Lakers celebration turns ugly as police, motorists come under attack

The Los Angeles Lakers victory in the NBA championships ended on a sour note as Los Angeles Police Department officers clashed with rowdy fans.

The LAPD brought large numbers of officers into the Staples Center area hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's looting and violence. But fans went on a rampage in some parts of downtown L.A., throwing rocks, shattering windows, rocking cars and setting fire to at least one vehicle and several other objects.

At Figueroa Street and Venice Boulevard, police fired less-than-lethal rounds at fans after they overturned a city parking enforcement vehicle and set fire to orange fire cones. On the LAPD's tactical frequency, officers at the intersection were heard requesting permission to fire  projectiles at a group of men throwing chunks of concrete at them. The permission was granted.

Among other incidents:

--The YMCA at 11th and Olive was attacked by crowds who smashed windows and tagged walls with graffiti.

--Crowds rocked and jumped on cars around Figueroa Street and nearby roads.

--A KCAL-TV Channel 9 news van was attacked by a crowd, which smashed its windows.

--Groups were seen in several downtown locations knocking down news racks, throwing bottles at officers, setting off firecrackers and defacing signs.

The LAPD was making numerous arrests, but the exact number was not immediately available.

Police were able to clear the areas around Staples Center and the L.A. Live shopping complex. But the crowds moved into surrounding neighborhoods, causing problems. Some fans ran onto the freeway.

Police Chief Charlie Beck expressed general satisfaction with the way the massive police force was handling the challenge of dispersing 20,000 people and tamping down several violent groups.

"Obviously, some people didn't heed our admonishments to celebrate safely, but unlike last year this has never gotten out of control. This has been a controlled exercise in crowd control. Unfortunately, we've had to manage some people more than we would have wanted."

--Robert Faturechi, Kate Linthicum, Andrew Blankstein, Ruben Vives, Abby Sewell, Sam Allen, and Hector Becerra.

Comments

[Gary]

I personally like to celebrate and if you L.A. residents cant take some riots during celebration then that to me is not really celebration. Go to Europe and see how they really celebrate after a soccer match. This is nothing and everybody in L.A. cries after this. Come on people if you cant take some violence after celebration then you are not a true fan!!! Go home and watch the game in your own 4 walls and stopp bit$ching over everything. If you can't take poeple celebrating after a championship the stay HOME and shutup!

[Cole]

Okay 'mikewizowski', you sound ignorant. The Lakers themselves were not physically out there during the riots. They have no hand in what fans decide to do. For you to say that you no longer like the Lakers because of the riots is stupid. They are a very talented basketball team that has no control over how other individuals act. Congrats Lakers!!!

[Liz]

Fans must be proud..nice way to celebrate victory by destroying there city!! I guess that is the reason we don't have a football team..bunch of ghetto people

[Dave]

I am always impressed by the level intelligence that is required to be a sports fan.

A lot of rudeness, grunting, spilling of beer and fights, must have fights.

Now America needs to behave like soccer fans and destroy property.

"Change". "Don't you love it!"

[mirted]

Blaming the Lakers? The only people at fault are the cultural thugs and retards who perpetrate these crimes. You really think they are "celebrating"
the Laker's victory? They use it as an excuse to be destructive because LA
pols and residents create an environment where it is tolerated and penalties are mild.

Congrats to the Lakers! Not your fault if you play for a town with a large thug
population.

[Peter]

Let's see. If rolling a stop sign with no one around (except the motorcyle officer hiding behind a bush)will cost you a $500 ticket, what is the fine for smashing car windows, tagging walls, rocking and jumping on cars, defacing signs, and throwing bottles at officers? One might think that it would be quite a bit more than a routine traffic ticket, but there was no mention of any fines being meted out to the members of this violent and dangerous mob. How can the LAPD hand out financially devastating traffic tickets for relatively minor traffic offences, and not hand them out to people engaging in these acts of violence? I think law enforcement needs to get their priorities straight again.

[diana]

OK GO LAKERS OUR TEEM IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!

[mary]

GO LAKERS!! THANKS, COPS! Sorry about the few who ruined it for the rest of us hundreds of thousands who were joyful without the kill juice attitude.

