LAPD opens emergency operations center
The Middle East may be a half a world away but events there -- and their impact here -- are being closely monitored by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Over the weekend, the LAPD opened its emergency operations center in the wake of Hamas rocket attacks against Israel and the Jewish state's bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip. The center will be staffed indefinitely on a round-the-clock basis, said LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger.
The center "acts as a clearinghouse," says Paysinger, collecting information about the latest news related to the conflict and the reactions in Los Angeles, including "spontaneous protests" such as the one that took place Friday outside the Israeli Consulate on Wilshire Boulevard.
The "Level 1" activation means the department will be in a state of readiness, passing information between command staff, the area stations, city officials and other law enforcement agencies. But the increased footing means police will have an increased focus on critical sites throughout the area, as well as the possibility of clashes resulting from demonstrations.
-- Andrew Blankstein
Photo: Protest at the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles. Credit: Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times
Having participated at two protests at the consulate last week, I think the police are overdoing it. Just because people are angry, it doesn't mean they're violent. The police should have backed up a few yards and let the security volunteers from the organizations just handle it. Their presence, in riot gear and on horseback, was much too confrontational. Of course, there's the whole racist side of this, in that the "Arabs" are seen as the dangerous ones. On the limited coverage by of the news channels last Friday night, there was a telling scene: an elderly Jewish man yelling "die! die!" to Palestinian passersby...
Posted by: Paul Hershfield | January 05, 2009 at 03:15 PM
The Hamas leaders would bomb women and children in LA if they had the chance!
Posted by: steve rodriguez | January 06, 2009 at 07:15 AM
happy to see these citizens suporting Islamic terrorism-were they also dancing in the streets when the towers were crumbling?
Posted by: noel hershfield | January 14, 2009 at 02:50 AM