Mayor Karen Bass announced it will take effect on a square mile in downtown Los Angeles after four nights of sporadic and chaotic protests that LAPD arrested more than 150 people.
The curfew will be extended from 8pm to 6am. This applies to downtown areas, from 5 highways to 110 highways to 110 highways to where the 110 highways and 5 highways merge.
The mayor made the announcement Tuesday evening. Earlier in the day she had suggested that she consider a curfew if violence erupted again. She said curfews are not necessary citywide as protests are concentrated primarily in the downtown area.
“I wanted to declare a local emergency and let the city know that downtown Los Angeles has issued a curfew to stop vandalism and stop looting,” Bass said at an evening press conference.
The bus said they expected curfew to last for several days. The decision on when to end it will be made in consultation with law enforcement agencies and elected leaders, she said.
The curfew does not apply to individuals living in designated areas, homeless people, or those experiencing qualified media or public safety and paramedics, said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
The curfew comes as a nightly increase in arrests have risen since protests began in response to Trump’s crackdown on immigration in Southern California.
No one was arrested by Los Angeles police on Friday night, but 27 people were arrested Saturday, 40 people were arrested Sunday and 114 people were arrested Monday, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
Los Angeles Base and other elected officials repeatedly asked protesters to remain non-violent and refrain from spray painting graffiti and other riot or theft businesses. But every morning, new, often explicit graffiti adorns the buildings downtown.
The protests rose again on Tuesday afternoon, with people spilling downtown’s 101 highway, temporarily blocking traffic in both directions on busy roads. People squeezed holes in the fence that were blocking highway on ramps near Commercial Street.
The crowd met a line of CHP officers who use the baton to push the baton back. Some protesters robed a bottle of water. At least one protester has been detained by the CHP.
Protesters previously closed the 101 highway for several hours on Sunday, but during that time, CHP made 19 arrests, according to agency spokesman officer Alec Pereyda.
By 4:30pm on Tuesday, highway traffic seemed to be moving freely in the northbound lanes and slowly in the southbound lanes.
Source link