[Katy]

It's great that the Lakers won but just deplorable how some of these low IQ morons react. I'm sure that most of the idiots involved weren't even at the Laker game, just waiting in the wings to see the outcome so they could start in on this juvenile behavior. Los Angeles already looks bad enough without adding flame to the fire. Just an excuse to see how many things they could rip off by looting-destroying property is part of their animal behavior. Maybe the Laker organization would consider playing in a different city--out of the state would be a good starter. Keeping the fun away from people who honestly want to be a part of this is just another reason why the downtown area has become off limits for NORMAL acting individuals.

[mike c]

THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO SEAL THE BORDERS.

[Rosario Simpson]

I am so disappointed in people that think it's okay to riot. It is never okay. It'was supposed to be a Lakers win celebration and I find it so disrespectful to riot. We all question how the city doesn't have any money and yet those that riot are a contributing factor. Congratulations to the Lakers and a grade "F" to the rioters.

[Pete]

Lakers fans are embarrassing to the rest of the country. How could you pull for a team within such a dysfunctional/psychotic city?

[redass]

this wouldnt happen in Arizona......

[chuck]

I like the lakers as a great basketball organization, But some of these idiot fans go to far with thier rioting after a champion ship winning game. My personal feelings are the police should be allowed to use deadly force in some of these situations to stop these thugs. Congrats to the Lakers.

[P]

This is for Larry White. Why in the world would you expect the Lakers' owners to pay the city of L.A. for the idiocy of the so called "fans"? These weren't Lakers' fans. It was just an excuse for them to scare, hit, set fire to anything within reach, graffitti, & plain destruction of other people's property. If they had done this on any other night, they would have been arrested ASAP; but the cowards decided to do it on the night the Lakers won thinking that their cowardly selves would be able to "hide" in the crowd. They were too stupid to even see the many news cameras & news heliocopters in the area recording them!! THESE are the idiots that should pay, not the Laker owners. Please, get a grip on reality!

[Nick]

Thugs of LA. Embarrassing for the rest of us who enjoy BB for the competition of sport.

[Giovanni Contaldo]

From lakers fans to Looters fans ! Great combo!

[Wallace_Cleaver]

Let me guess, a bunch of white Boston Celtic fans rioted. I would hate to think what would have happen if a white referee missed a call causing the lakers to lose the game, the city would still be burning. I think LA was one of the cities boycotting Arizona for being racist. Enjoy LA, we were only trying to protect our cities from this BS by enforcing our borders, Enjoy, LaRaza will be sending their lawyers after the LA police for use of excessive force and the broke city will settle out of court for millions, Enjoy LA.

[Simon Sezze]

Good job lakers;
As for the fans..... calm down!
It is basketball... a game.... just be happy they won and move on with your lives. Go home and toast a beer to the team. Why go out and endanger everyone and tear up LA? I know if the game was a loss I'm sure there would have been more of the same. Please kick back and be chill, enjoy the game and stop doing stupid stuff.

[Phil Osipher]

Really? All this from the city that brought us O.J. and the Rodney King fiasco? See any common denominators?

[Brenda E.]

This is ridiculous!!!!!

Because a stupid team won, people riot, are disruptive and attack others!!!!
I am 100% against all that!! Some people act like animals! Those are the ones that should be shot!

[krazeeinjun]

Hey ... I'm a liberal and I got no problems with the LAPD putting billy club wood upside the heads of hooligan gang banger cowards. Just fine by me.

[Marley]

Hey mikewizowski! The Lakers aren't rioting; not even their fans, the morons on the news are thugs and wannabe gang tuffs who want to make the night about them and not the Lakers' victory. You must not be a real fan anyway. Tell Sully I said hello.

[Andre]

Who are those (not all of them) primitive morons who go to those matches? Vandalizing properties, graffiti, running on a freeway after the match. Ridiculous. Put them up in jail or better spank hard their behinds like they do in Singapore. The laws in America are too lenient for those criminals. Putting them up in a resort type jails is not the answer. I lived for many years in Dubai. Why there is no crime there? Because they are tough on criminals. Dubai: no crime, no graffiti, no homeless, no soliciting for money. I loved it and I am American.
Andre

[Joe In Texas]

RUBBER BULLETS AND FIRE HOSES!