LAPD May Day Melee Costs City $12.85 million

The ramifications of the "May Day Melee" on May 1, 2007 when the LAPD nearly caused a riot by acting inappropriately at a peaceful immigrants rights march in Los Angeles continue, with the City of Los Angeles agreeing to a settlement of nine lawsuits at a total cost nearly $13 million.

Los Angeles Times reporters Maeve Reston and Joel Rubin posted the following to the LA Now blog:

The settlement is another blow to the city’s treasury related to LAPD misconduct in the midst of serious budgetary problems. The settlement of the May Day cases comes on the heels of the council’s approval last week of a $20.5-million payout to four current and former police officers who claimed they were falsely arrested and mistreated in the wake of the scandal involving the police department's Rampart Division.

The council still faces other legal troubles related to the May Day incident--there were 27 pending cases related to the demonstration before today’s settlement, according to officials with the city attorney. Only one case involving a broken camera had been settled.

Forty-two people, including nine journalists, were injured as a pro-immigration march wound down in MacArthur Park on May 1. LAPD officials said the scuffle was set off by a group of agitators who threw bottles and other objects at police. The department’s Metro Division used batons and fired rubber bullets to disperse what was a predominantly peaceful gathering.

Chief William J. Bratton said the fracas was an aberration for the department, but promised it would lead to changes in policy and training. He called the decision of his officers to use that level of force a “command and control breakdown.”

In response to the incident, Bratton announced that he was disciplining 11 officers and calling for the termination of four. In another step toward preventing a recurrence, Bratton set up a new bureau known as the Critical Incident Management Bureau that overseas major events and protests.

WTF? I want to hear more about the $20.5 million to the four LAPD officers who were falsely charged and mistreated. Why are they getting paid more than the other nine lawsuits by civilians that was settled for $13 million?