Hollywood And Van Nuys Endure Looting; Strip Mall Set Ablaze

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles endured a third straight day of protests, looting and burning buildings Monday in the Woodland Hills, Van Nuys and Hollywood areas. But though the protests have shown no sign of slowing, there was less looting Monday and fewer buildings torched. Protesters could be heard begging the looters to stop and an LAPD officer was seen kneeling with demonstrators. It was a day that mixed glimmers of hope with scenes of rage and devastation.

Hundreds took to the streets in Westwood, Hollywood and Van Nuys to protest police brutality in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police. Once again, looters splintered off from the largely peaceful protests, looting at the Westfield Topanga & The Village in Woodland Hills and shops along Van Nuys Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard. For a third straight day, businesses were set ablaze and scores were arrested.

What started as peaceful protests in Van Nuys and Hollywood quickly turned unlawful Monday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Sporadic Looting was reported into the evening, and a looted strip mall in Van nuys was set ablaze amid reports of gunfire. A crowd of protesters were arrested after curfew outside the Los Angeles Country Club in Westwood Monday evening.

HOLLYWOOD PROTESTS

Thousands of people marched west along Hollywood Boulevard, chanting and carrying signs, including a lead banner with the words, “Say their names,” a reference to Floyd and the countless African-Americans killed by police. Other signs saying “Black Lives Matter,” “End White Silence,” “Your Silence is Violence” and “America Do Better.” The group marched in a circular pattern, eventually moving south to Sunset Boulevard and then back east.

Several people were arrested for unlawful assembly in Hollywood, and many of them waited in the 6100 block of Sunset Boulevard, near Gower Street, to be taken away by a sheriff’s department bus. Others were detained near Selma and Ivar avenues.

About 6 p.m., a band of looters stormed the Rite Aid at 6130 Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood’s Gower Gulch Plaza strip mall, and other businesses in the plaza had their windows shattered.

Shortly after 6 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department set up a skirmish line near Gregory and El Centro avenues in Hollywood, where three protest groups merged into one large one. Splinter groups fanned out using the crowd as cover to loot.

As of 7 p.m., protesters were attempting to stop looters from entering a Walgreens, at 1050 N. Highland Ave., near Santa Monica Boulevard, in Hollywood.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street at around Monday and headed east towards Sunset and Bronson, past businesses boarded up for fear of the damage seen in other parts of the city. At Bronson, many in the crowd paused and kneeled in any intersection, before heading north to Hollywood Boulevard. Many cars driving have honked in support, even when the protesters are blocking traffic.

Van Nuys Unrest

A protest in van Nuys similarly splintered with agitators began breaking into and looting several businesses along Van Nuys Boulevard south of Sylvan Street. The looting began near a gathering of peaceful protesters outside the Van Nuys Civic Center. A Boost Mobile store was looted at Van Nuys Boulevard & Gilmore Street along with a nearby pharmacy and dispensary. Police quickly chased the looters away, arresting two of the suspects. NBC4 showed one officer attempting to stop a looter fleeing pharmacy, swinging a baton at the looter, who managed to slip away. Police officers in Van Nuys appear to be taking a more aggressive approach to the looters than they did during the rioting over the weekend.

Near 8 p.m., a strip mall was on fire in the 15700 block of Vanowen Street, near the San Diego (405) Freeway, according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department. According to Prange, there had been a report of a shooting at the scene, but firefighters found no patients or suspects at the scene. The fire damaged at least three units prior to firefighters extinguishing the fire.

Earlier in the afternoon, hundreds marched from Van Nuys City Hall, chanting, “No Justice, No Peace.” The demonstrators met a community on edge. For hours, Sherman Oaks had been a trending topic on Twitter, with many debating the merits of looting in wealthy San Fernando Valley neighborhoods.

Some businesses in the area boarded up their shops, and car dealerships began moving their inventory for fear of looting and vandalism. Los Angeles Police officers were seen moving into the neighborhoods surrounding the ongoing protest Monday afternoon. Several people have reportedly been taken into custody, and the protesters appear to have somewhat dispersed.

Late Monday afternoon, police spotted a group of suspected looters in a dark-colored Dodge Charger, prompting a police pursuit that eventually fizzled as the driver navigated recklessly through Van Nuys streets. There would be more car chases for law enforcement that followed.

