“You’re scared of me, aren’t you?”
This was Jason Reedy’s response when I tried to intervene as he attempted to cover a public meeting of the Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday.
What was meant to be a transparent discussion took a chaotic turn, largely due to Reedy and a group of disruptors. Just as the commissioners were leaving, the atmosphere had shifted to utter disorder.
And once they were out, the mob turned their aggression toward me and the photographer.
What unfolded wasn’t transparent at all; it felt more like a threat.
Activists took control of a critical gathering aimed at addressing significant police concerns in Los Angeles, transforming it into a chaotic scene.
Before this disruption, Police Chief Jim McDonnell had concealed several major incidents from January 13th to January 27th, during which he updated crime stats, department staffing, and overall public safety details.
Additionally, the commissioners were supposed to hear an inspector general’s report and vote on ongoing issues like donations and department programs.
However, as public comments began, it quickly devolved into shouting matches, with desperate voices hurling insults at the police.
The environment grew louder and increasingly hostile.
One woman expressed her dismay at how the same activist group was dominating the space. She told the commissioners that she felt threatened and had been bullied at earlier meetings.
The tension escalated, and, eventually, the protesting crowd became uncontrollable, forcing the members to exit the room.
Fury was directed toward the California Post as well.
They invaded our space, obstructed our camera, and tried to physically restrain me from filming. Others shouted insults, denigrating our attempts at reporting.
One individual even laughed and claimed they were there to “protect journalists”.
We ultimately paused our recording to evaluate the situation and figure out a safe way to leave without adding to the conflict.
Reedy, a well-known Black Lives Matter activist, was the primary provocateur in this disruption.
Interestingly, many of those involved had previously attended a presentation at City Hall led by left-leaning Council member Eunice Hernandez.
We decided to leave after the committee adjourned, not out of intimidation, but because things had become threatening and our responsibility was to report responsibly.
We went there to document public accountability. And that’s what we did, regardless of the chaos.
And they’ll likely continue to show up.
