A new video of revelry in downtown Los Angeles that broke out after the Los Angeles Lakers clinched their first NBA title in 10 years shows an LAPD officer shoving a Black man to the pavement, causing him to lose consciousness.
The footage of the Oct. 11 incident was filmed by Lexis-Olivier Ray, a reporter for the LA Taco, and posted to Twitter on Oct. 12. In the video, a man in a black T-shirt and gold and purple Lakers shorts approaches armed officers on the street. An officer shoves the man to the ground, leaving him lying unmoving on the sidewalk.
A group of people rush toward the man, trying to wake him up, as another man holding out his phone attempts to capture the officer’s badge number.
Even when another man approached and lifted the man up by his arms, he did not appear to wake up. “Are you shot?” the man asked him.
A woman who is visibly upset by what happened also attempted to help the the man. By the time the 45-second video ends, the man is still unconscious. Ray said he regained consciousness shortly afterward.
In a press release, the LAPD said that during the postgame celebrations near the Staples Center arena where the Lakers play, individuals “began throwing glass bottles, rocks, and other projectiles at officers.” It also said that 76 people were arrested, and three people injured by “less-lethal munitions.”
“Eight police officers were also injured and received medical treatment. More than 30 buildings and establishments were damaged by the crowd, as well as a city MTA bus,” the statement said.
The LAPD’s use of less-lethal rounds came under scrutiny earlier this year since it released footage of a man being shot in the head with a less-than-lethal round at a protest in May. On the same day, a woman struck by a less-than-lethal round was left with a broken nose.
The department is still investigating the incidents to determine whether officers acted within policy.
