Police force faces scrutiny
Critics accuse officers of breaking one protester’s arm after a Ku Klux Klan rally turned violent.
Anaheim police off icers are accused of breaking a protester’s arm at a Ku Klux Klan rally.
Criticism of the Anaheim Police Department’s response to a Ku Klux Klan rally that erupted in violence over the weekend continued Monday as an attorney for three people who took part in protests against the group and were arrested alleged that officers broke the arm of one of his clients.
Thomas Kielty, who is representing the three protesters arrested near Pearson Park on Saturday, said Hugo Contreras suffered a broken arm as police took him into custody. Kielty said that his clients were trying to detain a klansman who had stabbed another protester and police mistook them for aggressors. They were arrested on suspicion of elder abuse.
Contreras, a 38- year- old Hawthorne resident, was arrested along with Mark Liddell, 26, of Los Angeles, and Nicole Rae Schop, a 24- yearold high school teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Kielty criticized the Police Department’s response to the violence, which broke out when a group of protesters swarmed a small group of KKK members outside the park.
There did not appear to be any uniformed officers in or around the park when the klansmen arrived, and a lengthy video of the brawl shot by a Cal State professor shows officers arriving several minutes after the Klan members were attacked.
“He’s treated like a filthy dirty criminal, and then [ the police] are very polite and civil to these KKK guys, who have stabbed three people. All Mr. Contreras did was try to help his friend,” Kielty said.
Kielty’s clients were among seven protesters arrested, according to Sgt. Daron Wyatt, a police spokesman. Three others were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and held on $ 25,000 bail. A juvenile was also arrested, police have said.
Five klansmen were also arrested. In a statement issued Sunday, police said four were released after a review of video taken at the scene.
Police are still searching for one person who can be see non video kicking William Quigg, the self- identified leader of the Klan sect, in the face.
Wyatt has said that the protesters incited the violence. “We had individuals who specifically came there to commit acts of violence, and there is nothing to do to stop that,” he said.
A f inal decision on whether to f ile charges will be made by Orange County prosecutors.
Wyatt declined to answer questions Monday about the police response, or whether the department could have done more to keep the protesters away from the KKK. He would not say whether the department had received a complaint about the injuries suffered by Contreras.
He said one protester who was arrested went to the hospital for booking clearance, but Wyatt said he did not know the person’s name or the nature of the injury. He said that the protester was arrested on suspicion of “stomping on the vic- tim, who was over 65 years old, and that he then ran from the police and had to be chased.”
The city’s police officers, he said, wear body cameras “so it should be pretty easy to determine what happened.”
More than 200 marchers on Monday evening arrived at Anaheim City Hall to loudly decry Saturday’s violence.
“I looked at the violent images and I thought, ‘ How could this be happening?’” said Michael Matsuda, superintendent of the Anaheim Union High School District. “I know right away this is not who we are. Young people need to be safe. Older people need to be safe. So we are here, joining hands.”
The noisy crowd included local politicians, grandmothers, gardeners and religious leaders. Organizers gathered supporters in a day and a half, inspiring at least 16 groups to show up at Pearson. From there, they headed to the steps of City Hall.
“We cannot let the actions of a few angry individuals stain the city or hurt the spirit of the people, “said Ken Inouye, a member of the Orange County Human Relations Commission. “You don’t cross the line to do what they’re doing. Power comes through peace.”
The crowd cheered when Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait thanked everyone for making “a loud statement” with their presence. Klan members, he said, have “a right to their views and beliefs, but that doesn’t mean they’re welcomed here.”