CNS--The city of Los Angeles has tentatively agreed to pay nearly $13 million to immigration protesters and bystanders injured by police officers during a melee at MacArthur Park last year, it was reported. If the deal is approved, it would mark one of the largest payouts ever made to resolve LAPD misconduct, according to the Los Angeles Times, which quoted sources as reporting the tentative settlement. Several sources confirmed the size of the proposed deal at $12.85 million, The Times reported.

Further payouts are likely to journalists who also sued, charging they were roughed up by the LAPD while covering the event. A settlement in the case would go a long way toward closing an embarrassing and damaging chapter in the LAPD's recent history, department observers, said.

The proposed agreement still must be approved by the City Council, the mayor and the judge overseeing the claims against the city.

As a May Day pro-immigration march was concluding at MacArthur Park, police in riot gear moved in to clear the area. Reacting to what authorities described as agitators throwing bottles and other objects, officers from the LAPD's elite Metro Division used batons and fired rubber bullets into the largely peaceful crowd. There were no deaths, but hundreds of demonstrators and journalists and 18 officers suffered injuries.

A scathing internal LAPD report blamed poor leadership and planning as well as the overly aggressive tactics by officers.

Last update: 11-26-2008 20:41

Published in : News, Local

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