LAPD’s
Occupy Success
Protesters’ legal adviser says department brought ‘A game’ to decampment
Hours before Los Angeles police officers dismantled
the Occupy LA encampment, Deputy Chief Jose Perez
reminded more than a dozen lieutenants and sergeants what
was at stake.
Praise was heaped upon LAPD for its approach. A civil
rights attorney said the agency “was not your grandfather’s
LAPD.” A legal observer who advised protesters told the
Times the LAPD “had their A game on.”
“I emphasized the whole world would be watching,’’ said
Perez, who was flanked by other incident management team
members. “It was about discipline, discipline, discipline. We
had to be patient. We did not want to be the initiators of
force. We were dealing with mainly non-violent protesters.”
The LAPD set up a command post in City Hall soon after
protesters moved to the lawn nearly two months earlier.
Lieutenants and sergeants were stationed at the command
post, and would regularly walk the area and talk to
protesters. Perez also took part in those daily meetings.
The 28-year LAPD veteran and former Marine was the
commanding officer in an operation that has earned
international praise for restraint, open communications and
innovative tactics.
“We wanted to maintain consistency in our interaction with
them,’’ Perez said. “The department has a good working
relationship with labor, immigrant rights organizations and
the National Lawyer’s Guild. Those relationships helped us
have open dialogue with the Occupiers.”
Protesters had set up more than 400 tents and had been
camping on the lawn outside City Hall for more than 2 ½
months. The camp was across the street from both LAPD
headquarters and the Los Angeles Times. The protesters
and their negotiations with city and police officials were
regularly featured in the Times, as well as on local broadcast
and radio news.
Just before midnight on the evening of Nov. 29,