LAPD Officer Takes Skateboard to Noggin During May Day Protest

By Dennis Romero Wed., May 2 2012 at 10:58 AM

rhino neal

Updated at the bottom: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck wants to find this guy. Plus, see video of another cop getting bonked on the head. And, check out our May Day protest coverage, with photos. First posted at 6:08 a.m.

One skateboarder is accused of occupying a officer's riot helmet with his board during yesterday's May Day worker demonstrations downtown.

The female cop got hit so hard that it cracked her helmet and she was put in a hospital, LAPD Officer Karen Rayner told the Weekly.

All turned out okay, however:

Last night the cop was released from the hospital with an ice pack, Rayner said -- and, surely, a nice ringing sound in her head.

Rayner said it happened about 4:10 p.m. yesterday near Fourth and Hill streets downtown as crowds occupied intersections.

View Larger Map

The 1,000 or so demonstrators, some from the Occupy movement, prompted police to issue a citywide tactical alert and form skirmish lines. (Tactical alerts allow commanders to keep cops on the ground past their quitting time).

Some intersections were blocked by protesters, who dispersed last night but remained around Pershing Square into later hours.

The skater got away. The officer will be back, says Rayner:

I think she'll be off for a few days, but she'll be okay.

[Update at 10:58 a.m.]: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck tweeted this last night:

Help find this susp.Tweet me or send infoon Suspect to lapdonline.org:Ofcr assaulted w/skateboard latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/... via @lanow
— Chief Charlie Beck (@LAPDChiefBeck) May 2, 2012

Also, check out this video of another cop getting bonked on the head by a guy with a drum:

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

downtown, LAPD, May Day, Occupy, police, protest

We Recommend

la_weakly

The police will respond with excessive or greater force. This disrespect of authority will not stand.

leo mann

What is the gal that got bonked with the drum like 100 lbs? She shouldn't be out there and doofus with the snare drum belongs in the CYA. Not cool, dude.

Frerange

That's funny, according to this video [http://youtu.be/hcs_AKWwUCo] it was the protestor with the skateboard that was struck by an officer. I must admit that I am not a reporter nor someone train in gathering information but even I was able to find evidence that the protestor was assaulted by and officer, not the other way around.

Robert

I agree with the former posters. This idiot could have killed that female officer as hard as he hit her. The media would be all over this story if it was the other way around and the Officer hit a radical, face covered anarchist with a blunt object. These protesters aren't getting any support if you read all the media blogs. People are not happy they wasted valuable police resources and couldn't protest peacefully with a message

Georgiazeus

I agree with you that people are not happy because of one idiot skateboarder. I hope she recover soon and get back to work.

Disappointed Reader

I'm disappointed by the humorous tone of this article. Would the author would be so glib if the skateboarder assaulted someone who was not a police officer? Or if the skateboarder was the one being sent to the hospital by a police officer? Is it LA Weekly's message that violence against the police is not a serious matter? Even if the author/LA Weekly does not have empathy for a woman who puts her life on the line on a daily basis to protect us, perhaps there should be an acknowledgment of the larger repercussion of violence begetting more violence. (I.e., How should the police respond when one of their own is injured? How should they react in future confrontations to avoid being injured?)

Richard

I agree completely. I guarantee you that had it been one of the demonstrators that had been struck by a police officer, the headline would have been "Protester Assaulted During Police Riot". Much space would have been given for self righteous statements of outrage and condemnation by the ACLU and lawyers for the martyred protester. The tone of this article perfectly demonstrates the inherent left-wing bias of the media, who never met a criminal they didn't like more than police or other representatives of the "establishment".