LA mayor wants probe of protest clash

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The mayor of Los Angeles demanded on Wednesday an investigation into a clash between police and pro-immigration protesters a day earlier, saying he was "deeply concerned" by televised images of the incident.

Police Chief William Bratton has pledged an internal probe into the actions of officers who used batons and rubber bullets to clear the city's MacArthur Park of protesters, apparently after a small group of people began pelting them with rocks.

Local TV news stations aired video footage in which a line of police in riot gear are seen shoving mostly Latino demonstrators from the park, where they took part in a day of nationwide protests on the immigration issue. The police swung batons and fired rubber bullets as people fell to the ground before them.

Several journalists were caught in the fray, and the local Radio and Television News Association demanded an investigation, saying reporters were pushed or clubbed with batons and their equipment damaged.

"I have reviewed extensive video of the incident and, like every Angeleno, I am obviously and deeply concerned," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is traveling in El Salvador, said in a statement.

"I have asked Chief Bratton to oversee a complete and comprehensive review of this incident," he said. "While we won't make any rush to judgment, we can't be afraid to make tough judgments about this or any incident."

Bratton told local radio he was "disturbed" by television images of the confrontation and that "Some of the officers' actions ... were inappropriate in terms of batons and possible use of non-lethal rounds fired."

Bratton later said at a news conference he had launched an internal investigation into the use of force by police in the park, where he said nine people were arrested. He promised "an aggressive and exhaustive review of the facts."

John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, said he, too, was "deeply disturbed and very disappointed" by the TV images, and vowed that police officers and commanders who violated city policy "will be held accountable."

The American Civil Liberties Union questioned whether police followed procedures agreed under a 2001 settlement of a lawsuit brought against the city on behalf of journalists attacked by police during their coverage of protests outside the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

Los Angeles police have struggled for years to overcome a black eye from the videotaped beating by four of its officers -- three white and one Hispanic -- of black motorist Rodney King. The city erupted into some of the worst urban riots in modern U.S. history after the officers were acquitted in 1992.

Some 25,000 people marched through the streets of Los Angeles on Tuesday as part of nationwide protests intended to demonstrate the political might of Latinos and help win amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The rallies come as legislators seek to write a bill to provide tougher border control and workplace enforcement while addressing the status of illegal immigrants.