Celebration marred by bonfires, vandalism
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- An outbreak of violence after the Los Angeles
Lakers' championship victory had city officials on the defensive
Tuesday, with storekeepers questioning the ability of the police to
deal with any unrest at the Democratic National Convention this
summer.
|  | | A TV news van is trashed Monday night by violent revelers outside the Staples Center. |
Two police cars were set on fire Monday night, two TV news vans
were damaged or destroyed, and nearly two dozen auto and garbage
fires were reported. Looters invaded a computer store, glass
storefronts were shattered and at least 74 vehicles at seven car
dealerships were damaged.
Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd outside the
Staples Center, where the Democratic convention will be held.
Eleven people were arrested, and four police officers suffered
minor injuries during the rock- and bottle-throwing melee.
Lakers spokesman John Black announced Tuesday evening that the
Lakers organization and center Shaquille O'Neal each will buy a new
police car for the department. Costs were not available from police
officials after hours.
Mayor Richard Riordan gave assurances Tuesday that the streets
will be safe when the Democrats come to town Aug. 14-17, and blamed
the outburst on "a few hundred hoodlums" out of 30,000 people in
and around the Staples Center.
"These are not fans. They are losers who only know how to trash
our city," the mayor said.
White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said: "We need to
learn the lessons of last night also so that we will have an
outstanding and safe Democratic National Convention in August."
The violence erupted among an estimated 10,000 people who had
watched the Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers 116-111 on a jumbo
screen outside Staples Center.
Hours before, business operators had met with police and
convention organizers to discuss security and traffic preparations
for the convention. They were also assured they had nothing to fear
from Lakers euphoria.
"Where were the police?" asked Stephen E. Auth, president of
Kaiser Bros. Oldsmobile, which was damaged by the rampaging crowd.
"I'm disappointed."
Mike Rice, manager of Prestige Products auto accessories, where
windows where shattered, said: "My concern is the lack of
forethought by police."
Payman Moradian, owner of Alarms Depot, said his store was
looted of at least $5,000 in merchandise. He said police should
have been more aggressive. "If they would have started with
stronger force and higher presence, the crowd wouldn't have gotten
out of hand," Moradian said.
County supervisors on Tuesday offered a $5,000 reward for
conviction of those who incited violence, saying Patriotic Hall was
damaged.
"What began as a tremendous victory on the basketball court
became a black eye for Los Angeles County as the result of
senseless, irresponsible behavior," said supervisor Mike
Antonovich, who made the motion for the reward.
City officials have been preparing for more than a year for the
convention, which is expected to draw about 30,000 demonstrators.
"Last night was essentially a spontaneous event. The DNC will
be a very disciplined, well-planned, business-type event," the
mayor said. "The controlled areas around the Staples Center will
be much larger than last night, and anybody that wants to get into
the controlled areas will have to have credentials."
Riordan asked for a full report on police tactics used during
the disturbance, but praised the department for its restraint.
At the peak of the melee, Police Chief Bernard Parks said, 600
police officers were on hand. He called it a measured response.
"I think from looking at the size of the crowd and looking at
the emotion of the crowd, we certainly feel as though the end
result was the best that we could do in those circumstances," the
chief said.
The disturbance, coming after the Lakers' first NBA championship
in 12 years, had many people shaking their heads. TV images of
looting and burning in the nation's second-largest city were shown
worldwide, the camera view again sullying the reputation of Los
Angeles eight years after the Rodney King riots.
City Council member Rudy Svorinich sternly told Parks he was
concerned about what the nation and world had seen.
"I'm finding it a little hard to swallow this morning and a
little incredulous that ... mayhem for approximately three hours on
the streets of Los Angeles after the Laker victory can be declared
a victory in crowd control," Svorinich said.
Staples Center president Tim Leiweke dismissed the suggestion
that showing the game to the crowd on the giant outdoor TV was a
bad idea, and he said the troublemakers were not simply
intoxicated.
"These kids came down here for a reason," he said. "They were
going to cause havoc."
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