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Press Release

LULAC Asks the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to Open a Formal Investigation into the LAPD Actions at May 1st March.

LULAC urges quick action from department.

May 3, 2007

Contact:
Lizette Jenness Olmos 202-833-6130 ext.16
 

Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens hopes the Department of Justice will act promptly into opening a formal investigation regarding the alleged assaults committed to family members, children and members of the media on Thursday, May 3rd. A letter was submitted yesterday to Wan Kim Assistant Attorney-General for Civil Rights. LULAC has been informed that DOJ is reviewing the complaints carefully and will make a decision as to what steps they will take if any.
“We trust the Department of Justice pursues this horrific crime and prosecutes those responsible to the full extent of the law,” said LULAC National President Rosa Rosales.
LULAC asks the Department to review the LAPD police officer’s hasty decision to fire at and beat down peaceful demonstrators on more than one occasion. While LAPD Police Chief William Bratton said that “certain elements of the crowd” might have provoked this incident by throwing rocks and bottles at them, it still does not excuse the police’s hasty reaction committed against the majority of people that had behaved appropriately.

This march was meant to be a peaceful demonstration, but instead led to inexcusable disorder and acts of violence by the LAPD.

“Shelling rubber bullets on the stomachs and backs at a peaceful crowd should not be tolerated. The LAPD should have known better, and should have acted with diligence and order,” Rosales concluded.

LULAC will be monitoring what Police Chief William Bratton is promising as an aggressive investigation into the actions of officers at Tuesday's immigration rally. At least 10 people, including seven journalists, were hurt.

Organizations such as Union Del Barrio and the Frente Contra las Redadas (Front Against the Raids), a coalition of over 40 Latino, Asian, White and African-American community and student organizations also denounced the brutality against defenseless families, media and children and have joined with LULAC on this issue. LULAC will continue to monitor this matter closely.

California LULAC State Director Angel Luevano will be meeting with Department of Justice officials in San Francisco at 1 p.m. Pacific time to launch a formal complaint.

For a view of unedited video footage showing police officers pushing, kicking and trampling innocent people as they tried to get away go to: http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/ or visit http://www.LULAC.org/nda.html.

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