Despite heavy LAPD presence, violence breaks out after Lakers' victory
Crowds hurl bottles and other objects at police, smash marquees, jump on vehicles, break windows and light a small fire along Figueroa Street. At least one person is beaten unconscious.
By Sam Allen and Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times

June 18, 2010

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Despite a massive Los Angeles police presence Thursday night, sporadic violence broke out near Staples Center after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Crowds hurled bottles and other objects at police, smashed marquees, jumped on vehicles, broke windows and lighted a small fire in the road along Figueroa Street north of Staples Center. Police fired non-lethal rounds to disperse the crowd at Figueroa and Venice Boulevard after several small fires were set, as well as at 11th and Hope streets. At 7th and Flower, a car believed to be a taxicab was engulfed in flames.

At least one person was beaten unconscious as fights broke out on Flower Street near Olympic Boulevard. A bicyclist was injured when struck by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department vehicle near 11th and Flower streets, according to the LAPD. In all, there were multiple injuries, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, but no loss of life.

The LAPD declared an unlawful assembly moments after the game ended.
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Hundreds of officers in patrol cars, on foot and on horseback moved in to clear streets and break up the crowds. At least nine people were arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public and inciting a riot, police said. Several dozen people rushed onto the 10 Freeway near Figueroa and Washington boulevards, disrupting traffic, the California Highway Patrol said.

At 8th and Figueroa, Lakers fans and a phalanx of more than two dozen police, wearing riot gear and wielding batons, faced off. The stand-off began when a bunch of fans tore down a traffic sign and then ripped out two newspaper stands and lighted the papers on fire. When the police marched up Figueroa, about two dozen abreast, the crowd slowly receded. Some people were throwing energy drinks, which had been passed out for free after the win. Others posed for photos in front of the line of police.

A group of overzealous fans began smashing the windows of a black Honda and trying to turn it over. Others protested the violence: "You isn't from L.A.! This is L.A. No burning!" one person in a Kobe Bryant jersey shouted.

In 2000, the LAPD was criticized after mayhem erupted following the Lakers' championship victory. Roaming mobs torched vehicles and looted and vandalized businesses near Staples Center with seeming impunity. At times, police stood back as young men — many in Lakers jerseys — threw trash cans and road-construction barricades through windows and set fire to vehicles, including two LAPD patrol cars.

The department fared better after last year's championship but still needed a few hours to gain control of rowdy fans. Top LAPD officials had vowed to do things differently this year and relied, in part, on a strategy of keeping large groups from roaming the area around Staples Center.

As the Lakers battled the Celtics in the first half, crowds began to form at the Nokia Theatre plaza across from Staples Center. Witnesses said the LAPD was quick to respond when the throng began to grow.

A black-and-white police cruiser drove through the middle of the plaza, splitting the crowd as officers on foot began to move people from the area, according to diners at nearby restaurants.

"It was controlled chaos. They blocked them and pinched them so everyone had to leave out the same side," said John Hall of Bakersfield, who watched the scene unfold from the ESPN Zone. "People were not happy, but LAPD did a nice job."

With the plaza area cleared, officers shut down Figueroa Street at Olympic Boulevard to pedestrian traffic. About 100 people gathered at the corner after they were stopped from heading south toward Staples Center.

Some of them crowded the window at La Bella Covina restaurant, trying to watch the game on a television inside. "Defense!" some shouted.

Police patrol cars lined Chick Hearn Plaza. Two trucks of police in riot gear and another group of officers on horseback lined up along Figueroa and Olympic as people assembled nearby.

Meanwhile, inspectors with the Los Angeles Fire Department were checking bars to ensure they had not exceeded maximum capacity. At Riordan's Tavern on Figueroa, waiters announced that fire inspectors had ordered the bar to be cleared.

A patron smashed a bottle at the front entrance, sending broken glass flying as he walked outside.

"Lets go to L.A. Live!" a woman shouted on her way out as people began to head south toward the game. But they never got there. They were stopped by LAPD officers on Olympic Boulevard.