Elsewhere, protesters in Westwood demonstrated outside the federal building in the 11000 block of Wilshire Boulevard, prompting the closure of the eastbound Wilshire Boulevard off-ramp of the San Diego (405) Freeway shortly after 3 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

About 50 protesters took over the northbound side of the 405 Freeway at Wilshire Boulevard. An NBC4 broadcasts showed one car driving through the crowd narrowly missing demonstrators. The 405 was backed up to the 10 Freeway. As of 4:36, City News Service reported that the 405 was no longer blocked.

In downtown Los Angeles, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of Los Angeles City Hall, briefly marching to LAPD headquarters before returning to City Hall. That protest was also uneventful.

On the outskirts of West Hollywood, hundreds of people gathered peacefully outside the Laugh Factory comedy club, the marquee of which featured a photo of Floyd. That gathering was highlighted by a poignant moment when LAPD Cmdr. Cory Palka spoke to the crowd and dropped to a knee in a sign of solidarity with the congregants, which cheered in response.

The demonstrators assured Palka they would disperse peacefully when the countywide curfew took effect at 6 p.m. Well before them, many people had already started walking away.

Police agencies from around the region are facing questions about their handling of the unrest. With the National Guard moving in to protect buildings, and curfews enabling widespread arrests, authorities were able to tamp down riots in Santa Monica and Long Beach Sunday. However, calm reigned only after shopping centers were looted and set ablaze along with an LAPD substation and several patrol units. Demonstrators were met with water cannons and teargas in Santa Monica and rubber bullets in Long Beach. And an LAPD officer was shot in Venice amid the looting.

Authorities found themselves walking a razor’s edge Monday: frustration from property owners demanding a more aggressive approach to crowd dispersal and the ongoing risk of inflaming the unrest triggered by police brutality to begin with.

The protests have been going on for nearly a week in the aftermath of the police custody killing George Floyd in Minneapolis. However, tension between the LAPD and Black Lives Matter activists have been heightened for years, and police agencies across the county struck a conciliatory tone while imploring the people to work with authorities to address police brutality and racial injustice. It’s an approach that was met with backlash by some.

Fairfax resident Aaron Landy told the Los Angeles Times, he was horrified to watch looters overtake his neighborhood with seeming impunity.

“Where are the police? They’re nowhere. There’s not a policeman in sight. It’s just like a free-for-all,” Landy said. “It was just shocking. I was outraged.”

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore initially acknowledged his department’s troubling “high-profile incidents” and vowed to work with community activists. But after days of looting Moore said Monday his officers are responding to the lawlessness. About 700 arrests were made during Sunday’s demonstrations, on top of 400 who were arrested Saturday and 500 on Friday, he said.

“There will not be a tolerance for this looting, there will not be a tolerance for this lawlessness we’re seeing through the region,” Moore said during an appearance on KTLA.

Moore said he was seeing “attacks on officers the likes of which I haven’t seen in decades,” noting the projectiles hurled at police.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the call-up of 1,100 additional National Guard troops Monday while condemning the looters.

Speaking to people who are trying to “exploit” protests to engage in looting and other illegal activity, Newsom said, “When you’re out there to exploit conditions, not advance the cause of justice, that is not serving the greater good, and we need to also call that out. The looting, the violence, the threats against fellow human beings — that has no place in this state and in this nation. We as a society need to call that out.”

At a roundtable discussion with former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Eric Garcetti sought to address the concerns of demonstrators.

“We do see not only the pent-up pain of the pandemic, but more the repressed rage of racism in this country, and those two things (collided) in a moment when people saw the latest chapter of this dark, dark book,” Garcetti said.

“I’ve never seen so many police chiefs speak out,” the mayor said. “I’ve never had so many conversations with police officers who were sickened (by Floyd’s death). We had good cops and everyday citizens and young people and a nation that was united by what we saw and condemning it, and we can’t let anything divide that moment.”

City and county authorities hailed the generally peaceful posture of the vast majority of people protesting the death of Floyd, and attributed the waves of destruction that occurred to “opportunists” taking advantage of demonstrations to loot and vandalize.

“For those that are doing peaceful protest … we hear you, we support you and we know that you are not part of this element that is going out and doing this looting,” County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said. “And we appreciate you helping to protect those businesses, which I saw time and time again over the weekend. But please stay safe.”

