Massive settlement reached in “May Day melee”

Remember the excessive force used by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers after a peaceful immigrants’ rights march in May 2007?

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An LAPD report later concluded that “the failing leadership, breakdown in supervision and breakdown in personal discipline” led to the unnecessary show of force by officers.
Repercussions have still been felt nearly two years after the “May Day melee”:

Demonstrators who sued the city in the wake of a MacArthur Park May Day melee in which Los Angeles police fired about 12 dozen rubber bullets into the crowd will receive $12.85 million under a settlement approved Wednesday by the City Council…

Attorney Carol Sobel with the National Lawyers Guild said the $12.85 million payout is the largest single settlement in a demonstration case anywhere in the country.

Hopefully the settlement can heal some of the wounds that emerged between Los Angeles’ Latino community and the city’s police. (Obviously the settlement isn’t a cure-all but it’s a just decision after unjust actions by the police).

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, MSNBC