Virus doesn’t stop Lakers fans from celebrating
We just couldn’t let this stuff go …
At least 76 people were arrested in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday night following the Lakers’ NBA championship win, marking the latest confrontation between LAPD officers and a large street crowd in a year already marked by mass protests, according to the L.A. Times.
The Los Angeles Police Department said the arrests included suspicion of vandalism, unlawful assembly and failure to disperse after a crowd of more than 2,000 converged near Staples Center following the team’s 106-93 win against the Miami Heat in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., its 17th NBA championship title.
Chants of “Kobe, Kobe” were heard as fans paid tribute to Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in January. But the celebratory mood quickly soured as the scene devolved into another roving standoff between police in riot gear and throngs of people on the street — some without masks despite the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Again, social media lit up with videos of police on skirmish lines driving crowds of people along L.A. streets, at times by firing hard foam projectiles at them. Footage captured flash-bang firecrackers and bottles being lobbed through the air in the direction of police. There was an MTA bus taken over and people doing burnouts in the street, sending rubber flying.
Instead of protesters demanding justice and denouncing police brutality, as was seen during huge demonstrations this summer, it was sports fans in happy — and in some instances drunken and destructive — revelry, sour at police for halting their fun and angry at the force being used to do it.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore took to Twitter to urge fans to “celebrate responsibly,” but reports of vandalism and firecrackers began pouring in as the night wore on, including the Metro bus that was briefly set ablaze and a Starbucks that was ransacked near 9th and Flower streets.
Fans said the celebration turned violent when police responded by firing hard foam and plastic projectiles at throngs of people after bottles and other items were thrown by the crowd.
The LAPD confirmed that three people were injured by “less lethal munitions” and were taken to area hospitals. Eight officers were also injured and received medical treatment, and more than 30 buildings and establishments were damaged, the department said.