Video shows looters after Lakers win
Los Angeles police released security video today that captures unruly celebrants of the Lakers NBA finals victory helping themselves to merchandise at a Shell gas station convenience store blocks from the Staples Center.
The footage, shot June 14 by a security camera at the rear of the store in the 600 block of West Olympic Boulevard, shows a group of about two dozen men swarming the store and helping themselves primarily to juice, soda and energy drinks in a large cooler.
The mob shouted, “Free soda, free soda” as they grabbed merchandise in a two-minute rush in which they also smashed bottles on the floor, trampled bananas, knocked over display racks and broke a window. A YouTube video shows dozens of people assembled outside the gas station.
The owner of the gas station reported $1,200 in damage and $5,200 in lost property, said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon. The department made nearly two dozen arrests and about the same number of crime reports for vandalism and burglaries.
The LAPD strategy, which drew praise and criticism (including from the LAPD officer who goes by the pseudonym Jack Dunphy), was to push larger crowds into marginal areas and chase smaller groups until they dispersed. Total damage from that night has been estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars, but LAPD officials said it was far less than the 2000 Laker victory celebration beset by violence and looting that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Investigators released the video today, hoping people would recognize looters and report them to authorities. Beyond security video, Vernon said the LAPD is reviewing images posted on various social media sites, including YouTube and Flickr.
"We've already had some success in that people have called to report that they recognized employees and other acquaintances in the newspapers and on the Internet," Vernon said. "We're hoping the public will come forward to identify even more of these people and send a very clear message that hooligans will not be able to hide among the mob."
In addition to the Shell station, the LAPD reported that eight police cars were damaged. Investigators said police also took reports of stolen property from a 7-Eleven convenience store and the Holy Grail vintage sneaker store, in addition to a management company that reported stolen checks.
Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD Central Area detectives at (213) 972-1231 or the 24-hour toll-free number at (877) LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). They also can text CRIMES (274637), beginning the message with the letters LAPD. Information also may be submitted on the LAPD website www.lapdonline.org. All tips can remain anonymous.
--Andrew Blankstein
I loved Asst. Chief Earl Paysinger's quote: "It could've been worse."
Can't wait to see that replacing "To Protect & To Serve" on the doors of patrol cars.
I wonder if Paysinger will have the guts to go talk to Mr. Torres, whose business was destroyed, and tell him that. "Well Mr. Torres, it coulda been worse. Instead of your life savings being wiped out, our cops might have been on TV arresting people or (horrors!) using force. We can't have that now, can we! What would the ACLU say!"
Posted by: Robert C. J. Parry | June 23, 2009 at 02:47 PM
I hope they catch every one of those losers!
Posted by: LongonefromLA | June 23, 2009 at 03:02 PM
Do you remember those dye packets on clothes in department stores? Why can't someone invent a dye that could be sprayed on the bodies of thugs such as these, that could only be removed by a certain chemical that the police would have control of? If someone committed a crime and tried to go to work or in public they would have dye on them. Since the police were left defenseless (by my impression of the video) once the perpetrators are gone we now need to rely on this technique of friends turning friends in, co-workers etc. and how many of them are reading the paper or watching videos? I think this could be effective, as well as again, allowing the police to do their job.
Posted by: trae | June 23, 2009 at 03:05 PM
Yeah this is what i would expect from some Laker fans. These punks have no reguard for anyones property. As a black man myself i try and tell the black youth that thier actions keep the sterotype alive and well. I guess we will have to keep the black eye "pardon the pun" a little longer.
Posted by: troy | June 23, 2009 at 03:21 PM
How is that related to a basketball season win?
Posted by: Jim | June 23, 2009 at 03:43 PM
those aren't "real" Laker fans, just drunk idiots who don't represent the Laker nation at all. Only in Downtown and East LA, Compton etc does this happen.
Posted by: M.R. Webb | June 23, 2009 at 04:30 PM
Umm...wondered if the person who said that there were dye packets on clothes, got it confused on pack of bills that they have in banks. Never heard of it!!
Posted by: Evangeline | June 23, 2009 at 04:35 PM
How about Mayor Villar puts up a $1000 reward to turn in each of these guys, and then we have a public CANING session for each of them in the Coliseum, after which they can do a year in Joe Arpaio's jail.
And where was LAPD?
Oh, that's right. They only protect the big business interests.
