Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAPD Chief Beck Heckled During Westlake Community Meeting
Beck during a Feb. 2010 meeting (Photo by NewsSpy via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck bore the brunt of a community's anger last night during a meeting held at a Westlake-area middle school, reports the LA Times.The meeting was set up for Wednesday night to discuss the weekend's fatal shooting of a day-laborer who was allegedly threatening people with a knife.
During the meeting, Beck "was heckled and booed by many in the crowd of about 300." Beck asked for calm and respect in order to facilitate a productive discussion, however shouts from the crowd calling the LAPD "killers" and "assassins" among other outbursts, forced Beck to "step away from the microphone."
Beck has voiced support of the victim, Manuel Jamines, but believes the community's anger towards the LAPD comes from an overall sense of frustration with the authorities' "aggressive stance against the neighborhood's ubiquitous illegal street vendors," and that they are using Jamines' death as a reason for upheaval. There were four more arrests last night of protesters who resorted to violence to express their anger.
The officer who shot Jamines remains off-duty as the LAPD work to determine if he acted accordingly, and Jamines' role in the incident.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
