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This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

KPCC Archive

LAPD investigating officers caught on camera using baton on protesters

Screenshot from the video that Patti Beers posted that shows an officer using a baton at a recent protest.
Screenshot from the video Patti Beers posted that shows an LAPD officer using a baton at a recent protest.
(
Courtesy of NBCLA.com
)

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The Los Angeles Police Department said it has begun an internal investigation after a woman complained about how an officer used a baton at a recent protest.  

Demonstrators were marching last week near 65th and Broadway in South L.A. over a grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer in the death of Michael Brown in Missouri. Patti Beers spoke Tuesday during the L.A. Police Commission meeting.

"One of the cops took a billy club and swung it like a baseball bat," Beers said, "and it came within two feet of my head. This was done three times in a row."

In the video that Beers posted, it shows demonstrators marching with motorcycle officers riding alongside them.  At one point, officers take someone to the ground. When protesters try to approach, another officer starts swinging his baton toward the protesters.  It doesn't appear to hit anyone.  

The LAPD said it has reviewed the video and is looking into what happened.​

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