And after all, Bratton insists crime is down.
Posted by: Laker Fan | June 23, 2009 at 06:21 PM
Not saying anything but you don't happen to see any white guys in there
Posted by: jeff Bates | June 23, 2009 at 06:56 PM
The Lakers should have to foot the bill for their "fans" actions!
Posted by: Tab Cocovillea | June 23, 2009 at 08:40 PM
I would hope the gas station owner has more than $6400 in life savings. The sneaker guy on the other hand...
But yeah, this certainly could have been a lot worse. Given the uproar, that was surprisingly tame. Still sucks, but probably no need to crack skulls over. The sneaker guy on the other hand...
Posted by: Jon | June 23, 2009 at 09:07 PM
No matter what the LAPD does, someone is going to find fault with them. I cant blame them as much as I blame our broke-back elected officials, that are so afraid of the ACLU and other special interest groups, that they handcuff law enforcement. But I know LAPD unregulated can become a gang in itself, and two wrongs will never make a right.
We need a Darryl Gates heart, with a Bill Bratton swagger, to take back the streets of Los Angeles....
Posted by: Mario | June 23, 2009 at 11:27 PM
The reality is the police can only do anything after the crime happens its not the cops fault its the peoples.... It just goes to show what type of people Laker fans are...
"
How is that related to a basketball season win?
Posted by: Jim | June 23, 2009 at 03:43 PM"
Well this is the finals which is post season and Laker fans are notorious for these actions...
"those aren't "real" Laker fans, just drunk idiots who don't represent the Laker nation at all. Only in Downtown and East LA, Compton etc does this happen. "
Posted by: M.R. Webb | June 23, 2009 at 04:30 PM
Last time I checked anyone who went to a Laker game wearing a Laker jersey is a Laker fan and anyone who wears a particular "Laker" sports memorabilia is a member of the fan base known as "Laker nation".
Just goes to show you how much trash is in L.A that still needs cleaning out.
Posted by: Reality sucks | June 24, 2009 at 09:56 AM
Unfortunately, when chaos, unruliness, and a vagrant disregard for the property and possessions for others is mediated by slip shot leadership, maybe a lesson from history would go a long ways towards bringing back accountability for our actions.
As aftershocks jarred and fires spread on the morning of April 18, 1906, an increasingly unnerved population started to panic. Hundreds massed at the Ferry Building in an attempt to escape the city. The tense disarray and lack of order stirred the growing crowds. In anticipation of the looting, violence, and disorder that would come, Brigadier General Frederick Funston, acting commander of the of the Pacific Division, immediately ordered Presidio troops into San Francisco. With this military presence came a bold proclamation from Mayor Eugene Schmitz:
"The Federal Troops, the members of the Regular Police Force and all Special Police Officers have been authorized by me to KILL any and all persons found engaged in Looting or in the Commission of Any Other Crime."
http://www.nps.gov/prsf/historyculture/1906-earthquake-law-enforcement.htm
Posted by: Sheldon Mann | June 24, 2009 at 10:06 AM
As blacks, they cannot be held responsible. America is finished. Welcome to Zimbabwe.
Posted by: jch | June 24, 2009 at 10:11 AM
And Obama wants to legalize the illegals who are mostly from Mexico. Guess whose sons most of those looters were? From illegal aliens who hatched these little monsters 15 to 20 years ago, courtesy of the California tax payers who have been footing the bill for these anchor babies.
Most all those unruly participants of those riots were sons and daughters of illegal aliens from Mexico and central America, specifically Guatemala and El Salvador -- third world rejects at that.
And your president Sr. Obama wants to legalize their parents and their illegal alien siblings.
Posted by: michael romeo | June 24, 2009 at 11:53 PM
I love LA. Such a nice place to raise a family. I can't wait to move back & get lots of "freebees" every time the teams win.
When the Hell are we going to get an NFL team so I can rob & steal after a Super Bowl win too?
Posted by: jwzalesky | June 25, 2009 at 07:42 PM
It was so nice to see blacks and mexicans cooperating and working together towards a common goal, just maybe this crazy diversity experiment will work out after all!
Posted by: billybob | July 16, 2009 at 05:54 PM
What's the problem? This video shows plenty of diversity, and we all know diversity is trump -- there's nothing better than that.
Posted by: eh | July 17, 2009 at 01:30 AM