A former detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, who experienced the Rodney King Riots in 1992, stated that Mayor Karen Bass’s response to this week’s unrest was insufficient. He believes she acted too late to restore order in the city.
The situation escalated over the weekend, leading President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles. This move resulted in a backlash from California’s Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom. On Monday, the U.S. Northern Command revealed plans to send 700 Marines to the Greater Los Angeles area to safeguard federal properties and personnel.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell reported on Tuesday that police had detained 197 individuals. A significant number, 130 of these arrests, occurred in the vicinity of Commercial and Alameda, while 67 were made following protests that took over the 101 highway. During a protest in Downtown Los Angeles on Monday, LAPD arrested 96 people.
The charges against these individuals included assaulting police officers with deadly weapons, failure to disperse, looting, and arson. One arrest involved an individual accused of attempted murder using a Molotov cocktail.
As tensions rose, police used tear gas to clear protesters, and several businesses in the Los Angeles area suffered extensive looting.
Former LAPD detective Moses Castillo expressed to Fox News Digital that he believes Bass was delayed in her actions to reestablish order.
“She’s catching up now,” he stated, suggesting that if there had been a stronger early stance against crimes, the situation could have been different. Instead, he noted her late assertion that such criminal activities would no longer be accepted.
Castillo implied that both sides of the political spectrum were exploiting violent protests to make their point. He likened the situation to high school dynamics, advocating for a more direct approach to problem-solving through dialogue.
Reflecting on his past experiences with the LAPD during the 1992 riots, Castillo mentioned how history seems to be on repeat. He highlighted current frustrations surrounding immigration policies as a catalyst for this unrest and noted how social media amplifies these issues, leading to rapid dissemination of information and chaos.
“History repeats itself, and this time it involves a lot of violence directed at police officers,” he added, pointing to the use of Molotov cocktails as a sign of escalating tensions.
