Antonieta Garcia recalled how excited she and her daughters felt after the Dodgers’ World Series win in October, prompting them to leave their home to celebrate with others on Whittier Boulevard.
“We love baseball. We went out there to celebrate peacefully, in a healthy way,” said Garcia, an East L.A. resident.
Instead, Garcia said, they found Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies using tear gas. She and her daughters wound up running back home, Garcia said, adding that she also took her daughter to the hospital for her chronic lung disorder.
“Is this the way we’re supposed to live in our community? I don’t think so,” Garcia said. “There is no reason for them to be throwing tear gas like if we’re criminals.”
Garcia shared this story Thursday night at a town hall — held by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission — to hear concerns about the department’s response to East L.A. celebrations during the playoffs and World Series. Some 120 people attended the meeting, including about 40 who tuned in online.
The nearly three-hour meeting was held at the East Los Angeles Service Center. It included a panel discussion featuring Carlos Montes of the social justice organization Centro CSO, along with members of the oversight commission including Sharmaine Moseley, who serves as the executive director, and co-vice chairs Hans Johnson and Luis Garcia.
Moseley said several residents have made claims that L.A. Sheriff’s deputies used tear gas and incendiary devices during the celebrations on Oct. 20, when the Dodgers secured a place in the World Series, and on Oct. 30, when the Dodgers won the championship. There were also reports that those celebrating in the crowd included minors and elderly persons, Moseley added.
In response to the Oct. 20 celebrations, the Sheriff’s Department issued a statement, noting that multiple dispersal orders were issued after vehicles filled Whittier Boulevard and drove erratically by “doing burnouts and doughnuts while surrounded by pedestrians.”
The Sheriff’s Department said attendees threw rocks, frozen water bottles and fireworks at deputies and at California Highway Patrol officers as they sought to disperse the crowd.
Members of Centro CSO say the dispersal order failed to give clear instructions on where people should exit. Because of this, attendees did not have ample time to disperse before deputies began shooting tear gas into the crowds, according to Centro CSO.
At the meeting, Gabriel Quiroz of Centro CSO recalled a “large cloud of smoke” that erupted at his feet on Olympic and Atlantic boulevards. “I knew it was tear gas because I immediately felt the effects in my eyes watering and my throat became irritated. I started to cough uncontrollably,” he said.
Quiroz also said that deputies were seen wearing pins with the Fort Apache logo, a symbol of a riot helmet atop a boot that — as LAist reported — was born out of violent clashes between East L.A. deputies and anti-Vietnam War protesters during the 1970 Chicano Moratorium.
During the meeting, Johnson, one of the commission’s co-vice chairs, said that a policy to ban the Fort Apache logo was in the middle of negotiations between the Sheriff’s Department and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.
In 2016, former L.A. Sheriff Jim McDonnell banned the logo — used by the department’s East L.A. station — because he felt it was disrespectful to the community. Three years later, it was reinstated by former L.A. Sheriff Alex Villanueva and was once again displayed at the station, according to LAist.
Montes, a leader in the 1968 Chicano Student Blowouts, said the logo has been interpreted by many in the community “as the Sheriff’s department seeing themselves as an occupying force.”
“We see it as a symbol of oppression,” Montes said, adding that many find it “offensive, racist, and culturally insensitive.” One attendee likened the logo to a swastika.
East L.A. resident Kenneth Ramirez spoke during the meeting and presented the commission a 2019 article about the controversy surrounding the use of the Fort Apache logo.
“We’re here six years later about the same thing. Are we going to be here in another five, six years, talking about the same thing? My guess is we will,” Ramirez said.
“Is it just oversight in terms of looking at issues or are you trying to solve problems?” he asked the commissioners.
Mike Romero, who lives in East L.A., credited Sheriff’s deputies for blocking the street and controlling the crowd during the Dodger celebrations. He was against the use of tear gas and the image of the Fort Apache symbol at the East L.A. station.
“That building is owned by the people,” he said. “We don’t want [any] logos. No more of that. If you’re going to put your logo, you come and talk to the community that you serve first to get our approval.”
Romero also called on residents to do better.
“Yes, we’re known here in East L.A. to celebrate,” he said. “There was a lot of graffiti. There was a lot of destroying property. … Let’s hold ourselves accountable, too.”
East L.A. resident Kristie Hernandez agreed.
“I’m a lifelong Dodger fan, but I also recognize people need to be responsible,” Hernandez said. “Local residents did ask law enforcement to be proactive and maintain safety on Whittier Boulevard by closing those streets.”
“As an unincorporated community, we have no city council or mayor, and as a result, it’s unfortunate that we have to bring this concern to a committee of individuals who do not live in our community,” she added.
Erika Prado, who works with a mental health diversion program, said she’s had to learn how to “de-escalate situations” in her field of work. She often needs to be the “bigger person,” Prado said.
The same should be expected from law enforcement, she said.
“Everybody here at their jobs, we have to be held accountable. We have to be professional. Why can’t we expect that from the cops?” Prado said.
“They go through so many trainings. Why can’t they humanize us?” Prado said.
Moseley, the commission’s executive director, said they will take the community’s feedback to their ad hoc committee, which will decide how to move forward.
“This could entail looking at best practices from other law enforcement agencies, as well as examining LASD’s policies, practices, and procedures,” Moseley said.
“Please know that we hear you. We hear frustration. We hear your experiences,” Moseley said.
