Charges against Black Lives Matter leader dropped
Los Angeles officials agreed yesterday to drop all criminal charges against one of the city’s most visible Black Lives Matter organisers as part of a negotiated arrangement, after hundreds of activists filed petitions, filled courtrooms and led rallies in recent weeks accusing prosecutors and police of using the charges to silence a critical voice.
Melina Abdullah, a California State University professor who often speaks out against Los Angeles Police Department policies, was facing charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, as well as multiple counts of disturbing a public meeting and unlawful assembly in connection with incidents that took place during the often-contentious gatherings of the city’s civilian Police Commission in 2017 and 2018.
But yesterday morning, Abdullah’s attorney, Carl E. Douglas, announced a deal in court that could result in the dismissal of all charges by August and alter some rules governing Police Commission meetings. Under the terms of the agreement, he said, LAPD officers must now give verbal warnings to people accused of disrupting commission meetings, and then escort them out of the meeting if they continue to violate those rules.
Arrests will only be made if a person continues to refuse a police officer’s orders outside of the meeting, Douglas said. He said the rules were comparable to those enforced at Los Angeles City Council meetings.
‘‘We have changed the culture in Los Angeles as it deals with protest,’’ he said. ‘‘No longer will black protest be criminalised. Because the rules that have now been set in place are very important for anyone who may want to protest at the Police Commission.’’ Spokespersons for the city attorney’s office and the LAPD did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deal, and a copy of the agreement was not immediately available to review. Police Commission President Steve Soboroff, a frequent target of Abdullah’s barbs, did not respond to a call seeking comment.
Abdullah was originally arrested during a May 2018 commission meeting that ended when Sheila Hines-Brim – whose niece, Wakeisha Wilson, died while in LAPD custody in 2016 – threw a powdery substance at then-Police Chief Charlie Beck. Some activists had claimed Hines-Brim threw her niece’s ashes at Beck.
Police accused Abdullah of assault after she allegedly grabbed an officer’s arm during the commotion. But when the Los Angeles city attorney’s office filed charges against Abdullah last August, prosecutors also accused her of four counts of unlawful assembly, one count of disturbing a public meeting and one count of interfering with a public meeting in connection with alleged misconduct that took place at commission meetings in July and August of 2017, records show.
In court filings, prosecutors said they began conducting a review of ‘‘all disruptions occurring at the Police Commission meetings,’’ which led to the additional charges against Abdullah.
Josh Rubenstein, the LAPD’s chief spokesman, said the department only presented a case to the city attorney’s office regarding the alleged assault at the May 2018 meeting.
Abdullah and others have accused the city of bringing charges for the sole purpose of quashing her activism.
‘‘The conduct of the City Attorneys’ office and LAPD – particularly the timing – allows the strong inference that this prosecution is in retaliation for Dr Abdullah’s other political activity and is improperly motivated,’’ Douglas, wrote in a recent court filing. ‘‘These charges seek to criminalise black protests and attempts to silence a loud, often angry, voice.’’
Both the city attorney’s office and the LAPD denied that Abdullah was targeted for political reasons. –