Barger said legitimate protesters were not out to cause problems.

“You’ve got a small group that infiltrated and, in fact, I believe used these peaceful demonstrators as a way to divert attention so they could go in and do illegal activity,” she said.

Barger called the looters “criminals who, quite frankly, are not here for George Floyd, because if you listened to George Floyd’s family this morning, you heard loud and clear it’s not about violence. It’s about protest and change, and in this county, we are committed to working with every single sector to ensure that happens, including law enforcement.”

That sentiment was echoed by elected officials and law enforcement authorities across the Southland — all vowing to support peaceful protest while condemning instigators who infiltrate crowds to sow violence, and also decrying looters who arrived in vehicles to smash their way into businesses while police were tending to protests.

The demonstrations came a day after protests in Santa Monica and Long Beach provided a rouse for wanton destruction highlighted by burglary, arson, violence and intimidation.

Police agencies in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Long Beach combined to report nearly 1,200 arrests during those protests, many of them misdemeanors for violating curfews.

Santa Barbara sheriff’s deputies assisted in restoring order in Santa Monica, and later, National Guard troops arrived to assist with the peace- keeping effort but by then, the damage had been done. The city’s upscale shopping district resembled a war zone Sunday night, with dozens of businesses vandalized or looted. Throughout the protests, brazen bands of looters drove into nearby areas, leaping out of vehicles and engaging in smash-and-grab robberies.

The city’s fire department said they put out nine blazes, and Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud said about 400 people were arrested, 95% of whom were not residents.

In Long Beach Sunday, police were hopelessly outnumbered and seemingly ceded businesses to the vandals. Several thousand people took part in a protest that started at 3 p.m. at Long Beach Police Headquarters and marched through the downtown area. Police eventually set up skirmish lines along Pine Avenue, and protests remained largely nonviolent, other that individuals who threw fireworks at officers.

Around 5 p.m., looters began their rampage, hitting several businesses in The Pike Outlets including T-Mobile and Luxury Perfume. They also stole from the Jean Machine in the City Place Shopping Center, Mark Schneider Fine Jewelry in the Promenade, a Ross store and many businesses along Long Beach Boulevard including El Super and a CVS. They could be seen making multiple trips inside stores to carry out armfuls of merchandise, which they loaded into vehicles, taking selfies and brazenly smiling for television cameras.

The Long Beach police force was supplemented by mutual aid from area cities and the sheriff’s department and was expecting National Guard troops, officials said.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said about 75 arrests were made Sunday and he blasted looters who took advantage of the protests to engage in lawlessness.

“What happened last night to our small businesses was unacceptable. We should be angry and saddened by the behavior of these people and these criminals,” Garcia said.

Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said he supports the cause of protesters and was equally dismayed by Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. He said the vast majority of demonstrators acted peacefully, but there were select agitators in the crowd who threw rocks, bricks and bottles at officers.

“This is not the way to create change,” the chief said. “Not at all.”

He also said police “didn’t allow” looting to occur, but officers struggled to respond to a rapidly unfolding melee and to major increases in calls for help. Luna said Long Beach police typically receive about 1,726 calls for service on an average day, but that number jumped to 4,686 on Sunday.

National Guard troops also faced off with demonstrators Sunday outside City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The verbal confrontation became more active around 6:30 p.m. after the countywide curfew went into effect and police began making mass arrests of people who refused to disperse.

Various protesters have accused police of using heavy-handed tactics during the protests, including the firing of rubber bullets, tear gas and other projectiles at demonstrators.

In both Santa Monica and Long Beach, volunteers and business owners gathered Monday morning to help clear broken glass from streets, clean graffiti and secure businesses, generally with plywood boards.

“Where are we today in Santa Monica? Today, we are rebuilding,” Santa Monica Mayor Pro Tem Terry O’Day told a crowd at the Santa Monica Pier Monday morning. “We are not defeated. … Today, we show the nation what a community means and why it matters.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn was among those helping business owners in Long Beach clean and secure their properties. Another community cleanup effort was being held in nearby Lakewood.

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A countywide curfew was imposed Sunday and Monday. Several cities issued modified curfews of their own, with citywide curfews taking effect early afternoon in places such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.

Beverly Hills had been hard-hit Saturday along with L.A.’s Fairfax District.