiliated with the peaceful demonstration.

Having said that, black youth and youth of color in general confront an America where they can seemingly be shot and killed with impunity by self-appointed vigilantes enforcing de facto Sundown Town ordinances. How exactly should these youth react when faced with a country that shows so little respect for their lives and liberties? I'm not defending or excusing their brigandage last night, nor the seeming manifestation of mob rule. But I think I can understand a little bit their absolute fury and terror in such an America.

Fuck what the 'far right' thinks. What has it ever done to solve any problems?

[matthews]

8. Not making an excuse either BUT I remember the riots of the 60s.

They were horrible and they affected everyone. Even here in the 'Heartland' of the country.

In fact, we had a case that grabbed world-wide attention back then. Read about the murder of Officer Larry Minard. Two men who millions firmly believe (I am one) were innocent of that killing were railroaded into life sentences, David Rice and Edward Poindexter. The Trayvon Martin trial is just more of the same.

This isn't new. Just look at the Rodney King beating.

It all comes from the same place. That black hearts and sick minds of people who's first impression of their fellow man depends on the color of their skin.

[cstanleytech]

10. Except King was

from all reports both before and after the beating an asshole who kept messing up where as Trayvon Martin was a young kid who had the potential to be much more before he was killed by some jackass (who should have been convicted imo) who refused to obey the 911 operator and stay put.

[matthews]

15. No one deserves the beating King got from the cops. NO ONE. nt

[cstanleytech]

16. Never said he deserved it just that he was an

asshole before and after.
Of course thats merely my own opinion based upon his long history of breaking the law before the beating and the multiple times after as well were as Martin was just a kid who was walking minding his own business when Zimmerman the wannabe cop did what he did.

[7962]

17. And the same thing happened in this case as the King case

The prosecution overcharged the defendant. In the King case, the cops were charged with attempted murder which was in no way provable. Imagine; a dozen cops TRIED to kill King and couldnt? They shouldve been charged with a dozen other charges. Same with Z; he shouldve, and I believe would've, been convicted on a lesser charge.

[cstanleytech]

18. The two cases are totally different.

King was being pursued for speeding prior and was drunk and both are crimes, Martin however was walking and minding his own business and was not engaged in any criminal activity and would probably be alive now if Zimmerman had not decided to play police officer.
As for the officers in the King incident they should have been convicted in the first trial as they clearly were using excessive force and it shouldnt have taken a federal trial to bring them to justice just like Zimmerman should have been convicted in this first trial atleast for manslaughter.

[7962]

19. You made my point; the King officers shouldve been convicted

of a lesser charge. They were charged with attempted murder, and I dont think there was a lower choice. They did not try to kill him or he would've been dead. Thats all the defense had to say really. They were found not guilty of that charge because the state couldnt prove it. The Z case is similar in that the state never proved murder 2 or fla's version of manslaughter. He shouldve been charged with a lesser crime that they COULD have proven. In my opinion anyway.

[cstanleytech]

20. I think they had good proof of intent to cause harm though for Zimmerman because

he had a gun and rather than remain where he was safe as the 911 told him to do he choose to follow Martin so regardless of who hit who first or who was or was not on top Zimmerman initiated the chain of events that led to the shooting death of Martin and he should have been convicted for it.

[City Lights]

3. Not cool.

Stay peaceful, people. \/

[Incitatus]

6. More like criminals using the case as an excuse to steal and vandalize.

That is not what real protestors do.

The real, peaceful demonstrators far outnumber them

[cstanleytech]

11. So then they are like the tea party followers?

In that both are assholes who dont mind hurting others?

[tofuandbeer]

7. Those were just a splinter of people who left the park and marched down Crenshaw.

Every now and then a dozen or so would break into a sprint and cause violence. The march was cool, but the violence was stupid.
The peaceful protest was at the park.

[musical_soul]

9. They're not helping their case.

All they're doing is letting people know that they can threaten the community with violence if they don't get their way.

[Fringe]

12. I bet they were arrested faster than Zimmerman was

...and Zimmerman murdered someone. Justice is swift if you are a black.

[socialist_n_TN]

14. nadin had a nice speculative thread in GD about the targets.....

of these particular cases of vandalism. BTW, I REFUSE to call breaking windows and setting fire to trash cans "violence". Violence was what was perpetrated on Trayvon Martin. Breaking windows is vandalism.

Anyhoo, nadin speculated that there's an underlying method to the madness since the places vandalized were places like Walmart, Mickey Ds, and some banks. In GENERAL, it seemed like the anarchists went after the worst scumbuckets of the capitalist systems. I actually had noticed this same thing myself, but it was nice to see someone else seeing it too.

I think the Occupy mindset is starting to take hold and people are taking their frustrations out on the symbols of capitalist power. IMO, that's a good thing. At least the noticing is. And I agree with the poster upthread who said fuck what the far right thinks.